27 missions.



On 1 Jan 45 ditched in channel in B-17 43-38895 - Returned.

New Year's Day 1945 was one Howard Pinner would never forget. Flying over the North Sea heading for the German city of Kassel and some 150 miles from land fire broke out in No 2 engine. Pilot Pinner tried all the usual tricks i.e feathering the engine, diving at speed etc. with no luck so they prepared to ditch. Unfortunately as the B-17 settled on the water the bomb bay doors broke open and the sea rushed in. The navigator, waist and tail gunners did not survive the crash being engulfed by waves. The co-pilot Leonard Tebbs managed to free one of the life rafts and the six remaining crew members climbed aboard. They floated for several hours while the radio operator sent out SOS calls on his Gibson Girl transmitter and were eventually spotted by three P-47's who dropped smoke flares to mark their position. Another P-47 set down a rescue dinghy and just before dark and RAF Lancaster parachuted down a lifeboat. All six men managed to transfer into the lifeboat and were later picked up by an RAF Air Sea Rescue launch. Indeed a fortunate escape for the six survivors.



15 March 1945 crash-landed B-17 43-38706 behind Soviet lines near Kutno, Poland, north of Lodz.



DFC