B-17 Flying Fortress
42-30434 "Pistol Packin' Mama"
B-17 Flying Fortresses, including (serial number 42-3312) nicknamed "Sequatchiee" of the 390th Bomb Group, drop bombs during a mission. The aircraft (left to right): (serial number 42-30434) nicknamed "Betty Boop" (Photographer), (serial number 42-3312) nicknamed "Sequatchiee", (serial number 42-30320) nicknamed "Coy De Coy", (serial number 42-37723) nicknamed "Coy De Coy III", (serial numer 42-30476) nicknamed "Rovin' Ramona", (serial number 42-30713) nicknamed "Phyllis Marie", (serial number 42-30455) nicknamed "Schifless Skonk", (serial number 42-30411) nicknamed "Rose Marie", (serial number 42-30642) nicknamed "Geronimo". Handwritten caption on reverse: '390.'
42-30434 "Pistol Packin Moma" "Crew members Hoffman, May and Morris of B-17 Flying Fortress 'Pistol Packin Moma' turn their backs to the camera to display the insignia of their plane at the 390th Bomb Group base in England 10-Jan-44"
B-17 42-30434 Betty Boop - The Pistol Packin' Mama. Picture is the co pilot side of aircraft. Rear L-R: T/Sgt Marshall C Peck, S/Sgt Delbert D Lambson, S/Sgt Carl J Phillips, S/Sgt Harold S Roberts, S/Sgt Joe B Embrey, T/Sgt Clarence Daniel. Front L-R: 2Lt Carl D Larsen, 2Lt Frank J Belva Jr, 1Lt Robert B Bowman, 2Lt Patrick P Reams
Delivered Cheyenne 31/5/43; Smoky Hill 12/6/43; Rapid City 19/6/43; Geiger 22/6/43; Smoky Hill 23/6/43; Dow Fd 13/7/43; Assigned 570BS/390BG [DI-A] Framlingham 18/7/43; on Regensburg mission 17/8/43 Len Baumgartner was KIA; Missing in Action Regensburg 25/2/44 with Bob Bowman,Tail gunner: Carl Phillips (2 Killed in Action); Co-pilot: Pat Reams, Navigator: Frank Belva, Bombardier: Carl Larsen, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Clarry Daniel, Radio Operator: Marshall Peck, Ball turret gunner: Delbert Lambson, Waist gunner: Joe Embrey, Waist gunner: Harry Roberts (8 Prisoner of War); flak, crashed Le Fond de la Borne, near St Erme, nine miles SE of Laon, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 2659. BETTY BOOP - THE PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA.
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 | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. Killed on Regensburg mission 17-8-43 aboard B17 42-30434 "Betty Boop - The Pistol Packin' Mama". 'Betty Boop' landed in Nth Africa. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: PH.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg, GR and crashed SE of Laon, FR on 25 Feb 1944 in B-17F 42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 2659.
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. 19 x combat missions. Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg and crashed SE of Laon on 25-Feb-44 in B-17F 42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2659.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg, GR and crashed SE of Laon, FR on 25 Feb 1944 in B-17F #42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg, GR and crashed SE of Laon, FR on 25 Feb 1944 in B-17F #42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Colonel | Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. Ended Tour Duty (ETD). Re-assigned to 350BS, 100BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 24-May-44 in B-17 42-97845. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5151.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Crew Number 26. Flew 25 missions on the James Geary Crew of the Betty Boop/Pistol Packin' Mama
EAME, Good Conduct, Air Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Cluster, DFC
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg, GR and crashed SE of Laon, FR on 25 Feb 1944 in B-17F #42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Major | Bombardier | 390th Bomb Group
Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. Crew Number 51. Shot down by fighters and flak en-route to target Regensburg and crashed SE of Laon on 25-Feb-44 in B-17 42-30434 'Betty Boop-The Pistol Packin' Mama'. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 2659.
...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Crew Number 26. Assigned to 570BS, 390BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew aboard B-17 42-30434 "Betty Boop - The Pistol Packin' Mama". 25 x missions. Ended Tour Duty (ETD). Appointed wing navigator 13th Combat wing in charge of mission planning and training of...
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) | France | 25 February 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:29 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 2659 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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