42-29649

B-17F 42-29649 was delivered at Denver 29-Jan-43; Great Falls 31-Jan-43; Salina 13-Feb-43; Assigned to 423BS/306BG [RD- ] at Thurleigh 24-Mar-43; On 1-May-43 the aircraft was despatched on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. On the return a navigational error caused the aircraft to pass over Brest, France where it was damaged by flak. Then the aircraft was attacked by fighters which caused a fire aboard. Because of the fire, three of the crew baled out over the sea and were lost. However the Pilot 1Lt Lewis P. Johnson, managed to fly the aircraft back to England at Predennack, Cornwall. The Ball Turret Gunner Sgt Maynard H. 'Snuffy' Smith was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions aboard the burning aircraft. Sgt Smith was the first 8th AF enlisted man to receive this award. The citation for Sgt Smith may be viewed at: http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3004/smith-maynard-h.php

3 KIA, 7 RTD - No MACR issued.



P 1Lt Lewis P. Johnson (RTD); CP 2Lt Robert McCallum (RTD)

N 1Lt Stanley K Kissenberth (RTD); NG/B/TOG SSgt J.C. Melaun (RTD)

E/TTG TSgt William W. Fahrenhold (RTD); RO TSgt Henry R. Bean (KIA)

BTG Sgt Maynard H. "Snuffy" Smith (RTD); WG SSgt Robert V. Folliard (KIA)

WG SSgt Joseph S. Bukacek (KIA);TG Sgt Roy H. Gibson (RTD)

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19061810
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 34198412
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Gunners of the 306th Bomb Group sit atop ammunition for a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image stamped on reverse: 'Sport and General.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 9 Jul 1943.' [stamp] and '273718.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ''THE DEFENSIVE POWER OF FLYING FORTRESSES. The extremely heavy defense of the Flying Fortresses has enabled them to fight their way through to targets like Huls and Kiel in the face of the most intensive fighter opposition aerial warfare has ever seen. The result of these
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 381st Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron 533rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13087745
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 12042154
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19068071
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Places

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Damaged Beyond Repair

Predannack Airfield, Helston, Cornwall TR12, UK 1 May 1943 Damaged by flak, enemy aircraft, and fire on mission to St. Nazaire. Salvaged

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added punctuation to the A/C “Description” to aid clarity.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added spaces & commas to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a connection to Pilot Lewis P. Johnson,

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Feb-2015. Added Block Number, Markings, Description details on target and damage, crew position, rank, full proper name and dispositions, added DBT event based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; made connections to Unit, Place and Mission within existing website data; formatted crew display.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log