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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17G-55-BO #42-102953 "Sky Ann" Code: P 388th BG - 563rd BG- 8th AF
Delivered Cheyenne 22/4/44; Kearney 2/5/44; Grenier 13/5/44; Assigned 563BS/388BG [P] Knettishall 16/5/44; Missing in Action Magdeburg 28/9/44 with Bernard Lord, Co-pilot: Don Trachsel, Navigator: Irving Podolska, Bombardier: Walter Norwicki, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ray Bradley, Radio Operator: Garland Vaughn,Tail gunner: Chas Valente (7 Killed in Action); Ball turret gunner: Bland Carter, Waist gunner: Wesley Road (2 Prisoner of War); mid air coll with 43-38404 (388 BG), crashed just outside Merseburg, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 9380. SHY ANN.
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 28 September 1944 Crashed near Merseburg
AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster/ PH
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Ball Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed at Merseburg on 9/28/44 in B-17 'Shy Ann' 42-102953.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 28 September 1944 Crashed near Merseburg in B-17 'Shy Ann' 42-102953.
AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed near Merseburg in B-17 'Shy Ann' 42-102953. Plane was in a mid-air collision with another 388th plane in the scramble to regroup after dropping their bombs.
Military | Flight Officer | Navigator | 388th Bomb Group
Irving Podolsky served as a navigator with the 388th Bomb Group.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW). Crashed at Merseburg on 9/28/44 in B-17 :'Shy Ann' 42-102953
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed near Merseburg in B-17 :Shy Ann' 42-102953
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed at Merseburg in B-17 'Shy Ann' 42-102953.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Crashed at Merseburg in B-17 'Shy Ann' 42-102953, Killed in Action (KIA).
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered | Cheyenne, WY | 22 April 1944 |
|
Collided with B-17G 42-38404 |
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| Assigned | Knettishall Airfield, UK | 16 May 1944 |
| Mid Air Collision/Destroyed | near Merseburg, Germany | 28 September 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 11 November 2020 20:25:48 | 466thHistorian | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 November 2020 20:25:37 | 466thHistorian | Changes to nicknames, markings and events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 October 2015 19:34:07 | ram957 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
388th BG Association Records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:13 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 9380 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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