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42-102598

B-17 Flying Fortress

Delivered Cheyenne 17/3/44; Hunter 10/4/44; Dow Fd 29/4/44; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-F] Thorpe Abbotts 30/4/44; on return from Merseburg 28/7/44 with Jim Ransom, Co-pilot: Keith Lamb, Navigator: Francis Waldman, Bombardier: Jim Wood, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Reg Felce, Radio Operator: E.P. Schmitt, Ball turret gunner: Leo Wargin, Waist gunner: Carl Alben, Tail gunner: Bill Bywaters. (9 Returned to Duty); cp turned off landing gear in error; Salvaged 30/7/44. SUPER RABBIT.

Service

Units

  • 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...

  • 351st Bomb Squadron

    351st Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

People

  • Carl Alben

    Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner

  • William Bywaters

    Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner
    19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK. CPT

  • Reginald Felce

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 100th Bomb Group
    19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK (HUNGARY). CPT

  • K Lamb

    Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
    25 SEP 44 LUDWIGSHAFEN, MY. CPT

  • James Ransom

    Military | Captain | Pilot
    19 SEP 44 SZNOLOK. CPT

  • Emmett Schmitt

    Military | Radio Operator Gunner

  • F Waldman

    Military | Lieutenant | Navigator
    19 SEP 44 SZOLNOK. CPT

  • Leo Wargin

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
    25 SEP 44 LUDWIGSHAVEN. CPT

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
Delivered Cheyenne, WY 17 March 1944
Assigned Thorpe Abbotts Airfield, UK 30 April 1944
Crashed Thorpe Abbotts Airfield, UK 28 July 1944

Wheels up landing with the Jim Ransom Crew. All crew safe. A/C salvaged
Nicknames
Super Rabbit
Production block number
B-17G-55-BO
Manufacturer
Boeing
Markings and paint scheme/livery

EP-F

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
10 November 2020 01:37:13 466thHistorian Changes to production block number, manufacturer, markings and events
Sources

B-17 Flying Fortress Story - Roger Freeman
Date Contributor Update
31 January 2020 16:12:37 jmoore43 Changes to unit associations
Sources

Added connections to the 8th AF and 351st BS and 100th BG.
Date Contributor Update
31 January 2020 16:08:03 jmoore43 Changes to description
Sources

Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” for clarity.
Date Contributor Update
31 January 2020 16:06:45 jmoore43 Changes to nicknames
Sources

Added the nickname mentioned in the A/C “Description”.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:10 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

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