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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42-29891
B-17 Flying Fortress
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All of these ships were part of the "Original 41". They were the first aircraft assigned to the 379th BG and flown overseas by the Group. Closest is 42-3113 FR-F "No Nose Art"; Then 42-29891 WA-N is "Dangerous Dan" - Next is 42-29893 WA-Q "El Diablo" shot down over Nantes, France 9/16/43 - Furthest away is 42-5828 WA-O; later she would be re-designated WA-D and named "Sweater Girl". WA is code for the 524th BS and FR- is code for the 525th BS. Assigned Air Combat Crews: 42-3113 - Noel R. Britten Crew 42-29891- William Jones Crew 42-29893 – Lester Brumley Crew 42-5828 – William Brownlow III Crew
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Battle Damaged Flying Fortress 42-29891 'Dangerous Dan'. Crash landed Ubbeston, near Leiston, Suffolk. 524th Bomb Squadron, 379th Bomb Group, 8AF.
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Delivered Denver 4/3/43; Sioux City 20/3/43; Kearney 8/4/43; Dow Fd 15/4/43; Assigned 524BS/379BG [WA-N] Kimbolton 22/4/43; returned Osnabruck 22/12/43 with Ken Davis, Co-pilot: Chas Fowler, Navigator: Paul Clark, Bombardier: Stan Dolgin, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Alex Hanson, Radio Operator: Frank Miller, Ball turret gunner: Tom Stapleton, Waist gunner: George Wall, Waist gunner: McCauley Price,Tail gunner: Joe Supulski (10 Returned to Duty); engine trouble caused crash landed Ubbeston, near Leiston, Sfk., UK; Salvaged. DANGEROUS DAN.
Service
Units
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379th Bomb Group
Group
The 379th Bomb Group (H) (heavy), based at Kimbolton, flew more sorties than any other Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Group. The B-17 Flying Fortress Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit... -
524th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Eldred Andruss
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 10 x combat missions. Flew Kassel raid 28-July, lost control cables on B-17 42-29974 by flak damage. Crash landed in B-17 42-5822 at Norfolk RAF base returning crew with 4 crew members wounded. Failed to Return (FTR... -
Constant Anszperger
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524, 379BG, 8AF USAAF.28 x combat missions. ETD 12 August 1943 on mission to oil refinery in Germany, landed with severe bomb damage. in B17 42-29933. Awards: WWII Victory, EAME. -
William Barnard
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt raid 17-Aug-43. Shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Dorrebach, 6 miles W of Bingen, Germany Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 1350 Award: PH. -
Weldon Bledsoe
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME. -
William Bonin
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Wernigeerode in B-17F 42-31028; Hit by flak, exploded in mid-air and crashed near Munster, Germany on 22-Feb-44. Prisoner of War(POW). MACR 2872 ... -
Leo Borkowski
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 17 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Wernigeerode in B-17F 42-31028; Hit by flak, exploded in mid-air and crashed near Munster, Germany on 22-Feb-44. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2872 . ... -
Thomas Cahill
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 526BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 25 mission club. 26 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Marvin Charlson
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 16 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt raid 17-Aug-43. Shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Dorrebach, 6 miles W of Bingen, Germany Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 1350 Award: AM, PH. -
Paul Clark
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on mission to Brunswick on 30 Jan 1944 in B-17G #42-3325 'Paddy Gremlin'. Prisoner of War (POW). Earlier 22 December 1943 in B-17 #42-29891 ÒDangerous DanÓ crashed on return due to engine trouble. 10 RTD POW -
Henry Cushman
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 15 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt raid 17-Aug-43. Shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Dorrebach, 6 miles W of Bingen, Germany Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 1350 Award: AM, PH.
Places
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Kimbolton
Military site : airfield
Planned for RAF use, Kimbolton airfield was built by W and C French Ltd. in 1941. The airfield was increased in size to accommodate a full US heavy Bomb Group, and the first such unit to us it was the 91st Bomb Group, who arrived in September 1942.... -
Leiston
Military site : airfield
Leiston's location only three miles from the North Sea Coast made it ideal as a Fighter Group air base whose job would be to escort bombers across the sea and over occupied Europe. The air base also witnessed the arrival of many very damaged Allied...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | Dallas, TX, USA | 1943 |
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Built at Boeing. |
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| Delivered | Texas, USA | 1943 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Kimbolton, UK | 1943 |
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Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Ubbeston, UK | 22 December 1943 |
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Returned Osnabruck 22-Dec-43. Engine trouble crash landed Ubbeston, near Leiston, Suffolk. 10 x RTD. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 13 October 2016 17:25:29 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations and person associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM Bd entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:24 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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