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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 1/4/43; Dow 23/5/43; Assigned 533BS/381BG [VP-S] Ridgewell 25/5/43 with Lt Col Leland Fiegel, Capt Art Briggs, Lt Clayton Greenwood eng/off, Maj Garfield Schnabel medic, Lt Carey Ballew (statn/off, M/Sgt Jim Hatton Ass/eng, M/Sgt Albt Purchase rad/op, T/Sgt Leon Szopinski Ops/clk, S/Sgt Harry Cenker pers/clk, Lt Spencer Muller ATC nav; battle damaged 1m Antwerp 22/6/43 with Inman Jobe, Co-pilot: Jim Hudson, Navigator: Jim Bradley, Bombardier: Larry Potenza, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Kinley Lindsay, Radio Operator: Henry Klick, Ball turret gunner: Bob Osborne, Waist gunner: Woody Englett, Waist gunner: Tony Fox,Tail gunner: Art Sieber (10 Returned to Duty); crash landed Nth Foreland, Kent, UK. on return from first mission of BG; Salvaged 1/7/43. LITTLE CHUCK.
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Shot down 10-Oct-43 in B-17 42-30272 'Fritz Blitz', Prisoner of War (POW) - MACR 1118.
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), POW, PH, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Flight Officer | Co-Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 10-Oct-43 in B-17 42-30272 'Fritz Blitz'. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1118
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Munster in B-17 42-30272 'Fritz Blitz' 10-Oct-43; shot down, baled out Haakbergen, Holland, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1118
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Munster in B-17 42-30272 'Fritz Blitz' 10-Oct-43; shot down, baled out Haakbergen, Holland Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1118
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Munster in B-17 42-30272 'Fritz Blitz' 10-Oct-43; shot down, baled out Haakbergen, Holland, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1118
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June...
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 January 2020 02:17:16 | phil marchese | Changes to production block number, manufacturer and markings |
| Sources | ||
381 BG by Squadron Shop. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 January 2020 01:20:03 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Added the nickname mentioned in the A/C “Description”. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:42 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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