Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17 Flying Fortresses, destined for the 305th Bomb Group, lined up in Gander. Handwritten caption on reverse: '41-24604 "Arkie", 305 BG Gander 21/10/42.'
B-17F-27-BO 41-24604 "Arkie" was assigned 336BS/95BG Presque Isle 19-Oct-42; transferred 366BS/305BG [KY-D] Grafton Underwood 25-Oct-42;transferred with Group to Chelveston 11-Dec-42. Force landed at base with Sydney Smith 26-Jan-42; on 27-Jan-43 battle damaged with Lyle M. Adams, 2POW (bailed) 8RTD; Missing in Action Wilhelmshafen 26-Feb-43 shot down by enemy aircraft, but all 12 crew were able to bail out and were captured as Prisoners of War (POW). The aircraft crashed Hookseil, 10 miles N of Wilhelmshaven, Ger; Missing Air Crew Report 15443. ARKIE.
P CPT Everett E. Tribbett (POW); CP 1LT Harry F. Reardon (POW)
N 2LT Eugene H. Vanhala (POW); B 2LT Walter C. Ewing (POW)
E/TTG TSGT Oliver Moore (POW); RO SSGT Carroll S. Johns (POW)
BTG SSGT Bernard Saltz (POW); LWG SSGT William A. Ford (POW)
RWG SSGT Albert Schlosser (POW); TG SSGT Darrel W. Coats (POW)
OBS 2LT Arnold H. Mercier (POW); OBS 2LT Julius Dorfman (POW)
Group
The 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), nicknamed "Can Do" was activated 1-March-1942 at Salt Lake City Air Base, Utah which was their primary training base until 11-Jun-1942 when they relocated to Geiger Field, Washington until 29-Jun-1942, then on to...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie', [KY:D], 305BG/366BS whilke serving as Tail Gunner the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the target. All...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator/Observer | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-1F7 41-24604 'Arkie' [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as a Navigator/Observer the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie' [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Bombardier the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel 10 miles north of the target. All bailed out...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie', [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Left Waist Gunner the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the target...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie' [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Radio Operator the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel 10 miles north of the target. All bailed...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier/Observer | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie',[KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as an Observer the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the target. All...
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie', [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germanyy. The plane crashed near Hooksiel 10 miles north of the target...
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie' [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Co-Pilot the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel 10 miles north of the target. All bailed out and...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie', [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Ball Turret Gunner the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germandy. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
On 26 February 1943 in B-17F 41-24604 'Arkie', [KY:D], 305BG/366BS while serving as Right Waist Gunner the aircraft was attacked by fighters on the mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The plane crashed near Hooksiel, Germany, 10 miles north of the...
26 February 1943
After 10 days of weather related delays of the bomber offensive, a mission is organised with the port facilities of Emden, Germany as the primary target. However, Emden is obscured by cloud cover and all formations divert to attack the port facilities...
Military site : airfield
Chelveston was adapted and expanded in preparation for the arrival of American forces. Rather than heavy bombers, the first aircraft to fly from its runways were C-47 Skytrains that were flown by the 60th Troop Carrier Group in July 1942. The first...
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...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Hooksiel, 26434 Wangerland, Germany | 26 February 1943 |
|
Shot down by German fighters. All crew baled out and were captured. Aircraft crashed at Hooksiel, Germany. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 04 January 2020 21:53:00 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Corrected a misspelled word in the "Summary biography". |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 August 2016 15:40:37 | MikeV | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
The nickname listed was "Arnie" and it should be "Arkie" so I changed it. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 June 2015 20:15:55 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to nicknames, markings, description, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 1-Jun-2015. Added nickname and map location of crash and added Group transfer to Chelveston based on "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story", Roger A. Freeman with David Osborne; Added crew position, rank, full proper name and dispostion per MACR 15433, formatted crew display, "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop and John A. Hey MBE. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15443 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
