B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 42-97736

History of
B-17 42-97736

B-17 42-97736 Details

The following are statements of witnesses who last saw plane #42-97736, which was lost on 1 February 1944 while participating in an operational mission:

I was flying 2-3 position in plane #44-6551. We were on the briefed bomb run with the bomb bay doors open and I noticed that plane # 736 dropped one bomb, then two more and then one more last one before it was struck by a direct hit from flak. It looked to me as though it were hit in the aft of the bomb bay, and I saw a red flash followed immediately by smoke. The plane seemed to perform a violent rudder and aileron exercise, and then a sudden climb and a shallow turn to the right. It then fell back to three o’clock and went into a shallow left bank before dropping into a steep dive toward two o’clock. My last view of the plane showed it still in that steep dive.

2Lt. Bernard H. Kessler
Co-Pilot, B-17 #44-6551

I was flying on the left wing of 7736 in plane #42-97902. Just at the end of the bomb run 736 received a direct hit from flak in the vicinity of the radio compartment. The shell seemed to explode inside the plane, causing terrific damage. The plane left the formation, still intact, by doing a sharp chandelle to the right. The last I saw of the plane it had leveled out at a heading of about 45°. My co-pilot and tail gunner watched the stricken plane until it was out of sight and the tail gunner reported that it continued to fly straight and level.

2Lt. Richard E. Baringer
Pilot, B-17 42-97902

Source: MACR 12078

B-17 42-97736 Crew