41-24581 The 8 Ball
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Object Number - FRE 4197 - Staff Sergeant Richard C. Fortunak of the 303rd Bomb Group, checks his machine gun on his B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 25 Jan 1943....
B-17F 41-24581 "The '8' Ball" was assigned 359BS/303BG [BN-O] with its crew on 1-Jul-42 at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. The aircraft and crew were sent to Dow Field Bangor, Maine on 4-Oct-42 to prepare for overseas deployment; Molesworth 21-Oct-42; battle damaged 20-Dec-42 on mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. Pilot and Co-Pilot brought ship back to crash-landed at Bovingdon The rest of the crew baled out over England. Aircraft was DBR and salvaged 23-Dec-42.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-724266
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 6252886
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-726912
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-427871
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Navigator
![Staff-Sergeant William C Mulgrew of the 303rd Bomb Group climbs through the escape hatch of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image stamped on reverse: ''Copyright Current Affairs Ltd.' [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 28 Jan 1943.' [stamp] and '245699.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: '"I miss the good old American beer and the home town girls" says Staff Sargeant William C Mulgrew of the U.S. Air Force in a message home, but he seems to be cheerful enough as he climbs through the escape hatch of a plane.](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-378793.jpg.webp?itok=Qwd18fsQ)
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32179328
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Places
Missions
- Date: 17 November 1942
- Official Description:
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned with Crew |
1 July 1942 | Assigned to 303BG/359BS with crew at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. CREW MAJ Eugene A. Romig (CO 359BS); P CPT William R. Calhoun CP 2LT James S. Nix; N 2LT Joseph M. Strickland B 2LT George R. Dominic; E/TTG TSGT Roman R. Zaorski RO SSGT Charles R. Terry; BTG SGT William C. Mulgrew LWG SGT Richard C. Fortunak; RWG SGT Murel A. Murphy TG SGT Willard W. Stephen | |
|
Other Preparation for Deployment |
4 October 1942 - 20 October 1942 | Aircraft and crew transferred to Dow Field, Bangor, Maine in preparation for deployment to the UK | |
|
Other Arrival in UK |
21 October 1942 | Aircraft and crew arrived at Molesworth, UK | |
|
Other Damaged Beyond Repair (DBR) |
20 December 1942 | Aircraft was severely damaged by flak and enemy aircraft and crash-landed at Bovington upon return and declared a Category "E" (DBR) and salvaged 23-Dec-42. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 23-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/004.pdf
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 17-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/001.pdf
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Assigned with Crew event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William R. Calhoun crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-calhoun.html
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Preparation for Deployment event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William R. Calhoun crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-calhoun.html
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Added Assigned with Crew event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William R. Calhoun crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-calhoun.html
Lee Cunningham 12-Dec-2015. Edited Biography and corrected Mission Participations for 7 to 6 and changed Mission event title on Mission 7 to 6.
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission particpation list to Summary biography per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reports http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 11-DEc-2015 Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 6-Dec-2014. Completed proper name for Sgt Murel A. Murphy per 303BG website: www.303rdbg.com historian Gary Moncur.
Lee Cunningham 6-Dec-2014 Corrected nickname per 303bg website: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 6-Dec-2014. Added target information to description and converted dates to military-style signification per 'Losses of the 9th & 9th AIr Forces" Stan Bishop & john A. Hey MBE. Added aircraft nickname and full proper names of crew and formatted crew display per data on 303rg Bomb Group website: http://www.303rdbg.com/ historian Gary Moncur.