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42-102416

B-17 Flying Fortress

  • John A Miller, a waist gunner of the 100th Bomb Group wears an A-2 Flying Jacket decorated with the nose art of the B-17 Flying Fortress he flew in, a B-17 (serial number 42-102416) nicknamed

    John A Miller, a waist gunner of the 100th Bomb Group wears an A-2 Flying Jacket decorated with the nose art of the B-17 Flying Fortress he flew in, a B-17 (serial number 42-102416) nicknamed "Lady Luck". John A Miller has handwritten on reverse: 'July 1944 349th BS- 100th BG. S/Sgt John A Miller & Jacket (A-2 Jacket). The artist was 5 bombs short, but I shipped out before he got the chance to paint on 5 more. I'm only foolin'! I'm not doing what it looks like I'm doing!'

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Cheyenne 1/3/44; Hunter 14/3/44; Grenier 11/4/44; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-H] Thorpe Abbotts 19/4/44; Missing in Action St Lo, 25/7/44 with Larry Townsend, Co-pilot: Andy Burkhart, Navigator: Arnold Holmes, Bombardier: George Gardner, Radio Operator: Lou Glasser, Ball turret gunner: Chalmers Anderson, Waist gunner: Gordon Lane, Tail gunner: Earl Milam (8 Prisoner of War); Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Walt Kolar (EVD, joined US tank crew); flak KO’d #2, crashed coastal area of France. Missing Air Crew Report 7837. LADY LUCK.

Service

Units

  • 8th Air Force

    8th Air Force


    Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. ...

  • 100th Bomb Group

    100th Bomb Group

    Group
    "The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...

  • 349th Bomb Squadron

    349th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

People

  • Chalmers Anderson

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
    Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416 B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW) POW

  • Andrew Burkhart

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
    Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416. B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • George Gardner

    Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier
    Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416. Prisoner of War (POW)

  • Louis Glasser

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
    Evaded (EVD) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416

  • Arnold Holmes

    Military | Lieutenant | Navigator
    EVD Shot down by flak and crashed in Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416 DFC; AM w/3OLC

  • Walter Kolar

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner
    Evaded (EVD) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416. He connected with an American Army Tank Crew and fought alongside them until he was wounded, he was taken to an Army Air Station, he was found to be AAF not...

  • Gordon Lane

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner
    Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416 B-17 Lady Luck. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Earl Milam

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
    Prisoner of War (POW) Shot down by flak and crashed at Paris on 7/25/44 in B-17 Lady Luck #42-102416

  • John Miller

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
    John Miller served as a waist gunner with the 349th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Thorpe Abbotts, England.

  • Lawrence Townsend

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot
    Shot down 25 July 1944 in AC #42-102416. B-17 Lady Luck Prisoner of War (POW). POW

Places

  • Thorpe Abbotts

    Military site : airfield
    Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...

Events

Event Location Date
Failed to Return (FTR) France 25 July 1944
Nicknames
Lady Luck
Production block number
B-17G-50-BO Fortress
Manufacturer
Boeing
Markings and paint scheme/livery
Not yet known

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
23 January 2020 04:23:02 jmoore43 Changes to description
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.
Date Contributor Update
23 January 2020 04:21:03 jmoore43 Changes to unit associations
Sources

Added a unit connection to the 8th AF.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:09 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 7837 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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