![B-17G-55-BO Flying Fortress 42-102560 'The Thomper' 334th BS, 95th BG, 8th AF Lost on the November 30,1944 mission to Merseburg, Germany. 5 KIA, 4 POW MACR 10840.
In the photo above from the 7th October 1944 the plane is under attack by German fighters and the tail gunner [William Ling] is returning fire. Note the damage in the right wing and wisps of fire starting to show.
The crew on that day were.
- Pilot: Lt. Nelson E. Day
- Co-Pilot: Lt. John J. Ferreter
- Navigator: Lt. George C. Hood
- Bombardier: Lt. Everett D. Andrews
- Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Bernard Cooper
- Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt. David C. McQueen
- Ball Turret Gunner: S/Sgt. James E. Minaghan
- Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. Esker S. Downing
- Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. William Ling
Research done by Jing Zhou from https://b17flyingfortress.de/en](http://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/media/media-19332.jpeg?itok=VLx3RPlg)
Harold Adams
Military | Technical Sergeant | MOS 757 - Radio Operator / Mechanic / Gunner, AAF | 384th Bomb Group
The American Air Museum is Closed
Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
731
30 November 1944
-
STANDING: LEFT TO RIGHT John M. Flynn – Engineer Anthony R. Demarco – Radio Operator Charles R. Agnatovich – Ball Turret Gunner Douglas Aldrich - Waist Gunner John W. Lafferty Jr. – Waist Gunner Ralph B. Corning - Tail Gunner KNEELING Charles O. Norris – Co-Pilot Raymond H. Buthe – Pilot Marvin L. Brawer – Navigator Curtis G. Chapman – Bombardier
-
Crew #551 Seward M. Meinstma Crew Standing Left to Right: Jack Veach (R/O), George Wood (BTG), William Osborne (NG), John O'Donnell (FE), Howard Wade (TG), Sherell Campbell (G) Kneeling Left to Right: Seward Meinstma (P), Donald Vanderwall (CP), Eugene Gjertsen (N), Harvey Levine (B) This crew completed a 35 mission tour. Gjertsen transferred to the Welsh Crew of the 784th BS at some point during the tour. Also Daniel Chadbourne replaced O'Donnell as Flight Engineer during the tour.
-
44-6115 30 November 1944 accident left side
-
44-6115 30 November 1944 accident report
-
44-6115 30 November 1944 accident pilots statement
-
44-6115 30 November 1944 accident overview
-
Overall Missions Map for the 493rd BG - USAAF Station 152 -Debach, UK noting missions flown by the Lt Bernard E Vaughan Crew
-
The Military Service Record for Philip G. Rodgers Showing His Completion Of 30 Missions As Well As The Awards He Received
-
B - 17 (43-38725) John M. Flynn – Engineer Anthony R. Demarco – Radio Operator Charles R. Agnatovich – Ball Turret Gunner Douglas Aldrich - Waist Gunner John W. Lafferty Jr. – Waist Gunner Ralph B. Corning - Tail Gunner Charles O. Norris – Co-Pilot Raymond H. Buthe – Pilot Marvin L. Brawer – Navigator Curtis G. Chapman – Bombardier
-
![B-17G-55-BO Flying Fortress 42-102560 'The Thomper' 334th BS, 95th BG, 8th AF Lost on the November 30,1944 mission to Merseburg, Germany. 5 KIA, 4 POW MACR 10840.
In the photo above from the 7th October 1944 the plane is under attack by German fighters and the tail gunner [William Ling] is returning fire. Note the damage in the right wing and wisps of fire starting to show.
The crew on that day were.
- Pilot: Lt. Nelson E. Day
- Co-Pilot: Lt. John J. Ferreter
- Navigator: Lt. George C. Hood
- Bombardier: Lt. Everett D. Andrews
- Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Bernard Cooper
- Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt. David C. McQueen
- Ball Turret Gunner: S/Sgt. James E. Minaghan
- Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. Esker S. Downing
- Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. William Ling
Research done by Jing Zhou from https://b17flyingfortress.de/en](http://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/media/media-19332.jpeg?itok=X2NnjyIT)
B-17G-55-BO Flying Fortress 42-102560 'The Thomper' 334th BS, 95th BG, 8th AF Lost on the November 30,1944 mission to Merseburg, Germany. 5 KIA, 4 POW MACR 10840. In the photo above from the 7th October 1944 the plane is under attack by German fighters and the tail gunner [William Ling] is returning fire. Note the damage in the right wing and wisps of fire starting to show. The crew on that day were. - Pilot: Lt. Nelson E. Day - Co-Pilot: Lt. John J. Ferreter - Navigator: Lt. George C. Hood - Bombardier: Lt. Everett D. Andrews - Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Bernard Cooper - Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt. David C. McQueen - Ball Turret Gunner: S/Sgt. James E. Minaghan - Waist Gunner: S/Sgt. Esker S. Downing - Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. William Ling Research done by Jing Zhou from https://b17flyingfortress.de/en
Official description
Not yet known
Description
Not yet known
Mission details
1.
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
2. BOHLEN
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
3. FULDA
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
4. GERA
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
5. GOTHA
Description
AIRCRAFT FACTORY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
6. HOMBURG
Description
MARSHALLING YARDS
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
7. LUTZKEDORF
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
8. MEERANE
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
9. MERSEBURG/LEUNA
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
10. MERSEBURG/LEUNA
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
A mix of 452 P-47s and P-51s provide escort. Mix not given in available data.
Mission Statistics
11. NEUNKIRCHEN
Description
MARSHALLING YARDS
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
12. OHRDRUF
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
13. RUDOLSTADT
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
14. SAAFELD
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
15. WEIISSENFELS
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
16. ZEITZ/TROGLITZ
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
Service
People
-
-
Curtis Adamy
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 466th Bomb Group
-
Harold Anderson
Military | Captain | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
-
Vermont Anderson
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Assigned 349BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. 4 x missions (Aachen, Hamm, Hamm, Merseburg). Failed to Return (FTR) Merseburg; hit by flak after bombs away, crashed Flur Oberkotzau, Germany. 30-Nov-44 Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 10831 Awards: AM, PH. -
Robert Applin
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
Our pilot, Bob Applin, was a natural leader and an excellent pilot. - Barky Hovsepian, R/O Complete a 35 mission tour -
Clarence Bitner
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 336BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. 24 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Holzwickede 23-Mar-45. Mid air collision with B-17 44-8754, crashed Campsea Ash, Suffolk. Killed in Action (KIA). Awards: AM (3OLC), GC, PH. -
Gustave Bjorkstrom
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 x combat missions*. Failed to Return (FTR) Merseburg in B-17 42-97407 'Asterisk' 30-Nov-44; Hit by flak and knocked unconscious just prior to mid air collision with B-17 44-8080. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR... -
Wesley Borgeson
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Wesley C. Borgeson (Wes) B-17 Tail Gunner, USAAF 8th AF, 384th BG, 545th BS, Grafton-Underwood, England. On 30 November 1944, his B-17 was blown apart and he rode the tail section from 27,500 feet to the ground and survived. He was one of three on a... -
Robert Boyd
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
-
Paul Boyle
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
Aircraft
-
42-102560 'The Thomper'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 14/3/44; Gr Island 1/4/44; Dow Fd 8/4/44; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-X] Horham 11/4/44; 62m, Missing in Action Merseburg 30/11/44 with Chas Wicker, Co-pilot: Alf Rivas, Navigator: Fred Johnson, Bombardier: Warren Briggs, Radio Operator:... -
42-107014 'Lucy'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/1/44; Kearney 15/2/44; Assigned 527BS/379BG [FO-K] Kimbolton 30/3/44; Missing in Action Zeitz 30/11/44 with Bob Puckett, Don Childes, Chas Ingraham, George Reedy, Bob Salley, Roman Yriarte, Alvin Hirschi, Jarvis Williams, Attilio... -
42-107047 The Doodle Bug
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 6/2/44; Grenier 3/3/44; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-M] Horham 17/3/44; with R.V. Mercer force landed Framlingham AFB 25/12/44 with engine failure; battle damaged Berlin 3/2/45 with H. Palmer; force landed Charleroi, Bel; 97m, repaired & ret... -
42-107062 Worry Bird/Miss Bea Haven
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 9/2/44; Rapid City 2/3/44; Dow Fd 3/4/44; Assigned 398BG Nuthampstead 25/4/44; no ops, transferred 562BS/388BG Knettishall 29/4/44 WORRY BIRD; Returned to the USA Bradley 8/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 29/11/45;... -
42-110160 Chris' Crate
B-24 Liberator
-
42-37788 HELL'S MESSENGER
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 28/8/43; Scott 16/9/43; Assigned 544BS/384BG Grafton Underwood 7/11/43; transferred 547BS [SO-N]; transferred to 364FG Leiston, Sfk, UK. 11/43; Returned to the USA Bradley 14/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 17/7/45; Reconstruction Finance... -
42-39993 'Hells Angels Out Of Chute 13', 'Grossly Inadequate'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 26/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-C] Deenethorpe 1/1/44; 118m landing accident at base with Jim Nolan 7/5/45; sal 2 SAD Watton, Nfk 8/5/45. HELL’S ANGELS OUT OF CHUTE 13 aka GROSSLY INADEQUATE. ... -
42-51531
B-24 Liberator
For reasons unknown, the Liberator left formation over The Netherlands and was lsot, with all 10 men on board Missing In Action (MIA). They are all memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge. -
42-95592 Black Cat
B-24 Liberator
On 21 April 1945 B-24 Liberator "Black Cat" became the last heavy bomber to be shot down in the European Theatre of Operations. ... -
42-97093 I'll Get By
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/1/44; Kearney 14/2/44; Presque Is 20/2/44; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-S] Framlingham 3/3/44 DOC'S FLYING CIRCUS, then GIRL OF MY DREAMS; on mission 21/7/44 with ? , Lt Sam Dubin (Killed in Action); severe icing during assembly for...
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 April 2020 23:06:05 | 466thHistorian | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
"Attlebridge Diaries" - John Woolnough |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2020 19:55:56 | 466thHistorian | Changes to person associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No. 146, Neunkirchen, Germany - 30 November 1944 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 April 2020 21:28:42 | 466thHistorian | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No. 146, Neunkirchen, Germany - 30 Nov 1944 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 April 2020 21:27:02 | 466thHistorian | Changes to person associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
466th BG Archives - Report on Mission No. 146, Neunkirchen, Germany - 30 Nov 1944 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 19 June 2018 14:05:43 | Richard412 | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
Denise "Flynn" Frohm - John's daughter |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:08 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
||
