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B-17 Flying Fortress
Elmer Villiesse, Crew Chief and Miss Green Bay 43-38293
Jack Rude, from December of 1944 through April of 1945, served as 493rd Bomb Group , 863rd Bomb Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress tail gunner based in Debach, England.
Delivered Cheyenne 18/7/44; Kearney 26/7/44; Grenier 7/8/44; Assigned 861BS/493BG Debach 9/8/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 5/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 8/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 28/11/45. MISS GREEN BAY.
This aircraft made several deep penetration missions, including at least (2) to bomb targets in Czechoslovakia before the war ended. Crew Chief, Master Sergeant Elmer Viliesse of Green Bay, WI named the aircraft and kept it in the air for a total of 55 missions, including 27 in a row without mechanical failures.
Group
The 493rd Bomb Group was the last Eighth Air Force Group to become operational, flying their first combat mission from Debach, Suffolk, on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The Group was known as "the Fighting 493rd", named by their Commanding Officer Colonel Elbert...
Squadron
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 493rd Bomb Group
Military | Chief Master Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 493rd Bomb Group
In 1942 at age 18, enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. During a training mission over California, survived with the entire crew the crash landing of a Consolidated B-24 Liberator. From Debach, England, from October 1944 through April 1945, as a 493rd...
Military | Master Sergeant | Crew Chief | 493rd Bomb Group
Crew Chief, Master Sergeant Elmer Villiesse of Green Bay, WI named B-17 43-38293 'Miss Green Bay' and kept it in the air for a total of 55 missions, including 27 in a row without mechanical failures.
Military site : airfield
Debach was one of the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber bases to be completed. It was built by the 820th Engineer Battalion (Aviation) between late '43 and early '44. Pronounced locally as 'Deb-idge', the base was built to a class A standard with...
Other location
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 14 June 2020 21:31:37 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Changed quotes around the nickname. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 September 2017 19:31:56 | jacrandell22 | Changes to nicknames and markings |
| Sources | ||
Verbal description from tail gunner, Jack Rude. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 September 2017 11:10:39 | Lucy May | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
Added connection to crew chief's record. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 September 2017 07:33:54 | jacrandell22 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Crew Chief and mission count information from Neville Public Museum website, Green Bay, WI. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 September 2017 06:56:25 | jacrandell22 | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, unit associations, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Assembly block, MFR info from "B-17 Flying Fortress in detail and scale." - Lloyd, Moore Missions and aircraft markings from my friend, Jack Rude who was the Tailgunner on this aircraft. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:41:27 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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