| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Production-Block: | , B-17F-60-BO: 42-29532 to 42-29631 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 305th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 366th Bomb Squadron |
| RCL | KY-D |
| MACR | 252 |
| Fate: |
, Lost by enemy aircraft, Lost by flak/aa-fire (12 August 1943) |
History of
B-17 42-29553 / Arkie II
Delivered Denver 3/1/43; Salina 9/1/43; Homestead 18/2/43; Assigned 366BS/305BG [KY-D] Chelveston 4/3/43; Missing in Action Gelsenkirchen 12/8/43 with Wright Gerke, Co-pilot: Tom Reade, Navigator: Joe Costa, Bombardier: Jack Little, Ball turret gunner: Ed Keesling, Waist gunner: Joe Rowlison, Waist gunner: Herb Kalwa,Tail gunner: Joe Hall (8 Killed in Action); Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Harry Fullerton, Radio Operator: Jim Chalker (2 Prisoner of War); flak & enemy aircraft, crashed near Munchen-Gladbach, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 252. ARKIE II.
B-17 42-29553 / Arkie II Details
Knocked out of formation by flak, and immediately attacked by five or six E/A. Seen to go down in flames but under control.
B-17 42-29553 / Arkie II Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2LT | Wright E. Gerke | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Thomas Read | KIA | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Joseph S. Costa | KIA | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Jack J. Little | KIA | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Harry L. Fullerton | POW | - |
| RO | S/SGT | James L. Chalker, Jr. | POW | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Edward F. Keesling | KIA | - |
| WG | SGT | Joe W. Rowlison | KIA | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Herbert A. Kalwa | KIA | - |
| TG | S/SGT | Joseph J. Hall | KIA | - |
This page was last updated on 19 June 2021
26. April 2019 access_time 22:30
B-17 42-29553 was my uncle-godfather’s plane…ARKIE II. 1st Lt Wright Ellis Gerke – Pilot. He is buried in The Netherlands-American Military Cemetery in Margroten, Netherlands…Holland Plot O Row 6 Grave 6. I have visited his grave from the USA 23 times to date. In his last letter, mailed that fateful morning of August 12th 1943…he told of how proud he was to have just become a Daddy.
27. July 2021 access_time 23:52
Wright Ellis Gerke was the uncle I never knew as I was born after his plane was shot down.
12. February 2023 access_time 21:41
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/attachments/1607343626301-png.604149/