Source:
www.fold3.com
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Boeing |
| Production-Block: | , B-17F-100-BO: 42-30332 to 42-30431 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 390th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 570th Bomb Squadron |
| RCL: | DI-E |
| MACR: | 2271 |
| Fate: |
, Mid-air collision (29 January 1944) |
History of
B-17 42-30334 / Virgin Sturgeon aka Eight Ball
Delivered Cheyenne 15/5/43; Geiger 28/5/43; Gt Falls 7/6/43; Chanute 22/6/43; Lewiston 23/6/43; Smoky Hill 2/7/43; Dow Fd 13/7/43; Assigned: 570BS/390BG [DI-E] Framlingham 15/7/43 EIGHT BALL; MIA Frankfurt 29/1/44 Pilot: Bill Harding, Co-Pilot: Valdemar Cordova, Navigator: Clint Jacobsen, Bombardier: Ed Morgan, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Bill Craven, Radio Operator: Mario Lubue, Ball Turret Gunner: Ralph Ross, Waist Gunner: Vince Plouff, Waist Gunner: George Fritz, Tail Gunner: John Ovadal (10POW); mid-air coll w/42-30325 (390BG) breaking off part of right wing, crashed in Lake Constance, near Friedrichshafen, Germany. MACR 2271. VIRGIN STURGEON.
Information may include corrections and additions based on Jing’s research.
B-17 42-30334 / Virgin Sturgeon aka Eight Ball Details
Mid-air-collision with B-17 #42-30325 / Miss Carry on 29 January 1944.
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This page was last updated on 26 December 2018
18. October 2026 access_time 18:09
This is incorrect. The collision with Carry allowed the crew to bail out. The pilot and navigator remained with the airplane and attempted to reach neutral Switzerland. They were set upon by Me109’s over Austria and crashed into a lake. I don’t know the fate of the pilot and navigator but I believe they survived. Ralph Neill Ross was my father and I know he and the other seven survived to spend eighteen months as POW’s. He actually didn’t know for about six months whether or not the airplane had gone down and was tormented by thinking he could be safe in England. He only learned the fate of the Virgin Sturgeon when a crewmate was transferred into the camp.