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B-17 Flying Fortress
Lt James A Verinis and crew of the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, in front of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Connecticut Yankee'. England, 27 May 1943. Verinis stands far left of shot, his dog and ships mascot 'Stuka' is is the front row, far left kneeling is T/Sgt Lawrence W Murray top turret and flight engineer. Flying her 38th mission on the 6-Sep-43 trip to Stuttgart, 'Connecticut Yankee' took substantial battle damage; 2nd Lt William Pegram was forced to make a "dead stick" crash landing at Winchelsea, his fuel exhausted. The whole crew suffered minor injuries, and the "Yankee" was subsequently salvaged. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A10618-62762AC.
42-2970 "Connecticut Yankee"
Major John J Mcnaboe, 91st BG intelligence officer, debriefs the crew of 1Lt James A Verinis, 324th Bomb Sq. Verinis & company had flown their assigned ship, B-17F 42-2970 "Connecticut Yankee" (coded DF-C) on the day's mission to Meaulte. NARA Ref 3A13413-3A14216.
B-17F 42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' 324BS, 91BG, 8AF.
Connecticut Yankee 42-2970 DF-C, fresh out of the factory. 324th BS, 91st BG Joe Harlick Photo
Assigned 324BS/91BG [DF-E/C] New Castle 13/10/42; Bassingbourn 23/11/42; involved in landing accident at base on 1/8/43 with Dave Gladhart; on return from Stuttgart 38m 6/9/43 with Bill Pegram, Co-pilot: Bill Martin, Navigator: Bob Cosgrove, Bombardier: Norman Eatinger, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Lawrence W. Murray Sr., Radio Operator: Hans Wobst, Ball turret gunner: ? , Waist gunner: Fred Hutchinson, Waist gunner: Belvin Peters, Tail gunner: Gordon Noel (10RTD?); crash landed Pett Level, near Hastings, SX, UK, out of gas, crew OK, aircraft Salvaged. Completed 25m 17/5/43 and contender with Memphis Belle, Jersey Bounce and Delta Rebel II, for US war bond tour. CONNECTICUT YANKEE.
"My grandfather Lawrence W. Murray completed all 25 missions on this bird and is in the bottom left of this picture. They had him squat down since he was 6'6". He was also in the debriefing photograph that you do not have on this site. Lawrence W. Murray retired from the Airforce at MacDill AFB in Tampa FL as an E-9. He also completed another 50 plus combat missions in Korea. The pilot on this B-17 was the former copilot of the Memphis Belle Capt. James A. Verinis. If one is to look closely at this picture you can see the Captain's dog being held. It was a black Scottie named 'Stuka'." - Jason Murray
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
Squadron
Home of the Memphis Belle
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 31-Dec-43 in B-17 42-29895 'Black Swan'. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1975
Awards: DFC, AM (OLC), PH, GC, POW, WWII Victory, EAME (1 x Battle Star).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl'. Prisoner of War (POW).
Earlier in B-17 #42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' crash landed in Sussex after crew bailout during 6 September 1943 Stuttgart mission. Returned to base.
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Lt Gladhart was severely wounded in the left upper forearm by 20 mm cannon fire on 21-May-43 but eventually recovered to resume flying on 16-Jul-43. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great...
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl'. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag XVII-B.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl', Killed in Action (KIA).
Earlier Larson was wounded in B-17 #42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' during bailout during 6 September 1943 Stuttgart mission.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl', Prisoner of War (POW).
Earlier in B-17 #42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' crash landed in Sussex after crew bailout during 6 September 1943 Stuttgart mission. Returned to base.
POW
Military | Chief Master Sergeant | Top turret / flight engineer | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Top Turret Gunner / Flight Engineer aboard the B-17 'Connectticut Yankee'. He was on this aircraft when it led the first raid on Germany on 27-Jan-43. All 25 Combat Missions were completed. Sergeant Murray destroyed...
Civilian | Left Waist Gunner, Tail Gunner; Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl', Prisoner of War (POW).
Earlier B-17 #42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' crash landed in Sussex after crew bailout during 6 September 1943 Stuttgart mission. Returned to base.
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 27 September 1943 in B-17 #42-3111 'Local Girl', Killed in Action (KIA).
Earlier in B-17 #42-2970 'Connecticut Yankee' crash landed in Sussex after crew bailed out during 6 September 1943 Stuttgart mission. Returned to base.
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured | Long Beach, CA, USA | 1942 |
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Built at Douglas. |
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| Delivered | California, USA | 1942 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | New Castle, DE 19720, USA | 13 October 1942 |
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Assigned to 324BS, 91BG 8AF USAAF. |
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| Transited to ETO | Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK | November 1942 – 23 November 1942 |
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Transited to ETO, arrived Bassingbourn 23-Nov-42. |
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| Completed 25 missions | Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK | 17 May 1943 |
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Completed 25th mission 17-May-43, a contender with Memphis Belle to return ZI for war bond tour. Completed 38 missions in total. |
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| Crashed | Bassingbourn, Royston SG8, UK | 1 August 1943 |
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Landing accident, pilot Lt Dave Gladhart 1-Aug-43. Bassingbourn. |
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| Crashed | Pett, Hastings TN35, UK | 6 September 1943 |
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Landing accident on return from Stuttgart on 38th mission, crash landed Pett Level, near Hastings, UK, out of gas 10 x RTD 6-Sep-43. |
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| Salvaged | Pett, Hastings TN35, UK | 9 September 1943 |
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Salvaged. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2022 18:41:50 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbasn.asp?SN=42-2970 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 July 2021 01:33:45 | acbernstein1 | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 February 2021 16:54:39 | jmoore43 | Changes to production block number |
| Sources | ||
Updated Production block number per info on the internet. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 February 2020 14:52:23 | phil marchese | Changes to production block number and manufacturer |
| Sources | ||
Key image chanded to show more |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 January 2020 19:34:01 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space(s) to the "Summary biography" for readability and corrected a typo in the spelling of "MacDill AFB". |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 December 2016 09:47:17 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations and person associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbasn.asp?SN=42-2970 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 October 2016 17:59:44 | JMurray | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
My grandfather Lawrence W. Murray completed all 25 missions on this bird and is in the bottom left of this picture. They had him squat down since he was 6'6". He was also in the debriefing photograph that you do not have on this site. Lawrence W. Murray retired from the Airforce at Macdil AFB in Tampa FL as an E-9. He also completed another 50 plus combat missions in Korea. The pilot on this B-17 was the former copilot of the Memphis Belle Capt. James A. Verinis. If one is to look closely at this picture you can see the Captain's dog being held. It was a black Scottie named "Stuka". |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 May 2015 16:13:00 | JasonR | Changes to nicknames, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Website of the 91st Bomb Group: http://www.91stbombgroup.com/crewphotos/connecticutyankee.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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