42-30227 Wabbit Twacks III Boots III

A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30227) nicknamed "Wabbit Twacks II" of the 96th Bomb Group in flight. Handwritten caption on reverse of print: 'Wabbit Twacks II - A/C interned in 7/43 flight.' media-408639.jpg FRE 3989 A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30227) nicknamed "Wabbit Twacks II" of the 96th Bomb Group in flight. Handwritten caption on reverse of print: 'Wabbit Twacks II - A/C interned in 7/43 flight.' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 3989 - A B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30227) nicknamed "Wabbit Twacks II" of the 96th Bomb Group in flight. Handwritten caption on reverse of...

Delivered Cheyenne 1/5/43; Smoky Hill 17/5/43; Dow Fd 30/5/43; Assigned 413BS/96BG [MZ-R] Snetterton 12/6/43 WABBIT TWACKS III; transferred 612BS/401BG [SC-X] Deenethorpe 13/12/43; 1 Base Air Depot, Burtonwood 17/3/44; Returned to the USA Tinker 3/6/44; Gore Air Trans Com 7/6/44; Kirtland 21/1/45; Long Beach 18/5/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Ontario 4/6/45. BOOTS III.



Story from Stars N Stripes: "Ten men from Wabbit Twacks, the B-17 with the baby-talk name, now wear a total of 60 decorations. And before these crewmen go out again to blast Hitler's Europe, three more decorations -- Distinguished Flying Crosses -- will be added to the total. This will make the Wabbit Twacks team one of the most decorated crews in the 8th Air Force.

Only recently the Silver Star, the Army's third highest valor decoration, was awarded to nine of the crewmen who manned the plane . . . in a running battle beginning four miles up near Paris and ending fifty feet above the Channel. . . . Wabbit Twacks returned to base with more than 500 holes and with three men wounded. Each of the ten men have the Air Medal with three clusters. Eventually, every member will have the DFC. Three have the Purple Heart and all but one has the coveted Silver Star.

A shot of the damage incurred by Capt. Walt Flagg's WABBIT TWACKS even though the crew set an 8AF record by downing 9 E/A on this July 10 raid on Le Bourget.



The nine men who received the Silver Star from Colonel Curtis E. LeMay are: Capt. Walter E. Flagg, pilot; 2/L Maxwell Barrett, co-pilot; Capt. Robert P Milliken, bombardier; Captain Merle C. Hamilton, navigator; T/S Bill Morgan, radio op; T/S Borden Christenson, top-turret; S/S John Solinsky, ball turret gunner; S/S John F. Wagner, right waist gunner and S/S Budd R. Schmid, tail gunner.

One of the regular waist gunners, S/S Hal Cooper missed this mission. The battle is tersely reported in the citation: "Prior to reaching the objective, one engine quit, forcing Captain Flagg to leave the formation. Shortly thereafter the lone Fortress was attacked by 25 German fighters! During the running fight that followed, Captain Flagg manoeuvred his airplane with such courage and skill that his gunners were able to destroy nine enemy planes."

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

A pathfinder B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 44-8258) of the 401st Bomb Group. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: '48258 14 A, Mount Farm.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
The insignia of the 96th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
  • Unit Hierarchy: Headquarters
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Air base

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39088940
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner; Engineer
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-?
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17031389 / O-724039
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-?
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39173139
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Turret Gunner

Places

Aerial photograph of Burtonwood airfield, 10 August 1945. Photograph taken by No. 541 Squadron, sortie number RAF/106G/UK/622. English Heritage (RAF Photography).
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Base Air Depot Area (BADA) : 1st Base Air Depot (1 BAD)

Events

Event Location Date Description

Delivered

722, 6207 Missile Dr, Cheyenne, WY 82005, USA 1 May 1943 Delivered Cheyenne AAF 1-May-43.

Assigned

Norwich NR16 2JU, UK 12 June 1943 Assigned 413BS, 96BG 8AF 12-Jun-43.

Assigned

Deenethorpe Airfield, Deenethorpe NN17 3AN, UK 13 December 1943 Transferred 612BS, 401BG, 8AF 13-Dec-43.

Assigned

Burtonwood, UK 17 March 1944 Ferried to 1 Base Air Depot, 17-Mar-44.

Other

Returned USA

3001 S Douglas Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73130, USA 3 June 1944 Returned Zone of the Interior [USA]. Tinker AAF. 3-Jun-44.

Other

Sold for scrap

Ontario, CA, USA 4 June 1945 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Ontario 4-Jun-45.

Manufactured

Seattle, WA, USA Built at Boeing.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

Roger Freeman Photo.

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

42-30227: Gallery (4 items)