Irving Otto Schaefer | American Air Museum

Irving Otto Schaefer Jr

Military

media-33080.jpeg UPL 33080 The crew of Puddles, a B-17 G bomber that flew missions out of Horham AFB in 1944. My father, Lt. Irving O. Schafer, then age 21, was the navigator. It's last mission was flown over Hamburg on 12-31-44 - the city where my father's grandfather had been born.

Karen Schaefer, daughter of Lt.Irving O. Schaefer

Object Number - UPL 33080 - The crew of Puddles, a B-17 G bomber that flew missions out of Horham AFB in 1944. My father, Lt. Irving O. Schafer, then age 21, was the navigator....

My father, Irving O. Schaefer, Jr. was a native of Montrose, Colorado. On his 21st birthday, Oct. 19th, 1944, he arrived at Horham air base in England to begin his service as a navigator on a B-17 bomber. 6'4" tall, he could barely fit behind the tiny navigator's table. He and his 9 crew members served together throughout the remainder of the war, with no injuries to crew, although their aircraft, nicknamed 'Puddles,' was not so fortunate. He and his father, Col. Irving O. Schaefer, Sr. who served during the invasion of Sicily, once met by accident in London. Neither had seen the other in three years. Schaef loved history and visited London and local places of interest whenever he could.