B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 42-97158

History of
B-17 42-97158

Delivered Cheyenne 3/2/44; Gr Island 18/2/44; Dow Fd 1/4/44; Assigned 337BS/96BG [BX-D] Snetterton 7/4/44; battle damaged Berlin 5/1/45 with Lt Hamilton, (?9RTD?); crash landed Remagne, Bel; Salvaged 31/1/45.

Last updated: 6. January 2018

B-17 42-97158 Details

“We dropped our bombs and headed for friendly territory but kept loosing power and altitude all the time. The Battle of the Bulge was developing below us. Lt. Hamilton ordered all loose equipment overboard and decided to land in an open field covered with about a foot of snow. He gave us the option to jump or ride out the crash. We elected to stay with him. No one was hurt. The only problem was that we had apparently landed between the front lines. We didn’t know whether we were in enemy territory or not. Soldiers loomed on the horizon as Hamilton’s men abandoned the plane. After a few tense moments, we realized we were ALL Americans. The soldiers told us they had liberated this area only a few hours ago.”

T/Sgt Charles D. Terry, Radio Operator on #42-97158. It was his 30th and last mission.

Source:
http://www.battleofthebulgememories.be/stories26/us-air-force23/229-world-war-ii-airman-returns-to-belgium-and-memories.html