Source:
www.385thbga.com
| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Douglas |
| Production-Block: | , B-17F-45-DL: 42-3284 to 42-3338 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 385th Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 550th Bomb Squadron |
| RCL | SG-F |
| MACR | 189B |
| Fate: |
, Mid-air collision (28 July 1943) |
History of
B-17 42-3316 / Betty Boom aka Big Stinky
Delivered Denver 6/5/43; Kearney 29/5/43; Assigned 550BS/385BG [SG-F] Gt Ashfield 26/6/43; Missing in Action Warnemunde 28/7/43 with Bill Storr, Co-pilot: Bob Blakely, Navigator: Clinton Weaver, Bombardier: Athel Miller, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Harry McComb, Radio Operator: Walter Reep, Ball turret gunner: Joe Schipani, Waist gunner: Art Spicas, Waist gunner: Jim McDonough,Tail gunner: Jim Murphy (10 Killed in Action); coll with 42-30257 off Heligoland, ditched North Sea, Missing Air Crew Report 189B. BETTY BOOM aka BIG STINKY.
B-17 42-3316 / Betty Boom aka Big Stinky Details
120 B-17’s assigned to target the Fieseler Works and AGO factory in Oschersleben producing Fw190 components and airframes on 28/07/1943. Also of note this was the deepest USAAF bombers had ever flown into Germany since the start of the war. Only 37 B-17’s recorded a bomb strike on the primary targets, yet the mission was rated as a good result. After the mission at 0910 hrs the outbound formation of bombers was intercepted by Fw190 fighters of II./JG 11 near the North Sea coast and after a 20 minute engagement claimed 12 B-17s. Luftwaffe pilot Unteroffizier Wilhelm Fest’s rocket struck the the “Lady Susie II” (#42-30257), and the aircraft lost control and collided with “Betty Boom” (#42-3316) piloted by 2Lt. Wiliam Storr, and subsequently into the flight path of “Roundtrip Ticket” (#42-30285). All three aircraft went down into the North Sea west of Sylt, near the island of Helgoland (54°30’0″N / 7°45’0″E). The bodies of the deceased crewmen from all three aircraft washed ashore along the coastline during into weeks of late August.
More information
B-17 42-3316 / Betty Boom aka Big Stinky Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | --- | William Storr | KIA | - |
| CP | 2LT | Robert P. Blakely | KIA | - |
| NAV | 2LT | Clinton A. Weaver | KIA | - |
| BOMB | 2LT | Athel J. Miller | KIA | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Harry L. McComb | KIA | - |
| RO | T/SGT | Walter T. Reep | KIA | - |
| BT | SGT | Joseph T. Schipani | KIA | - |
| WG | S/SGT | Arthur J. Spicas | KIA | - |
| WG | S/SGT | James F. McDonough | KIA | - |
| TG | S/SGT | James R. Murphy | KIA | - |
This page was last updated on 05 May 2017
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