| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Production-Block: | , B-17G-55-BO: 42-102544 to 42-102743 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 390th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 568th Bomb Squadron |
| RCL: | BI-R |
| MACR: | 11725 |
| Fate: |
, Lost by enemy aircraft (14 January 1945) |
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History of
B-17 42-102677 / Bob Tail Battler aka Mississippi Mission
Delivered Cheyenne 25/3/44; Billings 3/5/44; Kearney 12/5/44; Grenier 26/5/44; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-R] Framlingham 27/5/44 MISSISSIPPI MISSION; Missing in Action Derben, Ger 14/1/45 with Gerald Johnson, Bill Parks, Dayton Kelly, Joe Redpath spot jammer, Jim Lawman tg (5 Killed in Action); Matt Robinson, Don Lash, Frank O’Neill, Russ Hardy, Ben Marshall (5 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Garlitz, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 11725. BOB TAIL BATTLER.
Information may include corrections and additions based on Jing’s research.
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This page was last updated on 09 April 2018
19. June 2023 access_time 10:03
My father was the co-pilot of the Bob Tail Battler in the photo above (second from left, top row), and spent a few months a guest of the Germans.
27. June 2023 access_time 2:29
You might find this intriguing I cleaned out a storage unit of ww2 vet who was apart of the bobcat battler. he was the tail gunnerman.
06. February 2024 access_time 5:28
Pieces of the Mississippi Mission were found a couple of years ago and are now on display at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.
25. May 2026 access_time 23:29
Hi David – My Dad was the ball turret gunner (Ben Marshall), bottom row middle. He was badly injured that day when the turret was hit and his parachute was destroyed by the fire in the fuselage. He only survived because he was given the parachute of an injured crew member (Dayton Kelly; bottom row second from right) and because the pilot (Johnson, top row left) and your Dad kept the plane aloft so my Dad could be pushed out of doomed plane. Johnson and Kelly died when the plane crashed minutes later. So glad your Dad got out! My Dad had a harrowing experience once on the ground before he too was a “guest” of the Germans. I memorialized his story for the WW2 museum and others. I would love to send you and others on this site a copy if you would like. Sure wish I could have gone to one of their reunions! I met Don Lash several years ago, but never your Dad. I corresponded with Johnson’s son (who recently died). My Dad died in 1993 (age 82). I always remember on Memorial Day that two men died so my Dad could live. The ultimate sacrifice for others! Quite humbling to know how lucky I am to be here. What a generation!!
27. June 2023 access_time 2:30
excuse my autocorrect bobtail battler