B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 42-37786 / Hit Parader

History of
B-17 42-37786 / Hit Parader

Delivered Denver 27/8/43; Assigned 401BG Deenethorpe 2/11/43; transferred 532BS/381BG [VE-B] Ridgewell 21/11/43; Missing in Action Augsburg 25/2/44 with Don Henderson, Co-pilot: Jack Fournier, Bombardier: Nick DeRose, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Raoul Ramos (4 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Earl Wonning, Radio Operator: Boyd Burgess, Ball turret gunner: Anthony Korkuc*, Waist gunner: Tom Hunnicut, Waist gunner: Tony Bartolo,Tail gunner: Dale Schilling (6 Killed in Action); turbo-chargers damaged by flak and attack by ME109, with Curt Clemens of III/JG3; crashed Willmandingen, nine miles SW of Reutlingen, Ger; seen burning on ground by other crews of 532BS; Missing Air Crew Report 2933. (* Nephew Bob Korkuc wrote book on this loss, called – Threads of a Distant Past.)

Last updated: 9. July 2021

B-17 42-37786 / Hit Parader Details

Over the target, Lt. Fastrup, Lt. Genther and Lt. Henderson fell back and were left behind for about 5 minutes. Lt. Genther and Lt. Fastrup pulled back info formation but Lt. Henderson was laggind behind. Gradually he got back into formation. Almost immediately he started falling back again, then started down.

He was then observed fly under the formation for about ten minutes, by the ball-turret gunner. From then on it seemed that he couldn’t stay with the formation. The ball-turret gunner and navigator saw him hit the deck and parallel our course across the French Border. At this point the plane was over a large forest and blended with the trees to such an extent that we were able to distinguish Lt. Henderson’s plane any longer.

Source: MACR 2933

B-17 42-37786 / Hit Parader Crew