42-31673 Lassie Come Home

The nose art of a B-17G Flying Fortress (serial number 42-31673) nicknamed "Lassie Come Home" of the 91st Bomb Group Passed for publication 10 Jan 1943. On reverse: Not For Publication, Personal Use Only, US Army Examiner [Stamp]. media-408077.jpg FRE 3507 The nose art of a B-17G Flying Fortress (serial number 42-31673) nicknamed "Lassie Come Home" of the 91st Bomb Group Passed for publication 10 Jan 1943. On reverse: Not For Publication, Personal Use Only, US Army Examiner [Stamp].
Nose art painted by Tony Starcer Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 3507 - The nose art of a B-17G Flying Fortress (serial number 42-31673) nicknamed "Lassie Come Home" of the 91st Bomb Group Passed for publication 10 Jan...

B-17G 42-31673 'Lassie Come Home' was delivered Cheyenne 6-Dec-43; Kearney 17-Dec-43; Harrisburg 8-Jan-44; New Castle 9-Jan-43; Presque Is 11-Jan-44; Prestwick 16-Jan-44; Assigned 96BG Snetterton 16-Jan-44; transferred 322BS/91BG [LG-B] Bassingbourn 27-Jan-44. On 16-Aug-44 the aircraft was on a mission to attack the aircraft factories at Halle, Germany. Attacked by approximately 25 enemy aircraft, setting the radio room in fire and exploding in mid-air. Crashed Deiderode, SW of Gottingen, Germany. (one of six aircraft lost in about 30 secs). 4KIA 5POW Missing Air Crew Report 8183. Aircraft had logged 76 missions.



P 2Lt Leonard F. Figie (POW); CP 2Lt Dale W. Whitson (KIA)

N 2Lt Frederick Seibel (KIA); NG/Toggelier SSgt Harlan B. Williams (POW)

E/TTG TSgt Walter L. Carpenter (POW); RO Sgt Edmund J. Mikolatis (KIA)

BTG Sgt Frederick D. Baldwin (KIA); WG Walter Salo (POW)

TG Sgt John F. Wallaszek (POW)



NOTE: Roger A. Freeman in "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" and Stan Bishop in "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" both have this aircraft with Radio Call Sign LG:B. LG is the known prefix for 322nd Bomb Squadron. Both these sources claim that B-17G 42-31673 was assigned to 91BG/322BS. However, the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 8183 lists 324th Bomb Squadron which agrees with the AAM ingest data for the crew members. It would seem that the correct resolution of this disparity is that B-17G 42-31673 was assigned to 322BS BUT flown on this mission by a 324BS crew.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Unofficial emblem of the 91st Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11101530
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 1st Scouting Force 322nd Bomb Squadron 385th Fighter Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36458757 / O-677655
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Bomber pilot / Fighter pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 6992747
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-760812
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32694892
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator / Waist Gunner

Places

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Failed to Return (FTR)

Deiderode, 37133 Friedland, Germany 16 August 1944 Attacked by German fighters. Exploded in mid-air. Crashed at Deiderode, Germany.

Revisions

Date
Contributoracbernstein1
Changes
Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2014. Added NOTE to description.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Rec-2014. Corrected Aircraft code letter in Radio Call Sign per "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" and "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 14-Dec-2014. Correction to spelling WG Walter Salo.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 14-Dec-2014. Added nickname, made Place and Mission connections within existing website data; Added detail and Map location to FTR event, added target information and loss detail to Description and converted dates to military-style signification per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; Added crew position,rank, full proper name, rank and disposition per MACR 8183; Added markings and radio call sign per "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" Roger A Freeman & Dave Osborne. Formatted crew display.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 8183 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

42-31673: Gallery (7 items)