42-31471 Doolittle's Destroyers

B-17G 42-31471 was delivered at Cheyenne 5-Nov-43; Kearney 20-Nov-43; Prestwick 7-Dec-43; Assigned 360BS/306BG [PU-E] Thurleigh 1-Jan-44; On 8-Mar-44 the aircraft was despatched to bomb the VKF Ball Bearing Works at Erkner, Germany outside Berlin. The aircraft sustained damage from flak prior to reaching the Initial Point and abandoned the bombing attempt. As the aircraft passed near Magdeburg on the return it was attacked by three ME-109s. All of the crew managed to bale out and were captured as Prisoners of War (POW) 10 POW MACR 2908



P 1Lt Leo B. McGrath (POW); CP 2Lt John M. Chapman, Jr (POW)

N 2Lt Anthony D. Volk (POW); B/TOGG SSgt Joseph S. Klasnick (POW)

E/TTG SSgt Jack E. Green (POW); RO SSgt Charles J. Bonn (POW)

BTG SSgt James E. Mayfield (POW); LWG SSgt Wallace L. Tharp (POW)

RWG SSgt Harry V Hosso (POW); TG SSgt Gilbert N Laible (POW)

Connections

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

Units served with

Official emblem of the 303rd Bomb Group approved 7 November 1942.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 351st Bomb Group
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-678165
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18129763
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15323137
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13040917
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner, Togglier

Places

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Failed to Return (FTR)

Haldensleben, Germany 8 March 1944 Damaged by flak near Berlin and aborted bomb run. Shot down by three ME-109s and crashed at Alten-Haldensleben, Germany

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Corrected a typo in the nickname.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 14-Feb-2015. Added Nickname, Markings , FTR description, added target and loss details to Description per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; made connections to Unit, Place, Mission within existing website data; converted dates in Description to military style signification; Added Crew Position, Rank, full proper name and disposition per MACR 2908; formatted crew display.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 2908 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database