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42-6039

B-17 Flying Fortress

Delivered Long Beach 30/6/43; Amarillo 18/7/43; Dallas 9/8/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-H] Horham 14/10/43; 5m, Missing in Action 29/11/43 with Les Palmer, Co-pilot: Ray Grass, Bombardier: Joe Kolar, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Joe Wilbert, Radio Operator: George Holloway, Ball turret gunner: Max Waldo, Waist gunner: Bob Nicholson, Waist gunner: Bob Hare, Tail gunner: Bill Whitcom (9 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Ralph Guinzberg (Killed in Action); shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Aumhle Bosel, four miles SE of Friesoythe, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 1560.

Service

Units

  • 95th Bomb Group

    95th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August...

  • 334th Bomb Squadron

    334th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

People

  • Raymond Grass

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #426039. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Ralph Guinzburg

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 30-Jul-43 in B-17 42-30192. Returned to base. Shot down 29-Nov-43 in B-17 42-6039, Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 1560 Awards: AM (OLC), PH (2OLC), Soldiers medal.

  • Robert Hare

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #426039. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • George Hollaway

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #426039. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Joseph Kolar

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 335BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 29-Nov-43 in B-17 42-6039, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1560 Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Robert Nicholson

    Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Left Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-6039. Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Leslie Palmer

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-6039, Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • Kingsley Spitzer

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner ; Flight Engineer | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 334BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. 22 x combat missions most with Alden Witt crew. Flew 1 x mission with Bill Thomas crew. ...

  • Max Waldo

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-6039, Prisoner of War (POW). POW

  • William Whitcomb

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 334BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Bill Thomas crew. 23 x combat missions. ...

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Missions

  • VIII Bomber Command 140

    29 November 1943
    This is another massive raid on Bremen, Germany by a force of 360 B-17s. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 182 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 94BG (40); 95BG (20); 96BG (41); 100BG (20);...

Places

  • Horham

    Military site : airfield
    Horham airfield was planned and built for RAF use, but handed over to the Eighth Air Force and used initially by the 47th Bomb Group. When they joined the Twelfth Air Force in January 1943, it became home to the B-26 Marauders of the 323rd Bomb Group....

Events

Event Location Date
Crashed Friesoythe, Germany 29 November 1943 – 29 November 1943

Missing in Action 29/11/43. Cause - shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Aumhle Bosel, four miles SE of Friesoythe, Germany. (9 x POW, 1 x KIA) Missing Air Crew Report 1560.
Nicknames
'Blondie III'
Production block number
B-17F-45-VE
Manufacturer
Vega
Markings and paint scheme/livery

Olive Drab over gray was the factory standard for this block.

Coded BG-H.

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
14 January 2022 20:27:39 phil marchese Changes to manufacturer and markings
Sources

FLYING FORTRESS 1936 1945 block examples for F-VE block cited by AAM.

P. MARCHESE; JAN 14, 2022
Date Contributor Update
27 February 2021 19:36:18 jmoore43 Changes to description
Sources

Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity.
Date Contributor Update
30 November 2015 19:56:47 Al_Skiff Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations
Sources

AAM DB Entry.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:40:58 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 1560 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

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