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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F-35-DL #42-3216 "The Joker" Code: JD-S 384th BG - 545th BS - 8th AF Shot Down 14 October 1943
Delivered Cheyenne 1/4/43; Dow Fd 13/5/43; Assigned 545BS/384BG [JD-S] Grafton Underwood 29/5/43; Missing in Action Schweinfurt 14/10/43 with Bill Kopf, Co-pilot: Alf Scott, Navigator: Toscha Massey, Ball turret gunner: Clyde Smith, Waist gunner: Leroy Bernard, Waist gunner: Tony Perroni,Tail gunner: Elton Buddemeyer (7 Killed in Action), Bombardier: Gene Connor, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Hugh Mauritho, Radio Operator: Herbert Yeryar (3 evaded capture); enemy aircraft blew off nose, crashed Rambluzin-Meuse, 11 miles S of Verdun, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 841. THE JOKER.
Group
The 384th Bomb Group flew B-17s from Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, between May 1943 and June 1945. They were engaged in daylight bombing missions over Germany as part of the Allies' efforts to destroy the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe by...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #423216 'The Joker. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Earlier 10/10/43 in B17#42-29557 'Yankee Girl' returning from mission, struck hanger at RAF Desford.
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Radio Operator | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #423231 'The Inferno. ' Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #423216 'The Joker. ' Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Captain | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #423231 'The Inferno. ' Prisoner of War (POW).
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Colonel
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 384th Bomb Group
Bombardier on William E Kopf Crew, flew 4 missions in October 1943. On 10 October his B-17 #42-29557 'Yankee Girl' struck the hanger at RAF Desford returning from a mission.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 42-3216 'The Joker. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Earlier 10/10/43 in B17 42-29557 'Yankee Girl' returning from mission, struck hanger at RAF Desford.
Military | Second Lieutenant | 1034 - Navigator | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-3216 'The Joker. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Missing Air Crew Report #841
Earlier on 10/10/1943 in B-17#42-29557 'Yankee Girl' returning from mission, struck hanger at RAF Desford.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #423216 'The Joker. ' Evaded.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-3216 JD-S, 'The Joker.' Killed in Action (KIA). Missing Air crew Report #841.
Earlier, on 10 October 1943 in B17#42-29557 'Yankee Girl' returning from a mission, struck a hanger at RAF Desford.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #423216 'The Joker. ' Killed in Action (KIA). Earlier 10/10/43 in B17#42-29557 'Yankee Girl' returning from mission, struck hanger at RAF Desford.
22 June 1943
The German rubber industry (Chemische Werke Hüls AG) at Marl (district Hüls-Nord), Germany, is the primary objective of this mission and is assigned to the Bomb Groups with the most expericence. Also the industrial area of Antwerp, Belgium is assigned...
25 June 1943
This mission was intended to be the first major attack on the industrial area of Hamburg, Germany but weather and contrails made fromation flying too difficult and dangerous. As a result, the main formation 197 B-17s from: 91BG (18); 92BG (23); 303BG ...
26 June 1943
The targets for today are all Luftwaffe installations: the Villacoublay air depot SW of Paris, France is the primary; the airfield at Poissy, France is attacked as the secondary because of cloud cover; the airfield at Tricqueville, France; and the...
29 June 1943
1st Bomb Wing despatches two formations: one has the air depot at Villacoublay, France as their primary; and one has the Luftwaffe airfield at Tricqueville, France as their primary.
...
10 July 1943
German airfields at Caen, Abbeville, and Le Bourget at Paris, France are the primary targets for this mission. 112 B-17s form a combined force from 91BG; 92BG; 305BG; 306BG; 351BG and 381BG to bomb the German airfield (Carpiquet) at Caen, France. Cloud...
24 July 1943
Three targets in Norway are the primary targets for this first mission flown by 8th AIr Force to Norway. They are the nitrate works at Heroya and the port areas at Trondheim and Bergen. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (22)...
29 July 1943
The primary targets for this mission are the port facilities at Kiel, Germany and the Heinkel aircraft factories at Warnemunde, Germany. A combined force of 168 B-17s from: 91BG (18); 92BG (14 these included 1 Y-B40 gunship); 305BG (19); 306BG (18);...
30 July 1943
The aircraft factories at Kassel, Germany are the primary targets for this mission. The mission is flown by two elements of B-17s which attack 15 minutes apart. The firts element is a combined force of 119 B-17s from: 91BG (20); 303BG (23); 351BG (21);...
12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb...
15 August 1943
German airfields in Holland and France are the targets for this mission. All of the attacks were made late in the afternoon just prior to sunset. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (20...
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Delivered | Cheyenne, WY | 1 April 1943 |
| Assigned | Grafton Underwood Airfield, UK | 29 May 1943 |
|
384BG |
||
| Shot Down | Rambluzin-Meuse, France | 14 October 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 30 October 2020 19:52:02 | 466thHistorian | Changes to production block number, markings, events and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
B-17 Flying Fortress Story - Roger Freeman |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:42 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 841 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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