William J Meng Jr

Military

25 missions. Only survivor of explosion of B-17 #44-8152 'Miss Ida' on 5 April 1945.



PH

Connections

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

Units served with

Unofficial emblem of the 457th Bomb Group.

457th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

A 457th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress ('A', serial number 44-8152) just after dropping its load of bombs. Another B-17 Flying Fortress is on the other side of the bomb stream, trailing smoke. Handwritten caption on reverse: '457. 93.'

44-8152

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Miss Ida
  • Unit: 457th Bomb Group 748th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Chicago, Illinois 25 July 1921

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Corrected the name by removing "p" from the middle name field.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self, Flak Dodger by Roland Byers