FRE 4818

IMAGE

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The damaged wing of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-29886) of the 379th Bomb Group. Printed caption on reverse: '71689 AC - The wing of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" (A/C No. 229886) was badly damaged during a mission over enemy territory on 17 July 1943. 379th Bomb Group, England. U.S. Air Force Photo.' Lt Kermit Wooldridge was pilot on this mission over Hanover. Germany. It was his 2nd mission and his plane also lost a gas tank, the #2 engine, the elevator and control cables It had over four hundred bullet holes. Wooldridge would fly this ship, 42-29886 on a total of nine missions. He lost both his Navigator and Bombardier on this mission, Both bailed out over the North Sea. The account of his mission from his WWII diary is at https://sites.google.com/site/ww2pilotsdiary/home/raid-2

Connections

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Units

The insignia of the 379th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Scheherazade
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron

Mission

Revisions

Date:
Contributorfbeka
ChangesChanges to caption and mission associations
Sources

Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo, daughter of Lt Kermit Wooldridge. Mission account from his WWII Diary.

Date:
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection