Production-block:
B-17G-40-BO: 42-97058 to 42-97172
Manufacturer:
Boeing
- Bomb Group:
- 100th Bomb Group
- Bomb Squadron:
- 418th Bomb Squadron
- RCL: LP-D
MACR: 13718
History of
B-17 42-97071 / Andy’s Dandy
Delivered Cheyenne 24/1/44; Kearney 11/2/44; Presque Is 28/2/44; Assigned 418BS/100BG [LD-P] Thorpe Abbotts 4/3/44; Missing in Action Parchim, Ger. 7/4/45 with Arthur R. Calder; rammed by Me 109, both exploded and B-17 crashed close to Steinhuder Lake, near Hannover, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 13718. ANDY’S DANDY.
Last updated: 26. July 2020
B-17 42-97071 / Andy’s Dandy Details
EYEWITNESS: (On 7 April 1945) “ME – 109 attacked aircraft #071 from six o’clock high and shot the left wing completely away from the fuselage. The ME – 109 (sic FW-190) collided with the severed wing and both the wing and enemy fighter exploded. The remainder of #071 spun down flaming to explode either just before impact or immediately there after. Approximately seven (7) chutes – all white- were counted in the area.”
via MACR 13718
B-17 42-97071 / Andy’s Dandy Crew
Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|
P | 1LT | Arthur R. Calder | KIA | - |
CP | 2LT | Kenneth R. Carr | KIA | - |
NAV | F/O | William J. Burbach | KIA | - |
BOMB | F/O | Victor Hoffman | KIA | - |
ENG/TT | T/SGT | Leonard Piepgras | KIA | - |
RO | S/SGT | Joseph C. Haller | KIA | - |
BT | SGT | Carl J. Donnell | KIA | - |
WG | SGT | Dwayne H. Cary | KIA | - |
TG | SGT | Leon E. Briggs | KIA | - |
03. April 2018 access_time 21:37
I have a copy of Walter E. Warner’s flight logs for his 35 missions on Andy’s Dandys. He finished up his tour just before this loss. Anyone have any information for me to help with this?
26. April 2018 access_time 13:50
I’m his son. I have the originals. You must have seen them in the magazine “Splasher six”. How can I help you?
10. April 2020 access_time 0:58
I am the great grandson of Andy Gorski, named after the great man himself, and I have only seen snippets of the diary and mentions of him. This may be years out but I am trying to gather all information on him in order to piece together the man’s story. He had only daughters and never mentioned the war to them and reading about his taking flak to the leg tells me a heck of alot right there. He’d only tell his daughters that “he was only the cook”.
21. November 2023 access_time 21:56
I replied to your post last night, but I’m not sure I submitted it properly, and I needed to verify that my dad was on the crew with Walter E. Warner. The paper I found, dated April 28, 1944, lists the crew and shows Warner as a 2nd Lt. at that time. I have my dad’s log book he kept with a summary of all 35 missions they flew. I would be interested in finding out more.