| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Production-Block: | , Boeing B-17E: 41-9011 to 41-9245 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 97th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 342nd Bomb Squadron |
| Fate: | |
History of
B-17 41-9090 / The Sooner
Delivered MacDill 11 April 1942. Assigned 342BS/97BG Sarasota 26 April 1942. Presque Isle 29 May 1942. Flying from Goose Bay to Bluie West One at Narsarsuaq, Greenland on 27 June 1942 in foggy weather, with the impossibility to make radio contact and a too low gas supply, the Fortress had to ditch near an island in Narsarsuaq Fjord, near Narsaq, in 1500ft of water, 35 miles SW of Bluie West One, Greenland. With Major Hubert C. Chambers on board, the pilot was John C. Nichols; Co-pilot: John B. Mayes Jr; Navigator: William M. Dorsett; Bombardier: Paul A. Blaida; Asst. Bombardier: Edward B. Weathers; Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Clarence B. Nichols; Radio Operator: Frank Val Alstine (?); Waist Gunner William M. Ivanhoff; Waist Gunner Frederick M. Wilson. The two passengers were Grover C. Williams and Thomas G. Burton (12 Returned to Duty).
Information may include corrections and additions based on Jing’s research.
This page was last updated on 24 January 2018
12. July 2020 access_time 22:08
The July 1999 search for this aircraft on the ocean floor is described in Carl Hoffman’s book entitled, “Hunting Warbirds.”