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42-107233

B-17 Flying Fortress

  • B-17G-35-DL 42-107233

    B-17G-35-DL 42-107233 "Humpty Dumpty" (coded EP-N, later EP-W) of the 351st BS/100th BG is seen here at Thorpe Abbotts prior to her loss over Misburg on 31 Dec 1944.

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Delivered Tulsa 24/3/44; Kearney 13/4/44; Grenier 29/4/44; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-N/W] Thorpe Abbotts 3/5/44; Missing in Action Misburg 31/12/44 with Wallace Wilson, Co-pilot: Clarry Van Cleave, Navigator: Ken Kane, Bombardier: Herman Eckmeyer, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Doug Nash, Radio Operator: Perry Gaye, Ball turret gunner: Austin Gibbon, Waist gunner: George Monte,Tail gunner: Gene Fellmeth (9 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Tauenbrueck, Ger?. Missing Air Crew Report 11356. HUMPTY DUMPTY.

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

  • Dewey Christopher

    Military | Master Sergeant (1st Grade) | Crew Chief | 100th Bomb Group
    Dewey R Christopher was original cadre 100th, arriving with the bulk of the group at Thorpe Abbotts in May 1943. He was Crew Chief on Skipper, Skipper II, Humpty Dumpty, a Pathfinder aircraft, and finally, Humpty Dumpty II. He flew the second Russian...

  • Herman Eckmeyer

    Military | Sergeant | Bombardier
    Crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42-107233, Prisoner of War (POW).

  • Eugene Fellmeth

    Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner
    Shot down 31 December 1944 in AC #42107233. Prisoner of War (POW).

  • Perry Gaye

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator
    Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42107233

  • Austin Gibbon

    Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
    Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42107233

  • Kenneth Kane

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
    13 missions. Shot down 31 December 1944 in A/C #42-107233 over Hamburg. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft I. AM/ POW

  • George Monte

    Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner
    Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42107233

  • Douglas Nash

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner
    Crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42-107233, Prisoner of War (POW).

  • Clarence Van Cleave

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot

  • Wallace Wilson

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot
    Prisoner of War (POW) crashed at Tauenbrueck on 31 Dec 44 in B-17 #42107233

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) Germany 31 December 1944
Nicknames
Not yet known
Production block number
B-17G-35-DL Fortress
Manufacturer
Douglas
Markings and paint scheme/livery
Not yet known

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
26 June 2018 23:57:28 RayWells Changes to person associations
Sources

His son Gary
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:16 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 11356 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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