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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17G-20-VE #42-97542 "City of Savannah" 388th BG - 563rd BS The men in the photo are unidentified
Delivered Denver 16/12/43; Rochester 11/1/44; Langley 13/1/44; Assigned 482BG (H2X) Alconbury 25/1/44; transferred 413BS/96BG [MZ-B] Snetterton 26/1/44; 563BS/388BG Knettishall 27/1/44; Missing in Action Chemnitz 5/3/45 with Ralph Kittle, John Watkins, Irwin Boxer, Lloyd Sanford, Salvaged Genco, Ray Kudla, Bob Jones (7 Prisoner of War); Bob Warren (Killed in Action); John Rutt (evaded capture); flak, crashed Kraslice, Czecho. Missing Air Crew Report 12926. CITY OF SAVANNAH.
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Togglier/Nose Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Kraslice on 3/5/45 in B-17 #4297542 due to mechanical failure Plane was 'City of Savannah'
POW
Military | Technical Sergeant | Togglier | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
He flew with Pilot Lt. Ray Cambell on 'Ray's Hell' The plane crashed in England but the crew escaped.
DFC, purple heart, etc
Military | Captain | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Colonel | Group Commanding Officer | 388th Bomb Group
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Brigadier General
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Kraslice on 3/5/45 due to mechanical failure in B-17 #4297542 'City of Savannah'
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer | 388th Bomb Group
Edward J. Huntzinger was the long time historian for the 388th BG Association and authored the history book "The 388th At War", first edition copywright 1979
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Corporal | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Kraslice on 3/5/45 due to mechanical failure in B-17 #4297542 'City of Savannah'
POW
Military site : airfield
Alconbury had been constructed as a satellite airfield for RAF Upwood and Wyton and was used by RAF Squadrons: Nos. 15, 40 and 156. In preparation for the arrival of American heavy bombers, the base was developed in 1942 with the runways extended. When...
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Military site : airfield
Intended to be an RAF bomber base, construction of Snetterton Heath started in Autumn 1942 but continued until mid-1943, because it was extended after allocation as an Eighth Air Force bomber base. It had eventually three concrete runways, 50...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered | Denver, CO | 16 December 1943 |
| Assigned | Knettishall Airfield, UK | 27 January 1944 |
|
388BG |
||
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Kraslice, Czech Republic | 5 March 1945 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 02 October 2020 01:13:43 | 466thHistorian | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings and events |
| Sources | ||
B-17 Flying Fortress Story - Roger Freeman |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:41:13 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 12926 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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