42-2970 Connecticut Yankee

media-25303.jpeg UPL 25303 Lt James A Verinis and crew of the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, in front of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Connecticut Yankee'. England, 27 May 1943. Verinis stands far left of shot, his dog and ships mascot 'Stuka' is is the front row, far left kneeling is T/Sgt Lawrence W Murray top turret and flight engineer.

Flying her 38th mission on the 6-Sep-43 trip to Stuttgart, 'Connecticut Yankee' took substantial battle damage; 2nd Lt William Pegram was forced to make a "dead stick" crash landing at Winchelsea, his fuel exhausted. The whole crew suffered minor injuries, and the "Yankee" was subsequently salvaged.

NARA Ref 342-FH-3A10618-62762AC.

Object Number - UPL 25303 - Lt James A Verinis and crew of the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, in front of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Connecticut...

Assigned 324BS/91BG [DF-E/C] New Castle 13/10/42; Bassingbourn 23/11/42; involved in landing accident at base on 1/8/43 with Dave Gladhart; on return from Stuttgart 38m 6/9/43 with Bill Pegram, Co-pilot: Bill Martin, Navigator: Bob Cosgrove, Bombardier: Norman Eatinger, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Lawrence W. Murray Sr., Radio Operator: Hans Wobst, Ball turret gunner: ? , Waist gunner: Fred Hutchinson, Waist gunner: Belvin Peters, Tail gunner: Gordon Noel (10RTD?); crash landed Pett Level, near Hastings, SX, UK, out of gas, crew OK, aircraft Salvaged. Completed 25m 17/5/43 and contender with Memphis Belle, Jersey Bounce and Delta Rebel II, for US war bond tour. CONNECTICUT YANKEE.



"My grandfather Lawrence W. Murray completed all 25 missions on this bird and is in the bottom left of this picture. They had him squat down since he was 6'6". He was also in the debriefing photograph that you do not have on this site. Lawrence W. Murray retired from the Airforce at MacDill AFB in Tampa FL as an E-9. He also completed another 50 plus combat missions in Korea. The pilot on this B-17 was the former copilot of the Memphis Belle Capt. James A. Verinis. If one is to look closely at this picture you can see the Captain's dog being held. It was a black Scottie named 'Stuka'." - Jason Murray

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Unofficial emblem of the 91st Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-733593
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19122414
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-683178
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-732614
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
A bomber crew of the 91st Bomb Group at interrogation after a mission. Passed for publication 24 Mar 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Fortresses' Day Raid on Wilhelmshaven - The German Naval Base at Wilhelmshaven was successfully attacked in daylight March 22 by American Flying Fortresses and Liberators. This was the third heavy raid for U.S. bombers on Wilhelmshaven. Despite strong fighter opposition, the bombers battled their way to the target and dropped their loads of explosives. Three bombers were
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19047614 / O-729846
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Assigned

New Castle, DE 19720, USA 13 October 1942 Assigned to 324BS, 91BG 8AF USAAF.

Other

Completed 25 missions

Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK 17 May 1943 Completed 25th mission 17-May-43, a contender with Memphis Belle to return ZI for war bond tour. Completed 38 missions in total.

Crashed

Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK 1 August 1943 Landing accident, pilot Lt Dave Gladhart 1-Aug-43. Bassingbourn.

Crashed

Pett, Hastings TN35, UK 6 September 1943 Landing accident on return from Stuttgart on 38th mission, crash landed Pett Level, near Hastings, UK, out of gas 10 x RTD 6-Sep-43.

Other

Salvaged

Pett, Hastings TN35, UK 9 September 1943 Salvaged.

Manufactured

Long Beach, CA, USA Built at Douglas.

Delivered

California, USA Delivered to USAAF.

Other

Transited to ETO

Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK 23 November 1942 Transited to ETO, arrived Bassingbourn 23-Nov-42.

Revisions

Date
Contributoracbernstein1
Changes
Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Updated Production block number per info on the internet.
SOURCE: https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/production-block/b-17f-5-dl-42-2967-42-…

Date
Contributorphil marchese
Changes
Sources

Key image chanded to show more
details.
Added manufacturer as Douglas.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a space(s) to the "Summary biography" for readability and corrected a typo in the spelling of "MacDill AFB".

Date
ContributorJMurray
Changes
Sources

My grandfather Lawrence W. Murray completed all 25 missions on this bird and is in the bottom left of this picture. They had him squat down since he was 6'6". He was also in the debriefing photograph that you do not have on this site. Lawrence W. Murray retired from the Airforce at Macdil AFB in Tampa FL as an E-9. He also completed another 50 plus combat missions in Korea. The pilot on this B-17 was the former copilot of the Memphis Belle Capt. James A. Verinis. If one is to look closely at this picture you can see the Captain's dog being held. It was a black Scottie named "Stuka".

Date
ContributorJasonR
Changes
Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

42-2970: Gallery (5 items)