42-29752

US Correspondent William Shirer (middle, with glasses) meets the 40-mission veteran 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "We The People" and its crew. Passed for publication 4 Jul 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'William Shirer Sees Veteran Flying Fortress "We The People". Famous U.S. Correspondent William Shirer, whose book on Germany was a great success, visited a U.S. Flying Fortresses[sic] station in England where he saw the veteran plane "We The People" which has carried out 40 missions. media-458108.jpg FRE 10403 US Correspondent William Shirer (middle, with glasses) meets the 40-mission veteran 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "We The People" and its crew. Passed for publication 4 Jul 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'William Shirer Sees Veteran Flying Fortress "We The People". Famous U.S. Correspondent William Shirer, whose book on Germany was a great success, visited a U.S. Flying Fortresses[sic] station in England where he saw the veteran plane "We The People" which has carried out 40 missions. Shirer is seen here with the memebers[sic] of the crew of "We The People". U.S. Pool/F. Keystone 47. SG.' Censor no: 272739. On reverse: Keystone Press, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

1)Group found from the caption.
2)Aircraft found from the caption

Object Number - FRE 10403 - US Correspondent William Shirer (middle, with glasses) meets the 40-mission veteran 305th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "We The People"...

Delivered Cheyenne 12/2/43; Walker 26/2/43; Salinas 10/3/43; Presque Is 8/4/43; Assigned 338BS/96BG Grafton Underwood 17/4/43; on assembly crashed in The Wash en route St Omer when controls were damaged and stabilizer shot off accidentally by own waist gunner 13/5/43 with Capt Derrol Rogers (KIA-drowned); Co-pilot: Norville Gorse, Navigator: Joe Hudson, Bombardier: George Rawlings, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Basil Maxwell, Radio Operator: Bob Bennett, Ball turret gunner: Alf Miles, Waist gunner: Bob Dominick, Waist gunner: Edwin Wolfkuhle, Tail gunner: Ed Youngers (9 Returned to Duty). (1st group loss). No MACR.



The aircraft was part of the 96th Bomb Group, newly arrived from the USA in April 1943.



They had landed at RAF Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, but were stationed at RAF Snetterton Heath.



On May 13 1943 they prepared for their first mission at the start of their combat tour.



They were to attack the Luftwaffe airfield at St Omer, France - but things went wrong straight away as the 22 aircraft taxied for take-off.



Two planes veered off the runway and the lead aircraft had to abort over Spalding because of an oxygen leak in the ball turret. The rest followed their leader back to base - except for B-17 #42-29752.



Its fate is recorded in the book Snetterton Falcons, written by Geoff Ward, from Diss, and Robert Doherty, a veteran of the 96th.



Pilot Capt Rogers had been on a roll of bad luck. Two days earlier his original aircraft, “Miss Poisonality”, had damaged a wing in a collision with a contractor’s truck on the airfield and was being repaired.



Lt Joe Hudson, who was the navigator on board #42-29752, later wrote of the tragedy: “We had been warned about the possibility of being attacked while we were taking off or landing. “Consequently, our machine guns were charged. When Capt Rogers banked the ship, the right waist gun discharged about 50 rounds, severing the right horizontal stabilizer.



“By great flying skill Capt Rogers and his co-pilot, Lt Norville Gorse, managed to correct the stall.”



The scattering bullets had also injured two of the crew, waist gunner Sgt Edwin Wolfekule, and tail gunner Sgt Edward Youngers.



The aircraft’s yoke - steering column - was pushed as far forward as possible but, with a missing stabilizer, it still continued to climb.



Rogers and Gorse struggled to keep the plane steady, tieing cords to the yoke which gave them enough control to fly back over the airfield where six of the crew bailed out safely.



The injured Sgt Youngers had been hit in the spine so a rope was tied to his rip chord before he was thrown out, enabling his parachute to open without his intervention.



Rogers and Gorse then bravely flew out over the Wash to jettison their bombs away from people before turning back, over land, so that the bombardier and navigator could bail out safely, near King’s Lynn.



Next, the hero pilot and co-pilot took their crippled plane back out to sea to ditch it away from built-up areas.



They both bailed out somewhere off Blakeney and the plane disappeared beneath the waves to be discovered 72 years later by the North Norfolk Divers team.



Lt Gorse was picked up by an RAF rescue launch and lived to fight another day.



Sadly, Capt Rogers was in the freezing North Sea for some time before Sheringham Lifeboat Forester’s Centenary found him, unconscious. He did not survive and is buried in the American military cemetery, at Madingley, near Cambridge.

Connections

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

Units served with

The insignia of the 96th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 6914246
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator; Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33175852
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-734078, 16058815
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 337th Bomb Squadron 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19062411
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner ; Flight Engineer

Places

Missions

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity.

Date
ContributorkstrykerAK
Changes
Sources

Snetterton Falcons II: The 96th Bomb Group in World War II by Robert E Doherty & Geoffrey D Ward. Second Edition with Errata and Supplemental Information. Taylor Publishing. 1996. pages 20, 24, 293

Date
ContributorPete
Changes
Sources

452nd Bomb Group Assoc.

Date
ContributorPete
Changes
Sources

452nd Bomb Group Assoc.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

42-29752: Gallery (5 items)