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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17G 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 544BS, 384BG, 8AF.
1Lt David F Albrecht, he was the Co-Pilot on B17G 43-37822 "Lead Banana" 384th Bomb Group who crashed on September 28th 1944 2km North of Ingersleben Germany... Photo source: Mrs Nancy Clemens-Albrecht
1Lt John Oliver Buslee crew 384th Bomb Group, Back row, left to right: • 2Lt. John Oliver Buslee, Pilot, from Park Ridge, Illinois • 2Lt. David Franklin Albrecht, Co-Pilot, from Chico, California • 2Lt. Chester A. Rybarczyk, Navigator, from Toledo, Ohio • 2Lt. James B. Davis, Bombardier, from New Castle, Indiana Front row, left to right: • Sgt. Erwin V. Foster, Ball Turret Gunner, from Elmira, New York • Sgt. Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, Radio Operator/Gunner, from Brooklyn, New York • Cpl. Lenard Leroy Bryant, Waist Gunner, from Lubbock, Texas • Sgt. Clarence B. Seeley, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner, from Halsey, Nebraska • S/Sgt. Eugene D. Lucynski, Tail Gunner, from Detroit, Michigan • Sgt. George Edwin Farrar, Waist Gunner, from Atlanta, Georgia,
Delivered Cheyenne 25/5/44; Kearney 8/6/44; Grenier 28/6/44; Assigned 544BS/384BG [SU-N] Grafton Underwood 29/6/44; Missing in Action Magdeburg 28/9/44 with John Buslee, Co-pilot: Dave Albrecht, Navigator: Bill Henson, Bombardier: Bob Stearns, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Len Bryant, Radio Operator: Seb Peluso, Ball turret gunner: George McMann,Tail gunner: Gerald Anderson (8 Killed in Action); Waist gunner: George Farrar (Prisoner of War); flak, crashed Ostingersleben, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 9753. LEAD BANANA.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 4/10/43; Gr Island 17/10/43; Memphis 24/10/43; Assigned 545BS/384BG [JD-D] Grafton Underwood 546 [BK-D] 23/11/43; Missing in Action Magdeburg (Berlin) 28/9/44 with Jim Brodie, Co-pilot: Lloyd Vevle, ng-Byron Atkins, Flight engineer/top...
Group
The 384th Bomb Group flew B-17s from Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, between May 1943 and June 1945. They were engaged in daylight bombing missions over Germany as part of the Allies' efforts to destroy the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe by...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 18 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 5793
...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 34 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM, PH, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 5793
Awards: AM(OLC), PH.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 16 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 5793
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 18 combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 5793
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 16 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Thrown form A/C unconscious, came...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Started out as Bombardier for Lt Gerald Sammons crew. Re-trained as Navigator. 28 combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. 12 combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 5793
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF on 22 July 1944. 15 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Madgburg in B-17 43-37822 'Lead Banana' 28-Sep-44; Collided with 42-31222 'Lazy Daisy' coming off target, crashed near Ost Ingersleben. Killed in Action ...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Togglier/Nose gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 527BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 35 x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
28 September 1944
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured | Long Beach, CA | 1944 |
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Built at Boeing. |
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| Delivered | Cheyenne AAF, WY | 25 May 1944 |
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Delivered Cheyenne AAF 25-May-44. |
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| Assigned | Grafton Underwood, UK | 29 June 1944 |
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Assigned 544BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Ostingersleben, Germany | 28 September 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) Magdeburg 28-Sep-44; flak, crashed Ostingersleben, Ger; 1 x POW, 8 x KIA MACR 9753 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 19 May 2022 18:41:03 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 December 2019 22:14:57 | phil marchese | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
Image |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 December 2019 22:10:57 | phil marchese | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
Freeman, ...Story |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 December 2019 22:10:57 | phil marchese | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
Freeman, ...Story |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 October 2019 21:22:49 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, events, unit associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 February 2015 22:55:38 | zacharyalanstewart | Changes to nicknames and markings |
| Sources | ||
http://www.384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/SortieReport.php?SortieKey... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:41:24 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 9753 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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