B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 42-31710 / The Savage

History of
B-17 42-31710 / The Savage

Delivered Cheyenne 9/12/43; Kearney 24/12/43; Romulus 7/1/44; Presque Is 9/1/44; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-P/F] Thorpe Abbotts 20/1/44; Missing in Action La Glacerie 8/5/44 with Don Riggle, Co-pilot: Joe King, Navigator: Wayne Pankhurst, Bombardier: Ken Hurst, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Edwin Scott, Radio Operator: Carl Glade, Ball turret gunner: Bob Marcell,Tail gunner: Glyn Matthews (8 Prisoner of War); Waist gunner: Bob Marbach, Waist gunner: Gil Sandoval (2 Killed in Action); ship dropped behind formation and disappeared to crashed Handrup, near Lengerich, 31 miles S of Bremen, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 4578. THE SAVAGE.

Last updated: 6. January 2018

B-17 42-31710 / The Savage Details

“The oxygen system was knocked out just as bombs were released. The only alternative was to descend to 15,000 or below to survive. We were on top and overcast on the Berlin and I intended to stay in the clouds on the way back. After about 20 minutes we ran out of cloud cover and were immediately attacked by a flock of ME-109s. We were pretty well shot up – out of ammunition and on fire in the right wing. The control column went limp after a hit in the tail section – with no control there was nothing we could do except bail out. The two waist gunners, Gil Sandoval and Bob Marbach were dead, so we attached static lines and bailed them out – then the rest of us left the aircraft.”

Donald E. Riggle

B-17 42-31710 / The Savage Crew