| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | Douglas |
| Production-Block: | , B-17G-80-DL: 44-83361 to 44-83485 |
| Operational History | |
|---|---|
| Bomb Group: | , 303rd Bomb Group |
| Bomb Squadron: | , 427th Bomb Squadron |
| MACR | 14223 |
| Fate: |
, Lost by flak/aa-fire (25 April 1945) |
History of
B-17 44-83447
Delivered Hunter 6/3/45; Grenier 17/3/45; Assigned 427BS/303BG Molesworth 10/4/45; Missing in Action Pilsen 25/4/45 with Warren Mauger (evaded capture); Bill Burgess, George Knox, Matt Gordon, Earl Dugan (4 Prisoner of War); Henry Moss, Glen Walling, Francis Kelley (3 Killed in Action); flak, crashed Pilsen; Missing Air Crew Report 14223.
Information may include corrections and additions based on Jing’s research.
B-17 44-83447 Details
Missing aircraft received direct hit from flak in #3 engine. Intense flames shot up – enveloping all of nacelle. Had not started to disintegrate when last seen by this crew.
Appeared to be out of control. Fell sharply off to the right and almost straight down.
Sgt. Norman O. Peterson
Engineer, B-17 #44-85534
Lt. Mauger was piloting aircraft #44-83447 on a second run over the target at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia on 25 April 1945. About two seconds after bombs away the aircraft was hit by flak, knocking the pilot out of his seat and setting the aircraft on fire. The aircraft started to go into a bank. The pilot was able to control it to some degree, but fire broke out in the cockpit and the pilot ordered the crew to bail out. The pilot went out the forward escape hatch. The door of that hatch had already been jettisoned when he got to the hatch. He presumes, but does not know certainly, that the navigator and bombardier had preceded him out that hatch. The bomb bay doors were still open. The only other chute observed by the pilot was that of his co-pilot, 2nd Lt. William T. Burgess 0-834560. The pilot landed safely in a field. He did not see what became of the other members of his crew or of the aircraft.
Source: MACR 14223
B-17 44-83447 Crew
| Position | Rank | Name | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1LT | Warren Mauger | EVD | - |
| CP | 2LT | William T. Burgess | POW | - |
| NAV | 1LT | George E. Knox | POW | - |
| BOMB | 1LT | Henry G. Moss | KIA | - |
| ENG/TT | S/SGT | Glenn R. Walling | KIA | - |
| RO | S/SGT | Matthew W. Gordon | POW | - |
| BT | S/SGT | Francis H. Kelley | KIA | - |
| TG | SGT | Earl M. Dugan | UNK | - |
This page was last updated on 11 April 2026
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