8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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42-102598
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/3/44; Hunter 10/4/44; Dow Fd 29/4/44; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-F] Thorpe Abbotts 30/4/44; on return from Merseburg 28/7/44 with Jim Ransom, Co-pilot: Keith Lamb, Navigator: Francis Waldman, Bombardier: Jim Wood, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Reg Felce, Radio Operator: E.P. Schmitt, Ball turret gunner: Leo Wargin, Waist gunner: Carl Alben, Tail gunner: Bill Bywaters. (9 Returned to Duty); cp turned off landing gear in error; Salvaged 30/7/44. SUPER RABBIT.
Service
Units
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100th Bomb Group
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many... -
351st Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Carl Alben
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner
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W Bywaters
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner
19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK. CPT -
R Felce
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer
19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK (HUNGARY). CPT -
K Lamb
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
25 SEP 44 LUDWIGSHAFEN, MY. CPT -
J Ransom
Military | Captain | Pilot
19 SEP 44 SZNOLOK. CPT -
Emmett Schmitt
Military | Radio Operator Gunner
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F Waldman
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator
19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK. CPT -
Leo Wargin
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
25 SEP 44 LUDWIGSHAVEN. CPT
Places
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Thorpe Abbotts
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered | Cheyenne, WY | 17 March 1944 |
| Assigned | Thorpe Abbotts Airfield, UK | 30 April 1944 |
| Crashed | Thorpe Abbotts Airfield, UK | 28 July 1944 |
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Wheels up landing with the Jim Ransom Crew. All crew safe. A/C salvaged |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 November 2020 01:37:13 | 466thHistorian | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, markings and events |
| Sources | ||
B-17 Flying Fortress Story - Roger Freeman |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 January 2020 16:12:37 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added connections to the 8th AF and 351st BS and 100th BG. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 January 2020 16:08:03 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” for clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 January 2020 16:06:45 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Added the nickname mentioned in the A/C “Description”. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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