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B-17 Flying Fortress
George H Gough, pilot, (kneeling, second to left) with his crew and crew chief, in front of B-17 42-39830 'Berlin Playboy'. The crew were part of the 350th Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group, at Thorpe Abbotts.
Delivered Long Beach 14/9/43; Gr Island 3/10/43; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-Y] Thorpe Abbotts 8/10/43; Missing in Action Munich 18/3/44 with Paul Martin, Co-pilot: Tom Cryan, Navigator: Tom Hughes, Bombardier: Albt Racz, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Levi Tonn, Radio Operator: Russ Longdon, Waist gunner: Lonnie Albin, Waist gunner: Veryl Lund,Tail gunner: John Howley (9 Killed in Action); Ball turret gunner: Dick Faulkner (evaded capture); mid-air coll with 42-37913 (100BG); crashed Frevent, near Haudricourt, 16 miles SW of Poix, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 3234. BERLIN PLAYBOY.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
Member of Gough's Crew flew 28 missions
DFC/Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Clusters
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Listed as Prisoner of War (POW) but he successfully evaded the Germans and spent twenty-nine days with the French...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier
B-17G #42-39830 'Berlin Playboy' collided with another B-17 on a mission to Augsburg, GR on 18 Mar 1944 and crashed WSW of Poix, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | France | 18 March 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2019 02:03:06 | phil marchese | Changes to nicknames and markings |
| Sources | ||
Image |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 10 June 2019 01:58:59 | phil marchese | Changes to production block number, manufacturer and markings |
| Sources | ||
FLYING FORTRESS 1936 1945 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:50 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 3234 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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