Production-block:
B-17G-5-BO: 42-31132 to 42-31231
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 447th Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 711th Bomb Squadron
- RCL: IR-L
MACR: 1770 / KSU/ME/KU: 556
Missions: 1
History of
B-17 42-31173 / Maid to Please
Delivered Cheyenne 27/9/43; Harvard 13/10/43; Assigned: 711BS/447BG [IR-L] Rattlesden 24/11/43; MIA Ludwigshafen 30/12/43 Pilot: Julian Schrero, Navigator: Joe Lamansky, Bombardier: Lowell Doan, Radio Operator: Dee Troxell (4KIA); Co-Pilot: Merle Kent, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Howard May, Ball Turret Gunner: John Bitzer, Waist Gunner: Herman Holland, Waist Gunner: Homer Miller (5POW); Tail Gunner: Walt Dickerman (EVD); Enemy aircraft, crashed Coudray Farm, Berville, six miles NW of Mariners, 11 miles NW of Pontoise, Fr; MACR 1770, 23 pages. (first loss in group.) MAID TO PLEASE
Last updated: 13. April 2021
B-17 42-31173 / Maid to Please Details
At 1504 hours on 30 December 1943, aircraft B-17-G 42-31173, pilot 2nd Lt. JULIAN Y. SCHRERO, left the returning formation from Ludwigshafen, Germany, at 49 degrees 13 minutes north – 1 degree 29 minutes east, pulled out right and let down one to two thousand feet. He was attacked by a single enemy fighter, turned back toward the formation, passed beneath it went on to the left, letting down to the tops of the clouds (approximately eighteen to nineteen thousand feet). The fighter returned to the attack, diving from above and behind and going on into the clonds. I observed no parachutes nor any evidence that the aircraft was out of control.
Source: MACR 1770
B-17 42-31173 / Maid to Please Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2LT | Julian Y. Schrero | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Mehle L. Kent | POW | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Joseph J. Lamansky | KIA | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Lowell A. Doan | KIA | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Howard B. May | POW | - |
| RO | T/SGT | Dee L. Troxell | KIA | - |
| BT | S/SGT | John Bitzer | POW | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Herman F. Holland | POW | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Homer L. Miller | POW | - |
| TG | S/SGT | Walter E. Dickerman | EVD | - |
28. August 2020 access_time 18:49
Is this site still active? My dad had a second cousin who was radio operator on Maid to Please. He’s buried at Epinal. I’m looking for information and history about Dee and his experience.
28. August 2020 access_time 19:30
Hello Nelda, yes this web site is still active. I have the MACR files about this B-17. Please contact me at: info@b17flyingfortress.de if you want a copy.
Cheers
Jing
29. August 2020 access_time 5:50
How much is the cost?
29. August 2020 access_time 7:41
Hello Nelda,
it costs nothing.
If you want, you can pay an amount of your choise to support me via PayPalMe:
https://paypal.me/b17flyingfortress/
But it is not neccessary to get the MACR files.
If you won’t support, I still will sending you the files.
Cheers
Jing
31. August 2020 access_time 16:22
Thanks. I think the payment should hinge on how much work is involved. I’m searching for anything related to Maid to Please. I have found their group photo taken in November 1943 about a month or so before the plane went down. I’m interested in anything about the plane, about the crew, about Dee and the others. I read the statement by Dickerman who was helped by the French Underground to escape back to England. I read Bitzer’s short memoir writing about that day and some of his experiences as a POW. I read a statement by a man whose family helped hide Dickerman in the field at the crash. I would love to find more photographs of Dee and the rest of the crew and really just about anything. My dad of course had talked with Dee’s mom, but it was a family tragedy. He died at 19 in France. That was all I really knew. I’ve developed such an appreciation for Julian Schrero, the pilot, who truly seems to have gone to the ground with the plane in an effort to give his crew the opportunity to bail. I appreciate your help.
31. August 2020 access_time 20:31
Hello Nelda,
I send you the download link to the MACR files via email. Please check.
I couldn’t find other information so far.
Cheers
Jing
29. September 2020 access_time 20:28
My husband’s uncle was The navigator,Joseph Lamansky. I have some information
28. March 2021 access_time 19:00
There’s quite a bit on the web but the most recent is a newspaper interview with Bitzer. It’s pretty thorough
18. January 2023 access_time 20:07
I’m planning a visit to Paris this autumn. (2023). My father, Merle Kent, was the co-pilot of Maid To Please. I’m planning to visit the Henonville Memorial. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks