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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17G-5-BO #4231138 "Winged Fury" Code: F 388th BG - 562nd BS Assigned to the Vince Sundstrom Crew Shot down 13 April 1944 with the A. Nelson Crew
Delivered Cheyenne 24/9/43; Gr Island 7/10/43; Romulus 10/10/43; Assigned 560BS/388BG Knettishall 15/10/43; Missing in Action Augsburg 13/4/44 with Art Nelson, Co-pilot: Art Livermore, Navigator: Maurice White, Bombardier: Bill Matuszewski, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Mont, Radio Operator: Roger Blanchard, Ball turret gunner: Marion Jones, Waist gunner: Allen Garrison, Waist gunner: Heino Harala (9 Prisoner of War); Tail gunner: Hubert Bonnet (KIA - when tail severely damaged in attack); enemy aircraft, crashed near Neustadt Afd, near Speyerdorf, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 3773. WINGED FURY.
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 13 April 1944 in B-17 #4231138 'Winged Fury. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 13 April 1944 in B-17 #4231138 'Winged Fury. ' Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Brigadier General | Group Commanding Officer | 388th Bomb Group
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Brigadier General
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 13 April 1944 in B-17 #4231138 'Winged Fury. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 13 April 1944 in B-17 #4231138 'Winged Fury. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
26 November 1943
The industrial areas of Bremen, Germany are the target for this massive mission (largest to date) of 505 B-17s which included 14 B-17 Pathfinders from 482BG spread among the B-17 formations - 13 of these completed the mission and 7 were damaged.
...
29 November 1943
This is another massive raid on Bremen, Germany by a force of 360 B-17s. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 182 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 94BG (40); 95BG (20); 96BG (41); 100BG (20);...
30 November 1943
This mission is directed at a single target - the industrial areas of Solingen, Germany. The mission consists of three elements. The first element is a force of 221 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 91BG (24); 92BG (20); 303BG (20); 305BG (16...
5 December 1943
This mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a combined force of 216 B-17 from 1st Bomb Division that included: 91BG (10); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (21); 351BG (35); 379BG (21); 381BG (30); 384BG (20); and 301BG (20)...
11 December 1943
This mission is a massive raid of 583 heavy bombers on the industrial areas of Emden, Germany. The first element is a combined force of 242 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 91BG (24); 92BG (18); 303BG (20); 305BG (21); 306BG (20); 351BG (40)...
13 December 1943
The port areas at Bremen and Kiel, Germany are the primary targets for this mission. This is the first mission where more than 600 aircraft are despatched. This mission is comprised of 8 elements. The first element consists 182 B-17s from: 91BG (31);...
16 December 1943
This is a massive mission of 631 heavy bombers directed at the port area of Bremen, Germany. The force of 631 included 1 PFF-equipped B-17s from 482BG dispersed among the attacking formations. The mission is composed of three elements. The first...
20 December 1943
The port area of Bremen is the target for 546 heavy bombers. The total includes 12 PFF-equipped B-17s from 482BG. All 12 of these are effective on the target and 11 are damaged. The bomber gunners of this element claim 1-1-0 (this total included with...
22 December 1943
This mission is composed of two forces directed at two separate targets, the communication centers at Osnabruck and Munster, Germany. The force attacking at Osnabruck is composed of two elements. The first element is composed of 227 B-17s (2 are PFF...
24 December 1943
This mission is directed at V-Weapon sites in the Pas-de-Calaise area of France. The attacks are made between 1330-1510hrs. The mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a force of 277 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 91BG ...
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Other location
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered | Cheyenne, WY, USA | 24 September 1943 |
| Assigned | Knettishall, Diss IP22 2TH, UK | 15 October 1943 |
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388 BG |
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| First 388th BG Combat Mission | Bremen, Germany | 26 November 1943 |
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Primarily assigned to the Vince Sundstrom Crew who flew her on 17 of the aircrafts 31 combat missions |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Lachen-Speyerdorf, 67435 Neustadt, Germany | 13 April 1944 |
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Shot down by German fighters with the Art Nelson Crew |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 02 May 2021 18:02:26 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 December 2017 02:58:54 | 466thHistorian | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=42-31138&dat... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 December 2017 21:29:46 | 466thHistorian | Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings and events |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=42-31138&dat... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:36 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 3773 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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