B-17 Flying Fortress
Laden Maiden
100th aircraft in Africa LD-U - 42-30066 'Mugwump' - Charles Cruikshank/ John Egan, EP-A, Thomas Murphy & Beirne Lay Jr (Foreground) this is the famous "PICADILLY LILLY," 42-5864, XR-J 42-5861 Cowboy Roane - "LADEN MAIDEN," XR-D, 42-30611 Henington - "HORNY" (100th Photo Archives)
Delivered Long Beach 30/3/43; Kearney 15/4/43; Wendover 2/5/43; Kearney 22/5/43; Dow Fd 6/6/43; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-J] Thorper Abbotts 8/6/43 STUD DUCK; renamed before crash landed base with Owen Roane (10 Returned to Duty) u/c collapsed 2/8/43; Missing in Action Ludwigshafen 30/12/43 with Marvin Leininger, Co-pilot: Albt Witmyer, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Meyer Weintraub, Radio Operator: Marshall Banta, Ball turret gunner: Nick Matulik, Waist gunner: Jim Parham, Waist gunner: Gene Latimer, Tail gunner: Chas McGrogan (8 Killed in Action); Navigator: Leon McChesney, Bombardier: Chas Compton (2 evaded capture); hit by three FW 190s , crashed Liry, 28 miles E of Rheims, Fr; Missing Air Crew Report 2020. LADEN MAIDEN.
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 | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Completed 25 missions from 23 September 1943 - 6 March 1944. Shot down 24 September 1943 in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted and attacked by enemy fighters, the Fortress was riddled and...
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 42-5861 'Laden Maiden. ' Evaded. He and the navigator were the only survivors.
Military | Captain | Bombardier
Theodore Don was Bombardier on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. Theodore was among the 5 who were...
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Evaded.
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 30 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5861 'Laden Maiden'. 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 | 30 December 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 01 March 2020 21:36:04 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 March 2020 21:35:08 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Added the A/C nickname mentioned in the A/C “Description”. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 May 2019 14:19:31 | lowbuckbob | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
Personal records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:57 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 2020 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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