Delivered Cheyenne 18/8/44; Hunter 27/8/44; Grenier 8/9/44; Assigned 860BS/493BG Debach 11/9/44;

Crashed on take off for Nuremburg 20/2/45 with Fred Stindt (8KIA 2 Returned to Duty), crashed River Deben at Ramsholt, Skf., UK;

Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Jewel Haynes was rescued by fisherman Arthur Hunt and Arthur Reeve, when the unconscious Haynes was floating by and taken to village pub. First aid assistance was provided in the "Arms" by local David Ransby, where both survivors revived, before RTD. Salvaged.

Research by Jeff Coleman: (Corrected by 493rd BG Museum archives, Debach.)
B-17 43-38568 took off from the 493rd Bomb Group’s Base at Debach near Woodbridge at 9.14am heading for Nuremburg Germany; immediately after take-off No 3 engine caught fire.

The pilot 1st Lieutenant Frederick E Stindt feathered the prop and extinguished the fire, but according to the pilot the engine fire quickly resumed and the right wing also began to burn. His course took him over Woodbridge so he had no opportunity to dump his bomb load.

His only hope was to ditch the plane in the River Deben, in shallow water. He managed to follow the River Deben searching for a suitable spot, which turned out to be a point almost opposite the quay at Ramsholt.

Sadly the waters were deeper than he thought and the plane immediately sank in eighteen feet of water, completely submerged only the tail fin remaining visible.

The aircraft was carrying a bomb load of 12 x 250lb General purpose bombs and 2 x 500lb incendiaries, and 2,700 gallons of fuel. Only the pilot and engineer Top Sergeant Jewel K Haynes survived.

Investigations into the crash showed that the engine caught fire because of mechanical failure. The bodies of the other crewmen, with the exception of the co-pilot and the radio operator, were recovered from the plane by divers. The co-pilots body was later recovered downstream, and the radio operator was found entangled by his parachute harness to the horizontal stabilizer of the aircraft.