| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed/Vega |
| Production-Block: | , B-17G-5-VE: 42-39858 to 42-39957 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 91st Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 322nd Bomb Squadron, 323rd Bomb Squadron |
| RCL | LG-L |
| MACR | 2642 |
| Fate: |
, Lost by enemy aircraft (22 February 1944) |
History of
B-17 42-39898 / Boston Bombshell
Delivered Long Beach 1/10/43; Gr Island 3/11/43; Assigned 332BS/91BG Bassingbourn 13/12/43; then 322BS [LG-L]; 14m Missing in Action Oschersleben 22/2/44 with William Wood, Co-pilot: John Mullens, Navigator: Marv Anderson, Bombardier: Louis Dobbs, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Casimir Lekowski, Ball turret gunner: Oscar Mouton, Waist gunner: Jim Purton,Tail gunner: Bob Mueller (8 Prisoner of War); Radio Operator: Garner Walters, Waist gunner: Woodrow Wade (2 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft KO’d #3, crash landed Flintrup, near Freckenhorst, three miles S of Warendorf, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 2642. BOSTON BOMBSHELL.
B-17 42-39898 / Boston Bombshell Details
Eyewitness Statement from MACR 2642
Aircraft B-17G 42-39898, had been attacked by enemy aircraft and was last observed with number three (3) engine on fire and losing altitude but under control. Parts of the engine seemed to fall off as the aircraft tried to reach the cloud level below. Subject aircraft was seen to enter clouds the tops of which were are 8000 feet.
B-17 42-39898 / Boston Bombshell Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 2LT | William D. Wood | POW | - |
| CP | 2LT | John D. Mullens | POW | - |
| NAV | 1LT | Marvin D. Anderson | POW | - |
| BOMB | 1LT | Louie R. Dobbs | POW | - |
| ENG/TT | T/SGT | Casmer W. Lekowski | POW | - |
| RO | T/SGT | Garner Walters, Jr. | KIA | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Oscar J. Mouton, Jr. | POW | - |
| WG | T/SGT | Woodrow Wade | KIA | - |
| WG | T/SGT | James E. Purton | POW | - |
| TG | T/SGT | Robert A. Mueller | POW | - |
This page was last updated on 28 June 2020
22. January 2022 access_time 5:20
Casmer Lekowski was my uncle. He was not POW they thought that he was. But some Nuns rescued him and hid him and nursed him back to health I don’t remember how long that he was missing before he finally got found and sent back home. I think it was over a year. I know that the Army sent my grandmother a check because they declared him dead and she refused to cash the check because she said that she did not believe that he was dead. And he wasn’t
28. March 2024 access_time 14:14
The photo of 42-39898 appeared in an article in the german propaganda magazine Signal #10 1944 called “Raw materials from the air” . It claims that England delivered the equivalant of 16000 german fighters in aluminium weight . The article describes how downed allied aircraft are beeing meltet down and the metal reused . If it actually went in to aircraft production I do not know .
07. April 2024 access_time 8:47
Hello Terje,
is somewhere a copy in the internet?
I couldn’t find the magazine.
If you have a link to a website, please let me know.
Cheers
Jing
07. April 2024 access_time 19:32
The magazine is from my own collection , I have the norwegian language version . I sent an email with photos as a reply to you , I hope it got through . These magazines do show up from time to time on ebay and other sites .
Cheers , Terje
15. September 2025 access_time 0:43
I have Garner Walters Air Medal.I would love to return it to his family.He was from Warren County New Jersey.Can any one help?