B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 9/2/43; Walker 23/2/43; Smoky Hill 25/3/43; Presque Is 8/4/43; Assigned 337BS/96BG Grafton Underwood 20/4/43 THE DALLAS REBEL; Andrews Fd 13/5/43; Snetterton 12/6/43; transferred 509BS/351BG [RQ-Q] Polebrook 11/7/43; battle damaged Kassel 12m 30/7/43 with Jim Maginis, Co-pilot: Roy Peterson, Navigator: Bill Holloway, Bombardier: Ed Piech, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bill Glenn, Radio Operator: Harvey, Ball turret gunner: Verl Long, Waist gunner: Angelo Riccardi, Waist gunner: Jim McCurdy (wia, died next day), Tail gunner: Dan Reeder. (9 Returned to Duty); crash landed Leiston, Sfk.; severely damaged so it was Salvaged 2/8/43. POISONALITY.
Group
The 351st Bomb Group flew strategic bombing missions from their base at Polebrook, Northamptonshire from April 1943 to June 1945. The Group's most famous member was Hollywood actor Clark Gable, who flew four/ five missions with them as an observer...
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945.
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Squadron
Squadron
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 'Poisonality. '
Shot down by fighters on mission to Halberstadt on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-3486. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Technical Sergeant | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 'Poisonality'.
Military | Second Lieutenant | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 Poisonality.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 Poisonality.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in B-17 #42-29726 'Poisonality'.
Shot down by fighters on mission to Halberstadt on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-3486. Killed in Action (KIA). This was his 25th mission.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator Gunner | 351st Bomb Group
Died of wounds. July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 Poisonality. 20 mm shells sent armoured plating through McCurdy. Upon landing, he was hospitalized where he died the next day.
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 Poisonality.
Shot down by fighters on mission to Halberstadt on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-3486. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 351st Bomb Group
As a B-17 bombardier, Edward C. Piech completed twenty-five missions during the darkest days of the Eighth Air Force’s campaign against Nazi Germany.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball turret gunner | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 'Poisonality. '
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 351st Bomb Group
July 30, 1943, on return from Kassel raid crash landed in ac B17 42-29726 'Poisonality'.
Shot down by fighters on mission to Halberstadt on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-3486. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military site : airfield
The base was known as Great Saling when construction – by US Army engineers – began in 1942 but was renamed Andrews Field in honour of the memory of Gen. Frank M. Andrews, who was killed when the B-24 he was travelling in crash-landed in Iceland on 3...
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for...
Military site : airfield
Leiston's location only three miles from the North Sea Coast made it ideal as a Fighter Group air base whose job would be to escort bombers across the sea and over occupied Europe. The air base also witnessed the arrival of many very damaged Allied...
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Military site : airfield
Intended to be an RAF bomber base, construction of Snetterton Heath started in Autumn 1942 but continued until mid-1943, because it was extended after allocation as an Eighth Air Force bomber base. It had eventually three concrete runways, 50...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured | Dallas, TX, USA | 1943 |
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Built at Boeing. |
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| Delivered | Texas, USA | 1943 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Grafton Underwood, Kettering NN14, UK | 20 April 1943 |
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Assigned to 337BS, 96BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Transferred | Polebrook, Peterborough PE8, UK | 11 July 1943 |
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Transferred to 509BS, 351BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Leiston IP16, UK | 30 July 1943 |
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Battle damaged Kassel, crash landed Leiston, Suffolk. severely damaged. 1 x WIA/KIA, 9 x RTD. 30-Jul-43. |
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| Salvaged | Leiston IP16, UK | 2 August 1943 |
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Salvaged 2-Aug-43. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 October 2016 16:51:24 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM Db entry. |
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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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