{"id":1421,"date":"2017-05-10T18:00:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/?post_type=b17database&#038;p=1421"},"modified":"2022-07-22T20:31:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T18:31:29","slug":"42-31333-wee-willie","status":"publish","type":"b17database","link":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/b17\/42-31333-wee-willie\/","title":{"rendered":"42-31333 \/ Wee Willie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Wee Willie<\/em> was the oldest B-17G still in service with the 91st Bomb Group, and the next to last B-17 lost to enemy action by the group before cessation of hostilities. The War in Europe came to an end with the unconditional surrender of Germany just 31 days later, 8 May 1945.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Witness reports form MACR 13881:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We were flying over the the target at 20000 feet altitude when I observed aircraft B-17G 42-31333 to receive a direct flak hit approximately between the bomb-bay and the No. 2 engine. The aircraft immediately started into a vertical dive. The aircraft fuselage was on fire and when it had dropped approximately 5000 feet the left wing fell off. It continued down and when the fuselage was about 3000 feet from the ground it exploded, and then exploded again.when it hit the ground. I saw no crew members leave the aircraft or parachutes open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em>S\/Sgt. George Little<\/em><br><em>401st Bomb Sq., 91st Bomb Gp (H)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em>Sgt. Luke A. Pegoraro<\/em><br><em>401st Bomb Sq., 91st Bomb Gp (H)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>I first obersved aircraft 42-31333, at about 3 minutes after bombs away. I did not see the aircraft at the time it was hit, but saw the fuselage and a wing which had broken off falling downward. The fuselage was on fire and I saw no crew-member leave the ship or parachutes open. The aircraft passed from my view at approximately 16000 feet altitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><em>Sgt. Allen S. Bender, Jr.<\/em><br><em>401st Bomb Sq., 91st Bomb Gp (H)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-1422 size-large\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" src=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-1024x677.jpg\" alt=\"B-17 #42-31333 Wee Willie\" class=\"wp-image-1422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-1024x677.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-768x508.jpg 768w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-500x330.jpg 500w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px-600x397.jpg 600w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/42-31333-Wee-Willie-1280px.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>[Public domain], <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:B-17F_Destroyed_by_Me-262.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via Wikimedia Commons<\/a> B-17 #42-31333 <em>Wee Willie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-1948 size-large\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"760\" src=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-1024x760.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1948\" srcset=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-1024x760.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-768x570.jpg 768w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-500x371.jpg 500w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617-600x445.jpg 600w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-a-e1494441737617.jpg 1328w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"http:\/\/www.americanairmuseum.com\/media\/159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.americanairmuseum.com<\/a> \/\/ B-17 #42-31333 <em>Wee Willie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-1952 size-large\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"759\" src=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-1024x759.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1952\" srcset=\"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-1024x759.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-768x569.jpg 768w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-500x371.jpg 500w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d-600x445.jpg 600w, https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/42-31333-d.jpg 1344w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><a href=\"http:\/\/www.americanairmuseum.com\/media\/1057\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.americanairmuseum.com<\/a> \/\/ B-17 #42-31333 <em>Wee Willie<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\r\n<div class=\"fve-video-wrapper fve-image-embed fve-thumbnail-image youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:75%;\">\r\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LmF4JjZU5ms?wmode=transparent&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;autohide=1&#038;showinfo=0&#038;rel=0\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen><\/iframe>    <\/div>\r\n\r\n\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Delivered Cheyenne 22\/10\/43; Gr Island 3\/11\/43; Memphis 9\/11\/43; Assigned 322BS\/91BG [LG-W] Bassingbourn 20\/12\/43; Missing in Action 129m Stendahl 8\/4\/45 with 1Lt Robert E Fuller (POW), 2Lt Woodrow A Lien, T\/Sgt Francis McCarthy, S\/Sgt Richard D Proudfit, S\/Sgt Wylie McNatt Jr, S\/Sgt Ralph J Leffelman, S\/Sgt Willian H Cassidy, S\/Sgt James D Houtchens, Sgt Lemoyne Miller (9 Killed in Action); flak hit between fuselage and #2 engine caused massive fire which detached the port wing, exploded in the resulting dive, crashed Stendal, Germany; MACR 13881; (oldest G in group) 1 x POW, 9 x KIA. WEE WILLIE.","protected":false},"featured_media":1422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"airplane-status":[135],"status-date":[235],"status-day":[1863],"status-month":[1843],"status-year":[1844],"production-block":[45],"manufacturer":[130],"delivered":[],"project-number":[],"bomb-group":[270],"bomb-squadron":[351],"raf-service":[],"b17tags":[719],"class_list":["post-1421","b17database","type-b17database","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","airplane-status-lost-by-aa-flak","status-date-08-04-1945","status-day-1863","status-month-april","status-year-1844","production-block-b-17g-15-bo-42-31332-42-31431","manufacturer-boeing","bomb-group-91st-bomb-group","bomb-squadron-322nd-bomb-squadron","b17tags-100-plus"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"en","enabled_languages":["de","en"],"languages":{"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17database\/1421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17database"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/b17database"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"airplane-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/airplane-status?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"status-date","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-date?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"status-day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-day?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"status-month","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-month?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"status-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-year?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"production-block","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/production-block?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manufacturer?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"delivered","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/delivered?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"project-number","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-number?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"bomb-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bomb-group?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"bomb-squadron","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bomb-squadron?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"raf-service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/raf-service?post=1421"},{"taxonomy":"b17tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17tags?post=1421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}