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Source:
www.fold3.com
Production-block:
B-17G-25-BO: 42-31632 to 42-31731
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 457th Bomb Group
- 91st Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 323rd Bomb Squadron
- RCL: OR-N
Missions: 139
History of
B-17 42-31636 / Out House Mouse
Delivered Cheyenne 30/11/43; Wendover 11/12/43; Assigned 457BG Glatton 26/1/44; transferred 323BS/91BG [OR-N] Bassingbourn 12/3/44; 139m Returned to the USA 121 BU Bradley 26/5/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 11/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 30/11/45, but not scrapped until 1963! (first heavy bomber attacked by German jet a/c.) OUTHOUSE MOUSE.
Last updated: 1. November 2017
15. August 2024 access_time 15:53
Dear Jing,
Since the release of the Masters of the Air serie, I dived like you into a passion for the 8th Air Force campaign above the ETO during WWII, the B-17 bomber and their very courageous crews. I bought and read many books and really wanted to share these stories and illustrate them. Your website has been of major importance to find the planes and crew, so thank you very much for that!
One story – that turned out to happen precisely 80 years ago, has particularly attracted my attention : the Outhouse Mouse encounter with a Me-163B Komet on August 16th, 1944. With a range of different sources (articles, dailies of 91st BG, books etc …), I tried to better understand this story to paint this scene. Below is the story as a legend for my painting you can view online here : https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4Nbnbk
“Manufactured by Boeing and delivered in late November 1943, the B-17G-25-BO, serial number 42-31636, was assigned to the 323rd Bomb Squadron of the 91st Bomb Group (/A\) on March 12, 1944. Based at Bassingbourn, the aircraft, nicknamed “Out House Mouse”, took part in its first war mission on March 18, against the Dornier factories at Oberpfaffenhofen. Strikes against strategic targets in Germany and France followed in quick succession, particularly in preparation for the Normandy landings scheduled for June.
On August 16, 1944, some 1,090 American bombers took off for airfields, aeronautical and chemical industrial sites located in the heart of Germany. The “Out House Mouse” was part of the “bomber stream”, targeting the Siebel aeronautical plant in Halle. 35 B-17s from the 91st BG took part in the mission. Over the town of Eisenach, at around 10 a.m. and around 1 a.m. from the target, the formation came under heavy attack from several Fw-190A8s and Bf-109Gs: in 40 seconds, the 91st BG lost 6 aircraft and 31 men. A further 25 were taken prisoner.
45 minutes later, 5 Me-163B Komet burst into the formation. With its rocket engine, the aircraft was capable of climbing to almost 60,000 ft. above a column of white – greyish smoke. Running out of fuel, the engine then cuts out, and the pilot generally has a few chances to redirect its now gliding plane towards Allied bomber formations before rejoining its airfield. The first Komet, piloted by Feldwebel H. Straznicky, targeted the lead element of the 365th BS / 305th BG and attacked the B-17G “Towering Titan”: as it dives on the B-17G at 600m from 6 o’clock, the Me-163B is shot down by the tail gunner from less than 60m. Straznicky, first pilot of a rocket plane shot down in combat, then jumped from his burning plane.
A second Me-163B, piloted by Lt. Hartmut Ryll, concentrated its attacks on a 365th BS / 305th BG B-17 (serial number unknown) piloted by 2Lt. Charles J. Laverdiere. After two very aggressive cannon passes that severely damaged the B-17 and killed 2 crews, Ryll followed up with another B-17 from the 91st BG piloted by 1Lt. Reese W. Mullins: damaged during the first attack by Fw-190A8 and Bf-109G above Eisenach, the bomber was now operating on only 2 engines. Lagging behind the main formation, it was a straggler that has become highly vulnerable to German fighters, as it was outside the protective fire normally offered by combat boxes. Seeing an Me-163B literally falling on him, Mullins performed a series of evasive maneuvers while his gunners trying, unsuccessfully, to shoot him down with their .50 machine guns. A few minutes later, a pair of P-51D Mustangs from the 359th Fighter Group’s escort took their turn on the rocket plane. Several bursts of machine-gun fire, with hits to the cockpit, were enough to destroy the Me-163B. The Komet and its pilot crashed at 10:52 a.m. west of the town of Brandis, near Leipzig.
The Out House Mouse continued its career and, after 139 missions, returned to the USA in May 1945. There, it was sold to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, responsible for liquidating wartime stocks. Like thousands of other military aircraft, it was sent to the Kingman airfield in Arizona, where it was dismantled 18 years later … in 1963!
In specialized literature, the B-17G Out House Mouse is generally considered by a number of sources to be the first B-17 to have encountered a Me-163B Komet in combat. That’s the choice I’ve made here for this painting. However, it’s a claim that’s difficult to substantiate, as the attack on August 16, 1944 took place in just a few minutes and involved 3 different B-17s (Laverdiere, Jenks, Mullins). Mullins will recall that he was flying B-17G 42-31579 Betty Lou’s Buggy that day.”
Some questions I still have for those interested by this story:
– Is this story historically accurate from what you know?
– In regards of your research and archives, do you think this is the Outhouse Mouse or the Betty Lou’s Buggy that has encountered a Me-163B that day ?
– Why the aircraft was nicknamed “Out House Mouse”?
29. August 2024 access_time 9:27
Hello Nicolas,
thanks for your comment. Sorry for my delayed reply. I am currently quite busy with other stuffs.
I never heard about the story. Only fact I know is, that B-17 42-102609, piloted by Laverdiere, was damaged by ME-163 and returned to England. There is a gun camera footage.
https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-102609/
For Out House Mouse or 91st BG B-17s, I highly recommend the facebook group of the 91st BG (https://www.facebook.com/groups/50677321044/) and asking for Jim Szpajcher, he has copies many mission reports from National Archive.
Cheers
Jing
29. August 2024 access_time 18:53
Dear Jing,
Thank you very much for your response and help, it’s amazing that you found the B-17’s tail number from 2Lt. Charles J. Laverdiere! This is mind blowing to see the footage after having reconstituted the whole story…
02. September 2024 access_time 10:06
Hello Nicolas, you are welcom 🙂
I have created this web site for thise reason 🙂
Cheers
Jing