8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
...
The American Air Museum is Closed
Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
42-29740
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 11/2/43; Rapid City 22/2/43 - original group ship with 95th BG; Kearney 12/3/43; Assigned 412BS/95BG [QW-R] RAF Alconbury; force landed Alconbury after sustaining NBD with Don Eastling 19/5/43; transferred to 337BS/96BG [AW-G] Grafton Underwood 23/6/43; transferred 323BS/91BG [OR-P] Bassingbourn 12/9/43; 5 missions with 91BG Missing in Action Anklam 9/10/43 with Morris Gutto, Navigator: Edgar Richardson, Bombardier: Alva Allen, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bob Crain, Waist gunner: Merle Hilgert (5 Prisoner of War); Co-pilot: Chas Loeber, Radio Operator: Herschel Kelley, Ball turret gunner: John Delaney, Waist gunner: John Bird, Tail gunner: Chas Alishouse (5 Killed in Action); hit by enemy aircraft rocket attacks, crashed Dorpumfeld, near Tolk, 17 miles W of Flensburg, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 896. TONDELAYO.
Service
Units
-
-
91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla... -
96th Bomb Group
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945. ... -
323rd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
-
337th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
-
339th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
-
412th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
-
Alvah Allen
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 896. Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Charles Allshouse
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 896. Awards: PH. -
John Bird
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 896. Awards: AM, PH. -
Robert Crain
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 896. Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
John Delaney
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 896. Awards: AM, PH. -
Donald Eastling
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
B-17 #42-29919 'Carbondale Special' June 13, 1943 suffered bomb damage and injuries to BTG and TG. Aug 17, 1943, piloted 'Wee Bonnie' B17 42-30185 -
Morris Guttu
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 896. ... -
Merle Hilgert
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 896. Awards: POW, PH, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Herschel Kelley
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 896. Awards: AM, PH. -
Charles Loeber
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Anklam, Germany. Shot down 9-Oct-43 in B-17 42-29740. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 896. Awards: PH.
Missions
-
VIII Bomber Command 113
9 October 1943
This mission is composed of 6 elements. The first element is a combined force of 115 B-17s from: 303BG (20); 379BG (20); 384BG (21); 351BG (21); 91BG 16; and 381BG (16) dispatched to bomb the industrial areas of Anklam, Germany. 106 aircraft are...
Places
-
Alconbury
Military site : airfield
Alconbury had been constructed as a satellite airfield for RAF Upwood and Wyton and was used by RAF Squadrons: Nos. 15, 40 and 156. In preparation for the arrival of American heavy bombers, the base was developed in 1942 with the runways extended. When... -
Bassingbourn
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long... -
Grafton Underwood
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for... -
Snetterton Heath
Military site : airfield
Intended to be an RAF bomber base, construction of Snetterton Heath started in Autumn 1942 but continued until mid-1943, because it was extended after allocation as an Eighth Air Force bomber base. It had eventually three concrete runways, 50... -
United Airlines Modification Center
Other location
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured | Seattle, WA, USA | 1943 |
|
Built at Boeing. |
||
| Delivered | 722, 6207 Missile Dr, Cheyenne, WY 82005, USA | 11 February 1943 |
|
Delivered Cheyenne AAF 11-Feb-43. |
||
| Assigned | Royal Air Force, Alconbury, Huntingdon PE28 4DA, UK | May 1943 |
|
Assigned 412BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Crashed | Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 19 May 1943 |
|
Force landed Alconbury after sustaining NBD with pilot Don Eastling 19/5/43. |
||
| Assigned | Grafton Underwood, Kettering NN14 3AA, UK | 23 June 1943 |
|
Transferred to 337BS, 96BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Assigned | Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth, Royston SG8, UK | 12 September 1943 |
|
Transferred 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Crashed | Dörpumfeld, 25821 Bordelum, Germany | 9 October 1943 – 9 October 1943 |
|
Missing in Action Anklam 9/10/43. Hit by enemy aircraft rocket attacks, crashed Dorpumfeld, near Tolk, 17 miles W of Flensburg, Germany. (5 x POW, 5 x KIA) Missing Air Crew Report MACR896. |
||
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 May 2020 20:55:17 | kstrykerAK | Changes to nicknames and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Snetterton Falcons II: The 96th Bomb Group in World War II by Robert E Doherty & Geoffrey D Ward. Second Edition with Errata and Supplemental Information. Taylor Publishing. 1996. page 293 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 February 2018 10:00:42 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 February 2018 08:46:04 | terveurn | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
corrected entry using load-out from 95th BG as well as Lockheed Maintenance records |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 15:37:13 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, markings, events, unit associations, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 896 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
