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B-17 Flying Fortress
401st Bomb Group, Mission No 2, 1 Dec 1943, Solingen, Germany. The Group flew the low position in the 1st Combat Wing, and this was the third wing over the target. They encountered 25 to 35 FW-190's over the target itself, but the escorting fighters did a good job of protecting the bombers, and although the attack went on for about 30 minutes the Group suffered no losses. The target was bombed using PFF methods. On this mission the Group received credit for bringing down its first enemy aircraft. It went to Sgt Percy W. Stengel, a ball turret gunner with the 612th crew of W. J. Kelly.
Delivered Long Beach 17/9/43; Scott 3/10/43; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-A] Deenethoprpe 13/10/43; transferred AFSC 6/6/44 as development and test aircraft and designated XB-17G; Returned to the USA, used by US Navy from 20/11/45; 4148 BU Bedford 30/1/46; 4136 BU Tinker 24/7/46; 4104 BU Rome 30/1/47; re-assigned 31/3/47. THE LOPIN’ LOBO.
This aircraft was flown by Lt Charles F. Hess on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen. Hit by Flak on the return trip, with motor #4 out and # 3 starting to burn, Hess gave the order to bail out. Six crew members in the back of the plane bailed out and all initially managed to evade, only one succeeding in his evasion, the others being later arrested. As Co-Pilot John Mitchell couldn't find his parachute, the three other officers decided to stay as long as possible on board. The plane ultimately made it back to England, making a forced landing at the RAF Manston air base. See website www.evasioncomete.be for the six evaders' pages (search on 42-39840.)
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 17/9/43; Scott 3/10/43; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-A] Deenethoprpe 13/10/43; transferred AFSC 6/6/44 as development and test aircraft and designated XB-17G; Returned to the USA, used by US Navy from 20/11/45; 4148 BU Bedford 30/1/46;...
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 613BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. William Protz crew. Shot down 28-May-44 in B-17 42-102580. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 5307.
Awards: AM, PH
Military | Corporal | Ball Turret gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Mark Bauer was Ball Turret gunner on B-17 Serial 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Evaded capture for 10 days before he was arrested. See the story of his evasion and capture at https://www...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 401st Bomb Group
Charles Bryant was Navigator on B-17 Serial 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Aircraft flown back to base. Returned to Duty (RTD). Six members of the crew baled out over Belgium. See their individual...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Joseph Burns was Engineer on board B-17 #42-39840 on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen and Leverkusen, Germany. Severely damaged by Flak and thinking the plane was lost, Burns and five other crew members bailed out and landed near Alken, Belgium....
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Right Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
James Gibson was Left Waist Gunner on B-17 Serial 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Baled out; aircraft flown back to base. Evaded capture for 10 days before he was arrested. See the story of his...
Military | Captain | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Completed 25 bombing mission as a Pilot with the 401st Bomb Group between 26-Nov-43 and 12-Jun-44. He was Pilot of B-17 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1-Dec-943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Six crew members baled out (1 of them managed to...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Ruben Miller was Right Waist gunner on B-17 Serial 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Baled out; aircraft flown back to base. Evaded capture for 10 days before he was arrested. See the story of his...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
John Mitchell was Co-Pilot of B-17 #42-39840 "The Lopin' Lobo", hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen. The Fortress was flown back to England, but six men had baled out over Belgium (see their pages at www.evasioncomete.be >...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Raymond Nield was Right Waist gunner on B-17 Serial 42-39840, hit by Flak on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen, Germany. Aircraft returned to base. Baled out and evaded capture. Was back in the UK on 6 February 1944. See the story of...
1 December 1943
This mission was directed at the industrial areas of Leverkusen and Solingen, Germany. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 221 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 91BG (27); 92BG (18); 303BG (17);...
21 February 1944
Day 2 of BIG WEEK is another maximum effort by 8th Air Force to bomb 6 airfields in Germany as primary targets: Diepholz, Gütersloh, Lippstadt, Werl, Achmer and Handorf. In addition the industrial areas of Brunswick city are included as a primary...
26 April 1944
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 September 2021 21:58:33 | acbernstein1 | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Aircraft/Details.aspx?ID=39840 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 June 2021 09:22:09 | ED-BB | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Updated website address in Bio |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 April 2015 15:47:09 | ED-BB | Changes to nicknames, markings, description, aircraft associations, unit associations, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Research on the crew who participated on the 1 December 1943 mission to Solingen/Leverkusen in this aircraft. Hit by Flak on the return trip, with motor #4 out and # 3 starting to burn the pilot, Lt Charles F. Hess gave the order to bail out. Six crew members in the back of the plane bailed out and all initially managed to evade, only one succeeding in his evasion, the others being later arrested. The plane was ultimately flown back to England. No Missing Air Crew Report. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:50 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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