B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24527, 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group. Capt Robert K Morgan, pilot of the "Memphis Belle," flew at least one mission in the aircraft. A pair of brownings have been added in the field to protect the nose. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A45579-117470AC.
Assigned 401BS/91BG [LL- ] Bangor 6/9/42; Bassingbourn 1/10/42; 1m transferred 324BS [DF-Y]; Missing in Action 27+m Schweinfurt 17/8/43 with Bill Munger, Co-pilot: Dave Gladhart, Navigator: John Brickley, Bombardier: Tony Kalupy, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: George Latta, Radio Operator: Howie Schultz, Ball turret gunner: Arnold Musum, Waist gunner: Bob Blair, Waist gunner: Bernie Bedrock, Tail gunner: Rich Teague (10 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft KO’d #3 & #4, smoking as it dropped further behind crashed Waldeschaff, six miles E of Aschaffenburg, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 274. THE SKY WOLF aka GREAT SPECKLED BIRD.
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 | Right Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 17-Aug-43 in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' on mission to Schweinfurt ball bearing plant. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274.
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Master Sergeant | Crew chief | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 401BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. In addition to his mechanic duties, Sgt Gaffney created "nose art" for seven different 91st BG Fortresses. He painted nose art for "Invasion II" (42-5070), "The Bad Egg" (41-24484), "The Sky Wolf" (41-24527), ...
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 | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Master Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Colonel | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Pilot of the 'Memphis Belle', named for Margaret Polk.
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 324BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Schweinfurt in B-17 41-24527 'The Great Speckled Bird' 17-Aug-43; shot down by fighters, A/C crashed Waldeschaff. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 274
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ...
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 17 August 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 May 2022 18:41:02 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 July 2021 01:53:54 | acbernstein1 | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 July 2021 01:52:55 | acbernstein1 | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 March 2020 03:06:38 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 December 2016 20:45:19 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations and person associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 274 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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