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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42-30080
B-17 Flying Fortress
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Nose art of B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30080) nicknamed "High Life" of the 100th Bomb Group
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A B-17 Flying Fortress of the 100th Bomb Group " HIGH LIFE" piloted by Lt Oakes that has crash-landed in Switzerland 17 August 1943. Handwritten caption on reverse: '17/8/43. 100BG. Switzerland.'
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A2 flying jacket of Lt. Joseph C. Harper, at the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum.
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B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30080) nicknamed "High Life" after belly landing in Switzerland.
Delivered Cheyenne 7/4/43; Kearney 16/4/43; Westover 3/5/43; Wendover 16/5/43; Kearney 23/5/43; Dow Fd 22/5/43; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-F] Thorpe Abbotts 9/6/43; Missing in Action Regensburg 17/8/43 with Don Oakes, Co-pilot: Joe Harper, Navigator: Hiram Harris, Bombardier: Lloyd Hammarlund, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: George Elder, Radio Operator: Jim Scott, Ball turret gunner: Les Nadeau, Waist gunner: Vince McGrath, Waist gunner: Nolan Stevens,Tail gunner: Leon Goyer (10INT); enemy aircraft KO’d #3, then #2 lost oil pressure and crash landed Dubendorf, near Zurich, Switz, where it was dismantled and taken to Kloten for storage, was eventually scrapped (1st US aircraft interned); Missing Air Crew Report 683. HIGH LIFE.
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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George Elder
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned. -
Leonard Goyer
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned. -
Vincent Grath
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
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Joseph Harper
Military | Flight Officer | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned. -
Hiram Jr
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
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James Jr
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 100th Bomb Group
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Lloyd Jr
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
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Vincent McGrath
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned. -
Leslie Nadeau
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned. -
Donald Oakes
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30080 'High Life'. Crashed in Switzerland. Interned.
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 84
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ...
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 |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 17 August 1943 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 January 2020 19:08:22 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added a connection to 8th AF. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 October 2018 09:19:53 | apollo11 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Information gathered after visiting the 100th Bomb Group Memorial Museum. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:26 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 683 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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