B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 44-6552

History of
B-17 44-6552

Delivered Hunter 5/9/44; Grenier 23/9/44; Assigned 816BS/483BG Sterparone 3/10/44; Missing in Action Vienna 21/3/45 with Albert Venable, Harrolle, Sutton, Denton, Kloss (5 Killed in Action); Casey, Crelic, McDonnell, Busick, Jackson (5 Prisoner of War); flak, crashed Breslau; Missing Air Crew Report 13049.

Last updated: 7. May 2025

B-17 44-6552 Details

Eyewitness Statements

I saw ship 44-6552, piloted by Lt. Venable, before, at the time of the flak hit, and all the way down after the flak hit. The plane was flying number four position in the high right box. The plane was on the bomb run and no bombs had been dropped by the box when I saw the plane hit in the tail and near waist section.

Plane had right horizontal stabilizer missing and rudder was flapping out of control. Plane pulled up out of formation did a slow roll and immediately started a tight spin.

Plane went into a vertical dive and then into a tight spiral.  When last seen plane was in a flat spin during which time one man jumped from the waist section, parachute partially opened. Plane was very low when last seen, seeming to have about three thousand to five thousand feet altitude.

2Lt. George A. Gammon

I was flying off the right wing of ship 44-6552 on 21 March 1945.

While we were on the bomb run this ship received a direct hit in the tail section. The time was 1302 hours and the coordinates were 48°07“N, 16°19“E.

The shell tore part of the tail section from the ship. At the instant of impact the tail of the ship rose slightly then dropped a little and the nose rose about fifty feet in the air. While the ship was in the air it turned over on its back and came towards my ship. I was forced to give away sharply to the right to avoid being hit by the falling ship. The ship was below me and out of my sight in a few seconds.

2Lt. Samuel M. Campbell

I saw ship 44-6552 piloted by Lt. Venable, before and after the flak burst. He was flying number four position in the hight right box. From my position it appeared that a shell had struck and burst on the right horizontal stabilizer, blowing the control surface to pieces and blowing off part of the stabilizer. The ship pulled up sharply, stalled and began to spin out of sight.

2Lt. Paul W. Born

Source: MACR 13049

B-17 44-6552 Crew