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42-29693

B-17 Flying Fortress

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Delivered Cheyenne 4/2/43; Rapid City 20/2/43; Kearney 12/3/43; Assigned 412BS/95BG [QW-O] Alconbury 29/3/43; t/o Framlingham (6m), Missing in Action Cuxhaven 11/6/43 with Malcolm MacKinnon, Co-pilot: Gene Wood, Navigator: Dick Miller, Bombardier: Windell Neeley, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: George Babich, Radio Operator: John Vail, Ball turret gunner: Dick Cavanaugh, Waist gunner: John Davoren, Waist gunner: Alex Marek, Tail gunner: Stan Bennett (10 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft attacked, ship exploded, crashed North Sea, 70 miles N of Texel Is, Hol. Missing Air Crew Report 2807. LONESOME POLECAT.

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. ...

  • 95th Bomb Group

    95th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August...

  • 412th Bomb Squadron

    412th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

People

  • George Babich

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner ; Flight Engineer | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down in B-24 42-29693 'Lonesome Polecat' North Sea 70 miles north of Texel Island, 11-Jun-43 Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 2807 Awards: AM (OLC), PH.

  • Stanley Bennett

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Flensburg raid 19-May-43 in B-17 42-29737 'Louise', fought off enemy fighters despite having been wounded in the face. Wounded in Action (WIA). RTD ...

  • Richard Cavanaugh

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 11 June 1943 in B-17 #4229693. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • John Davoren

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group

  • Malcolm MacKinnon

    Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Bremen, Germany. Shot down 11-Jun-43 in B-17 42-29693. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2807. Awards: AM, PH.

  • Alexander Mareck

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group

  • Richard Miller

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 11-Jun-43 in B-17 42-29693 'Lonesome Polecat'. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2807 Awards: AM, PH.

  • Windell Neeley

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 11 June 1943 in B-17 #42-29693. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).

  • John Vail

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 11-Jun-43 in B-17 42-29693. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2807 Awards: AM, PH.

  • Eugene Wood

    Military | Flight Officer | Co-Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 11 June 1943 in B-17 #4229693. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).

Missions

  • VIII Bomber Command 62

    11 June 1943
    The harbour facilities, port areas and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven and Cuxhaven, Germany are the primary targets for this mission. This is the largest number of heavy bombers yet despatched on a single mission - 252. This is the first mission flown...

Places

  • Alconbury

    Military site : airfield
    Alconbury had been constructed as a satellite airfield for RAF Upwood and Wyton and was used by RAF Squadrons: Nos. 15, 40 and 156. In preparation for the arrival of American heavy bombers, the base was developed in 1942 with the runways extended. When...

  • Framlingham

    Military site : airfield
    Built for the Eighth Air Force from 1942 to 43, Framlingham was home first to the 95th Bomb Group, before that unit moved to RAF Alconbury. From 1943 to 1945, it was operated by the 390th Bomb Group. The airfield was handed back to the RAF in 1945, and...

Events

Event Location Date
Crashed North Sea 11 June 1943 – 11 June 1943

Missing in Action Cuxhaven 11/6/43. Bf109 piloted by Lt Heinz Knoke, attacked with four passes, ship exploded, crashed North Sea, 70 miles N of Texel Island, Holland. (10 x KIA) Missing Air Crew Report MACR2807.
Nicknames
'Lonesone Polecat'
Production block number
B-17F-65-BO
Manufacturer
Boeing
Markings and paint scheme/livery

Coded QW-O.

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
08 July 2020 21:11:58 jmoore43 Changes to description
Sources

Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity.
Date Contributor Update
14 December 2015 20:57:09 Al_Skiff Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations, place associations, mission associations and media associations
Sources

AAM DB Entry.
http://95thbg.org/j3migr/95thbg-aircraft/95th-b-17-s-1942
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:23 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 2807 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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