We are currently working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September 2022
You will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive while this takes place.
You can find out more about our plans here
B-17 Flying Fortress
'Patches/We'll Never Know,' 4229991, 390 BG, 571 BS, shot down after bomb run on Schweinfurt Germany ball bearing factories, 14 Oct 1943.
B-17F-BO 42-29991 8th AF 390TH BG
Delivered Cheyenne 25/3/43; Dallas 2/4/43; Dow Fd 12/4/43; Love Fd 13/5/43; Geiger 26/5/43; Gt Falls 7/6/43; Smoky Hill 29/6/43; Dow Fd 11/7/43; Assigned 571BS/390BG [FC-T] Framlingham 14/7/43 PATCHES; Missing in Action Schweinfurt 14/10/43 with Fernie McEwin, Co-pilot: Bob Withrow, Navigator: Vic Baker, Bombardier: Larry Baker, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Harry Powers, Radio Operator: Albert Widman, Ball turret gunner: Cecil Holliday, Waist gunner: George Jahnke, Waist gunner: Edwin Pearce,Tail gunner: Fred Smart (10 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, crashed Lohrweg, near Gondelsheim, nine miles E of Karlsruhe, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 858. WE'LL NEVER KNOW.
Group
The 390th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Framlingham, Suffolk, between July 1943 and the end of the war in Europe. The Group was engaged in strategic missions until the invasion of Europe when its role became more of a tactical one. This...
Squadron
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29991 'Patches', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29991 'Patches', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #4229991 'Patches. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29991 'Patches', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Flight Officer | Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #4229991 'Patches. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29991 'Patches', Prisoner of War (POW).
AM w/ 2 Oak Leaf Cluster/ PH/ POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #4229991 'Patches. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Other | Radio Operator | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down after completing the bomb run by two ME-110s, 14 October 1943 in B-17 #4229991 'Patches. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW at Stalag Luft 17. POW until end of the war.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #4229991 'Patches. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 14 October 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 April 2022 16:51:03 | RFCrowther | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
390th memorial museum |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 June 2020 13:39:50 | phil marchese | Changes to production block number, markings and media associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM synopsis and associated image. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:25 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 858 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
