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Source:
www.fold3.com
Production-block:
B-17G-25-BO: 42-31632 to 42-31731
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 91st Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 322nd Bomb Squadron
- RCL: LG-O
MACR: 8184 / KSU/ME/KU: 926 A
Missions: 50
History of
B-17 42-31634 / Texas Chubby – The J’ville Jolter
Delivered Cheyenne 1/12/43; Portland 3/12/43; Boise 5/12/43; Kearney 16/12/43; Ft Wayne 25/12/43; Grenier 27/12/43; Presque Is 3/1/44; Assigned: 322BS/91BG [LG-O] Bassingbourn 23/1/44; MIA {50m} Halle 16/8/44 Pilot: Halstead Sherrill, Co-Pilot: Bill Gilligan, Engineer / Top Turret Gunner: Vernon Bauerline, Ball Turret Gunner: Enrique Perez, Waist Gunner: Joe Morrison (5KIA); Navigator: Bill Porter, Bombardier: Nick Weber, Radio Operator: Dick Munkwitz, Tail Gunner: Chester Mis (4POW); Enemy aircraft riddled fuselage, exploded and crashed Kichenberg, Germany. MACR 8184. TEXAS CHUBBY – THE J’VILLE JOLTER.
Last updated: 19. September 2020
B-17 42-31634 / Texas Chubby – The J’ville Jolter Details
Aircraft B-17-G, 42-31634, was one of six (6) aircraft Missing in Action 16 August 1944, on mission to Halle, Germany. This group was attacked by approximately twenty-five (25) enemy fighters at 1000 hours, altitude 25400 feet, East of Eisenach, Germany. During this attack, which lasted 20 or 30 seconds, four (4) of our aircraft were seen to have been shot down. At this time the only fighter attack made on this group it is presumed by the headquarters that subject aircraft was also lost at this time. No eyewitness statement is available.
Source: MACR 8184
B-17 42-31634 / Texas Chubby – The J’ville Jolter Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1LT | Halstead Sherrill | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Frank J. Gilligan | POW | - |
| NAV | 2LT | William M. Porter | POW | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Nicholas J. Weber | KIA | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Vernon E. Bauerline | KIA | - |
| RO | S/SGT | Richard J. Munkwitz | POW | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Enrique T. Perez | KIA | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Joseph R. Morrison | KIA | - |
| TG | S/SGT | Chester W. Mis | POW | - |
27. May 2023 access_time 7:10
Does anyone know were the Air Museum is located in the US for this Air Group 322nd bs 91st bg 8th af for the Texas Chubby, The J’Ville Jolter.
14. February 2025 access_time 18:23
The “Texas Chubby – The J’Ville Jolter” was named to honor B-17 pilot Ray Randall Ward’s wife. His obit. may be found in the Gatesville (TX) Messenger and Star-Forum, October 7, 2006, p. 6.
28. July 2025 access_time 15:30
Hi Butch,
A little more info for you and the other readers of this site. Ray Randall Ward was my father. I had the privilege of writing the obituary you noted. The plane had an unusual name, so perhaps an explanation is in order. My mother Lalla Rookh Ward (nee Martin) was the inspiration for the nose art. Both of my parents were born and raised in Texas. My father was born in Rusk Texas but raised in Jacksonville TX. My mother was raised in (and around) Gatesville TX. One of the hands on her family’s farm gave her the nick-name “Chubby” when she was a very small child and the name stuck. Friends and family called her “Chubby” the rest of her life. While it was not the best nick-name, she preferred it to her given name – and it was easier to spell. My mother’s mother had been schooled at Academy of the Sacred Heart in Waco and the poem “Lalla Rookh” by Thomas Moore was a favorite of her and her friends.
Nose art: the art depicts a stylized version of my mother dressed as an American indian maid because Jacksonville (J’ville) is in Cherokee county and the high school teams for which my father played were call the “Fighting Indians”. The “Jolter” part of the plane’s name reflected the jolting impact my mother had on my father and the much more violent jolt the plane was destined to have on the Nazis. Thus, “Texas Chubby the J’ville Jolter” was named.
My father flew with the 91st bomb group out of Bassingborne, England. This is the same bombardment group of that most famous Flying Fortress “The Memphis Belle”. Like the crew of that famous ship, he finished all his missions and returned home, but without the fanfare, as one of the almost anonymous heroes of the war.
During his tenure as pilot of the Chubby, he only lost one man. A waist gunner who fell to friendly fire. One of the only times I saw tears in my fathers eyes was when he recounted the removal of his crewman’s body from the plane. I asked him once why he did not become a commercial pilot, and he responded that he never wanted to have direct responsibility for other’s lives again.
Three of my father’s brothers also served during the war and they all came back home. My mother’s only brother was also an aviator but died fighting the Nazis.