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42-29767

B-17 Flying Fortress

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Delivered Cheyenne 15 February 1943; Walker 27 February 1943; Salina 10 March 1943; Assigned 338BS/96BG [BX- ] Grafton Underwood 17 April 1943; Andrews Field 13 May 1943.
Snetterton Heath. Missing in Action on a bombing mission to the prisoner transit point at the Lorient train station, France on 17 May 1943.
Pilot Louis L. Haltom, Co-Pilot George E. Forslund, Navigator Bailey J. Lovin Jr, Bombardier George D. Rawlings, Radio Operator Glen Wells, Top Turret Gunner Herman L. Marshall, Ball Turret gunner Roy A. Martin, Right Waist gunner Niles D. Loudenslager, Left Waist gunner William C. Martin, Tail Gunner Andrew L. Jorinscay, Observer William G. Carnahan. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 15546. 2 men were Killed In Action : George Forslund and Andrew Jorinscay. Three were made Prisoners of War (POW) : Lt Jackson, Lt Rawlings and Captain Carnahan. The five others, Louis Haltom, Glen Wells, Niles Loudenslager, Roy Martin, William Martin and Herman Marshall managed to evade capture with the help of French patriots and Résistance organizations.
The plane's ball turret went out of commission on the way over due to its oxygen valve freezing open after refilling the oxygen bottle. While the bombing results were good, the plane was hit during its bombing run by Flak at 12:05. No 3 engine was hit, then No 2, with smoke and oil pouring onto the fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer was hit and the Fortress fell out of formation. Joining the 95th Bomb Group that was flying behind them, they flew back over Brest, slowing to 150mph in order to stay in close formation. Suddenly, Fw-190 fighters attacked and numerous holes were poked into the fuselage. A shell hit Tail Gunner S/Sgt Andrew Jorinscay, killing him. Losing altitude, dropping out of formation, the pilot ordered the crew to bail out at 12:30, about 6 km NW of Spézet, France. The Fortress exploded and broke in two. Crashed near Keramprès, NW of Plonévez-du-Faou, 6km NW of Spézet, Finistère Department, France. (1st group loss to enemy aircraft).

Service

Units

People

  • William Carnahan

    Military | Captain | pilot | 96th Bomb Group

  • George Forslund

    Military | Flight Officer | Co-Pilot | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #42-29767 'Boot Hill' First 96th airplane to be shot down. F/O George Forslund was co-pilot and was unable to bail out. The tail gunner S/Sgt Andrew L. Jorinscay was also killed. George died one week before his 20th...

  • Louis Haltom

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 over France 'Boot Hill. ' Evaded. First 96th A/C to be shot down.

  • Andrew Jorinscay

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 'Boot Hill. ' Killed in Action (KIA)

  • Niles Loudenslager

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 'Boot Hill. ' Evaded.

  • Bailey Lovin

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #42-29767 'Boot Hill'. Prisoner of War (POW).

  • Herman Marshall

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 'Boot Hill. ' Evaded.

  • Roy Martin

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 'Boot Hill. ' Evaded.

  • William Martin

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
    Shot down 17 May 1943 in B-17 #4229767 'Boot Hill. ' Evaded.

  • George Rawlings

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 96th Bomb Group
    B-17 #42-29752 ditched in Channel 13 May 1943. Returned to base. ...

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Missions

  • VIII Bomber Command 58

    17 May 1943
    VIII Bomber Command launches another operation against German U-Boat facilities with three elements. The first element is a formation of 100 B-17s despatched from: 91BG (24); 92BG (10); 303BG (21); 305BG (21) and 306BG (24) to attack the German U-Boat...

Places

  • Grafton Underwood

    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...

  • Snetterton Heath

    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...

Events

Event Location Date
Failed to Return (FTR) Keramprès, France 17 May 1943
Nicknames
Boot Hill
Production block number
B-17F-70-BO Fortress
Manufacturer
Boeing
Markings and paint scheme/livery

BX-

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
29 May 2020 23:30:23 kstrykerAK Changes to nicknames, markings and unit associations
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 21, 24, 293
Date Contributor Update
07 February 2016 15:32:53 ED-BB Changes to description
Sources

Corrected typo in Biography
Date Contributor Update
07 February 2016 15:31:41 ED-BB Changes to description, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations
Sources

MACR 15546
Escape & Evasion reports of Pilot Haltom, Radio Operator Wells and gunners Loudenslager, Andrew Martin, William Martin and Marshall.
Date Contributor Update
27 October 2015 16:00:45 dan35 Changes to nicknames
Sources

http://www.absa3945.com/Pertes%20Bretagne/Finistere/pertes_usaaf_finiste...
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:23 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15546 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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