B-17 Flying Fortress B-17 44-8237 / Dallas Dollie

History of
B-17 44-8237 / Dallas Dollie

Delivered Dallas 19/7/44; Hunter 27/8/44; Grenier 8/9/44; Assigned 4BS/34BG Mendlesham 12/9/44; overshot runway 5/5/45; Lost at sea during training flight 31/5/45 with Jack E. McComb, Drexel D. Sparks, Thomas P. Anderwald, William E. Smith, Richard K. Breting; 5 Missing/Killed; DALLAS DOLLIE.

Last updated: 18. July 2021

B-17 44-8237 / Dallas Dollie Details

Based on MACR 14555, this B-17 was not scrapped on 31 May 1945 (I have corrected Dave Osborne’s B-17 Masterlog accordingly). In fact, B-17 #44-8237 / Dallas Dollie was lost that day during a training flight with 1Lt. Jack E. McComb crew and crashed in the North Sea. The following is taken from MACR 14555:

Aircraft 44-8237 took off at 22:50 hours, 30 May 1945, on a training flight with the following briefed course:

Briefed altitude: 8,000 feet.

• Base
• Cromer (coast out)
• 56 degrees 00 minutes north – 03 degrees 00 minutes east.
• Aberdeen
• Flamborought Head
• Wills (coast in)
• Base

The aircraft was not heard from after take off. Air/Sea Rescue Command dispatched two squadrons of aircraft to conduct a search. Twenty additional aircraft were dispatched from this Station to aid in the search. The one information obtained from the search was that some unidentified wreckage and an oil streak were located at 53 degrees 20 minutes north – 00 degrees 55 minutes east.

B-17 44-8237 / Dallas Dollie Crew