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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 11/3/44; Hunter 7/4/44; Dow Fd 29/4/44; Assigned 92BG Podington 30/4/44; transferred 349BS/100BG [XR-O] Thorpe Abbotts 1/5/44; Missing in Action Berlin 24/5/44 with Henry Jespersen, Co-pilot: Bob Atkins, Bombardier: Joe Savino, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: George Kostoulakos, Waist gunner: John Legg (5 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Burton Seeley, Radio Operator: Frank Gronkowski, Ball turret gunner: Frank Fischer, Waist gunner: Tom Kiriako, Tail gunner: John Durrenberger (5 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft, crashed Berkenthin, eight miles W of Ratzeburg, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 5169. TIMES A-WASTIN'.
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...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Captain | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Prisoner of War (POW). Mission was over Berlin, the ship was badly shot up. When I tried to bail out I couldn't find my chest pack parachute. I panicked! Then I remembered that I had placed an...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft IV. He was shot down on his 19th mission.
POW, PH, AM Oak Leaf Cluster, Presidential Unit Citation, EAME, GC
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102528 'Times A-Wastin'. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military site : airfield
Built originally to accommodate two RAF bomber squadrons, the first USAAF unit to occupy the base was the 15th Bomb Squadron in September 1942. Podington was then used as a satellite for nearby Chelveston. Work to lengthen the runways, although this...
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 24 May 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 February 2020 00:24:22 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Added the A/C nickname mentioned in the A/C “Description”. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2020 00:23:02 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” for clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 5169 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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