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B-17 Flying Fortress
A flight of B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 100th Bomb Group fly in formation. B-17 (serial number 42-3413) nicknamed "Hard Luck" is the foremost aircraft, with B-17 (serial number 42-31991) nicknamed "Miss Chief" flying alongside in the background. Handwritten caption on reverse: '23413 "Hard Luck" with the 350th Squadron. Above and just ahead 231991 "Miss Chief" served until the end of the hostilities.'
Delivered Cheyenne 13/1/44; Kearney 31/1/44; Grenier 22/2/44; Assigned 351BS/100BG [EP-D] Polebrook 1/3/44 FEVER BEAVER; transferred 350BS [LN-D/T] Thorpe Abbotts RAIFORD’S RAIDERS (npo); {122m} taxi accident 14/5/45 hitting parked B-17 43-38861 causing severe tail damage with Tom Fellows; Salvaged 30/7/45. MISS-CHIEF.
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:42 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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