B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing B-17F-27-BO Flying Fortress 'The Careful Virgin' 41-24639 code OR-W of the 91st bomb group 323rd BS.
Ground crew enjoy coffee and doughnuts provided by an American Red Cross officer in front of B-17 'The Careful Virgin', 1943. Earl Brooks is on the far right of the photograph.
An USAAF Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 41-24639 "The Careful Virgin" in flight over an airfield in England . It was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group, 323rd Bomb Squadron, which arrived at RAF Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire), in Nov 1942. After completing 80 missions, this aircraft was transferred to AFSC for "Operation Aphrodite" (flying bomb). It was launched against German V-1 sites at Mimoyecques, Pas-de-Calais (France) on 4 August 1944, but impacted short of target due to a controller error. USAAF - AFHRA photo 080129-f-3927s-210
Nose art of 'The Careful Virgin', 41-24639, 323rd BS, 91 BG
The Careful Virgin (41-24639) 1st Lt. William Clancy's Crew, 323rd Squadron, 91st BG BACK ROW - LEFT TO RIGHT: Lyons, Engineer; Olexa, A. R.; 1st Lt. Harry Ackerman, Navigator; 1st Lt. William Clancy, Pilot; Gladstone, Co-Pilot; Fishe - Bombardier. FRONT ROW - LEFT TO RIGHT: S/Sgt. Joseph J. Conley, Waist Gunner; Taliercio, Radio Operator; Streets, Tail Gunner; Wheller, Ball Turret Gunner. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY STEVE PERRI
Delivered Cheyenne 9/9/42; Boise 16/9/42; wrecked on landing with broken crankshaft, rep; Cheyenne 11/10/42; Assigned 323BS/91BG [OR-W] Bassingbourn 29/1/43 and first in group to have AFCE fitted at 2 SAD Lt Staughton 8/3/44; transferred 7/5/44 50+m AFSC for Aphrodite operations, Azon radio guided [Mothership B-24 44-40277] operation against V-1 site at Mimoyecques with Lt Cornelius A Engel & T/Sgt Clifford A Parsons of 385BG 4/8/44, but exploded before reaching target. Control crew had baled out over UK. THE CAREFUL VIRGIN.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 12/1/43; Rapid City 21/2/43; Kearney 12/3/43; Salina 31/3/43; Memphis 8/4/43; Dow Fd 16/4/43; Assigned 336BS/95BG [ET-K] Alconbury 22/4/43; 2m, transferred 401BS/91BG [LL-Z] Bassingbourn 16/6/43; AFSC 15/4/44; Returned to the USA...
B-24 Liberator
Aircraft flew 64 missions with 458th and was one of the 10 original AZON/Aphrodite project** control planes. Served as 'Mother Ship' to B-17F 41-24639 'Careful Virgin' on mission to bomb Mimoyecques, France. 4-8-44.
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Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Command
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
Depot
Military | Sergeant | Mechanic and Instrument Specialist | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Sergeant Earl Brooks was a mechanic, instrument specialist on the ground crew of the 91st Bomb Group. One of the aircraft he worked on was 'The Careful Virgin'.
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Military | Captain | Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
Volunteer Pilot of B-17 41-24639 'Careful Virgin' on "Aphrodite" flying bomb mission to Mimoyecques, France. Bailed out safely of A/C over UK.
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 323rd Bomb Group
Jack Fisher - bombardier -joined the 91st at Walla Walla, arrived in England in October 1942 and began combat in 'The Careful Virgin'. On his third mission he took a hit in his right leg and spent a month in hospital.
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Military | Sergeant | Ground Crew; Mechanic | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
He worked as a Mechanic on the B-17 'the Careful Virgin'. After the war he worked for the NA&S Museum as a mechanic and retired at age 75. He worked on many planes including the Enola Gay.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight / Autopilot Engineer | 385th Bomb Group
Technical Sgt on Aphrodite [ Drone flying bomb ] mission to Mimoyecques, France. Baled safely out of A/C over UK. 4-8-44.
4 August 1944
Military site : non-airfield
Strategic Air Depots were given separate station numbers to avoid confusion with the main airfield operation; the 2nd Strategic Air Depot, originally at Little Staughton, moved to Alconbury in March 1944 as that airfield, well served by road and rail,...
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...
Military site : airfield
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use...
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Crashed | Boise, ID, USA | 16 September 1942 |
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wrecked on landing with broken crankshaft, repaired. Boise 16/9/42. |
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| Crashed | Bassingbourn, Royston, Cambridgeshire SG8, UK | November 1943 |
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On return from sortie, with combat damage and no braking, in collision with B-17 42-29591 causing rear fuselage of '591' to be written off. |
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| AFCE fitted | Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 8 March 1944 |
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First in 91st BG to have Automatic Flight Control Equipment fitted at 2 SAD Lt Staughton 8/3/44. |
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| Crashed | Mimoyecques, 62250, France | 4 August 1944 |
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Aphrodite operation against V-1 site at Mimoyecques with Lt Cornelius A Engel & T/Sgt Clifford A Parsons of 385BG 4/8/44, but exploded before reaching target. Control crew had baled out over UK. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2021 01:31:31 | acbernstein1 | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2015 14:36:30 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2015 13:04:28 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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