Production-block:
B-17F-90-BO: 42-30132 to 42-30231
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 379th Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 525th Bomb Squadron
- RCL: FR-X
MACR: 1764
History of
B-17 42-30158 / Mary Jane II
Delivered Cheyenne 20/4/43; Tinker 28/4/43; New Castle 29/4/43; Assigned 525BS/379BG [FR-X] Kimbolton 23/6/43; Missing in Action Schweinfurt 17/8/43 with Howie Koeppen, Waist gunner: Jack Posemsky (2 Killed in Action), Co-pilot: Harry Thompson, Navigator: Ed Dennstedt, Bombardier: Bob Thomas, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Hurlo, Radio Operator: Floyd Barrowman, Ball turret gunner: Bob Watkins, Waist gunner: Gene Shadick,Tail gunner: Rich Feese (8 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Abenheim, five miles NW of Worms, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 1764. MARY JANE II.
Last updated: 7. February 2020
B-17 42-30158 / Mary Jane II Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1LT | Howard O. Koeppen | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Harold N. Thompson | POW | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Edward A. Dennstedt | POW | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Robert E. Thomas | POW | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | John Hurlo | POW | - |
| RO | T/SGT | Floyd K. Barrowman | POW | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Robert J. Watkins | POW | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Eugene J. Shadick | POW | - |
| WG | SGT | Jack Posemsky | KIA | - |
| TG | S/SGT | Richard A. Feese | POW | - |
30. August 2023 access_time 1:06
Howard Koeppen is my great great uncle! He earned the air medal with 2 oak leaves and a purple heart, He was recently and finally awarded the distinguished flying cross with Valor for his actions. RIP Uncle Howie
Captain Howard O. Koeppen, B-17 bomber pilot, KIA over Nazi Germany, August 17, 1943.
“The pilot was fighting the controls as I went past him & was uninjured at the time. It is our firm belief that he could have escaped. But, the tail gunner had no phone working and stayed with the ship, firing his guns until about 1000 feet. The pilot stayed with the ship to give him a chance as he was the type of man that never thought of himself. The crew was what mattered to him. He sacrificed his life so that all men would have a chance to escape from the doomed ship.” T/Sgt. John Hurlo, Top Turret Gunner.
22. March 2024 access_time 0:06
Bombardier Bob Thomas was my first cousin. He was imprisoned in Stalag Luft 3 ( The Great Escape Camp) &Stalag Luft 7 A which was liberated in April 1945. YouTube has a great deal of footage about both camps. Cousin Bob NEVER talked about his 17 missions or his nearly two years asa POW. H