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401st Bomb Group, Mission No 1, 26 Nov 1943, Bremen, Germany.
0908 hours - Twenty aircraft off okay. Four of the briefed crews didn't manage to get off the ground. A 614th ship dropped off the perimeter track, and in doing so trapped the 615th Squadron Commander, Major Seawell, behind it. Then, as Lt. V.J. Kaminski neared the tail of Lt. Ralph Dempsey's ship and attempted to brake, he had a brake failure. In the ensuing collision the tail of 42-31091 was demolished by the props of 42-39873.
The primary target was obscured due to a 10/10's undercast, so bombing was done at 25,000 feet using PFF methods.
Aircraft 42-37833 "Fancy Nancy" as struck from below by a B-17 from another group, cutting off the ball turret and killing the ball turret gunner, Sgt. L. Baranik. The ship was able to return, but force-landed at RAF Detling in Kent, where it was declared damaged beyond repair and scrapped.Eight other aircraft from the 401st suffered minor flak damage.
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
Squadron
Squadron
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 14/9/43; Scott 22/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-D] Deenethorpe 8/11/43; on return from Merignac 31/12/43 with Capt Jere Maupin, Co-pilot: Earl Owens, Navigator: Capt Walt Eabererr, Bombardier: Capt Ron WEoodhouse, Flight engineer...
B-17 Flying Fortress
This was the only original aircraft of the 401st BG to return to the USA after the war. The aircraft was named after Lt. Bryan Shotts' Wife "Betty Jean Shotts".
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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17G ser. 42-31081, 'Son of A Blitz':
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/9/43; Gt Falls 28/9/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-K] Deenethorpe 26/10/43; Missing in Action Politz 7/10/44 with Tom Hill, Wilbur Schmedel, Theo Block, Junius Chadwick, Jim Mullins, Vic Shewbert, Ed Hellenbeck, Buddy Keith, Omer...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/9/43; Gt Falls 14/10/43; Scott 21/10/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-B] Deenethorpe 4/11/43; Missing in Action Frankfurt 29/1/44 with Capt. Robert Beers, Co-pilot: Howard Byrne, Navigator: Harry Gershon, Bombardier: Bill Ritch,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 3/10/43; Gr Island 31/3/43; Wilmington 9/11/43; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-D] Deenethorpe 12/12/43; t/o for mission as spare but turned back, severely damaged as repairs were being undertaken on base, 29/3/44 with Walter B. Keith, Co...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 6/9/43; Scott 22/10/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-G] Deenthorpe 26/10/43; Missing in Action Oschersleben 11/1/44 with Harry Chapman, Co-pilot: John Peck, Navigator: Harrison Hurlburt, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Chas Badura,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 21/9/43; Gt Falls 25/9/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-F] Deenethorpe 26/10/43; 1
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 14/9/43; Scott 24/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-L] Deenethorpe 9/11/43; Missing in Action Dessau 28/5/44 with ?. RED’S ROGUES.
26 November 1943
The industrial areas of Bremen, Germany are the target for this massive mission (largest to date) of 505 B-17s which included 14 B-17 Pathfinders from 482BG spread among the B-17 formations - 13 of these completed the mission and 7 were damaged.
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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...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 November 2021 20:42:42 | acbernstein1 | Changes to caption, unit associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Missions/Details.aspx?Number=1 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 November 2021 14:44:55 | acbernstein1 | Created entry with caption, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
