John E Wenzel | American Air Museum

John E Wenzel Jr

Military

Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-3310 'Blood, Guts and Rust'. Plane ditched into Mediterranean Sea. Returned to base.

18 October 1943 on a recalled mission, the engine of B-17 #42-3526 caught on fire, forcing the crew to bail out over the south coast of England. Pilots Sabel and Wenzel were two of 4 crewmen who were hospitalized. All crew returned to duty.

Connections

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Units served with

390th Bomb Group

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

568th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Robert W Sabel

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Wade Hampton Sneed

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-794590
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

Lieutenant John G Winiant Jr of the 390th Bomb Group taxies a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Wittan's Wallopers" at Framlingham. Passed as censored 15 Aug 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'Photo Shows: The Fortress piloted by Lieut. John G. Winant Jnr. arriving back at the dispersal, at his station somewhere in England. G. Aug 1943. PN.' Censor no: 278785 . On reverse: Planet News Ltd., US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps].

42-30262

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Tech Supply
Unit: 388th Bomb Group 390th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron 568th Bomb Squadron

42-30330

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Blood, Guts & Rust II
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron

A bomber crew of the 390th Bomb Group return to base after a mission in their B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Flak Hack 8". Image stamped on reverse: ‘Fox.’ [stamp], ‘passed for publication 21 Oct 1943.’ [stamp] and ‘289357.’ [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ‘THE FORTRESSES GO OUT AGAIN. US bombers day raid on German works. A Brilliant series of pictures secured by our cameraman when the USAAF kept up the offensive from an English base against a factory in western Germany, they had a

42-30337

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Eight Ball : 8 Ball : Flak Hack
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 570th Bomb Squadron 571st Bomb Squadron

42-30434

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Betty Boop - The Pistol Packin Mama
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 570th Bomb Squadron

42-3310

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Blood, Guts and Rust
Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron

Missions

VIII Bomber Command 164

Date: 24 December 1943

Technical Sergeant Edward Fee of the 91st Bomb Group enjoys a cup of coffee surrounded by his comrades at Bassingbourn after his final mission. Printed caption on reverse of print: 'A-27150 AC - HQ 8th AAF Photo Section, 20 Dec 1943. Ovation on Return. Congratulated on the completion of his tour of "Ops", T/Sgt. Edward Fee (holding cup), 30, of Charlestown, Mass., is surrounded by flying mates as he awaits interrogation. T/Sgt. Fee, holder of Air Medal and slated for the DFC, is aerial engineer of Fortres

VIII Bomber Command 161

Date: 22 December 1943

VIII Bomber Command 159

Date: 20 December 1943

A crashed B-17 Flying Fortress of the 384th Bomb Group , Cottishall, December 1943. Handwritten caption on reverse: '798, CH. Crash, Cottishall, 12/43.'

VIII Bomber Command 156

Date: 16 December 1943

VIII Bomber Command 154

Date: 13 December 1943

Places

A bomber crew of the 390th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress ( serial number 42-31027) nicknamed "Honey Chile" and their dog and monkey mascots "Scrappy" and "Joe". Image stamped on reverse: ‘Fox.’ [stamp], ‘passed for publication 25 Oct 1943.’ [stamp] and ‘289774.’ [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ‘AERIAL MASCOTS OF FORTRESS CREWS. PH/MoN. As frisky and friendly a pair of aerial mascots as you'll find in Britain are "Scrappy" and "Joe", pup and monkey team belonging to the

Framlingham

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Parham

Events

Event	Location	Date
Born	Brooklyn, NY	27 April 1920
Enlisted	New York, NY	6 April 1942
Other Shot Down/Ditched/Rescued	Med. Sea, 13 miles off the coast of Annaba (Bone), Algeria	17 August 1943
Other Abandoned Aircraft due to Engine Fire	near Icklesham, UK	18 October 1943

Revisions

Date30 Mar 2023 21:42:36

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

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

Date29 Nov 2020 01:05:21

Contributor466thHistorian

Changes

Sources

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=61457&h=156160…
http://5085.sydneyplus.com/final/portal.aspx?lang=en-US

Date10 Apr 2020 18:30:08

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography".

Date10 Apr 2020 18:06:32

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Added "Possible DUPLICATE" in the Nickname field so an Admin can check out this person.

Date10 Apr 2020 17:59:48

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Added a connection to A/C #42-3310 listed in the "Summary biography".

Date18 Jan 2020 20:43:37

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" for readability.

Date27 Sep 2014 18:15:58

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 396, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 247, 345