41-24487 Eager Beaver

An airman of the 306th Bomb Group with the nose art of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24487) nicknamed "Eager Beaver". media-387685.jpg FRE 5932 An airman of the 306th Bomb Group with the nose art of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24487) nicknamed "Eager Beaver". From PCT article: 'It was then-First Lt. Reber who dubbed the B-17 the Eager Beaver. He identified with the term as a description of one who “wants to do everything” and is ready to move front and center when called upon to serve. He recalls that he paid a Sgt. Lee Kessler, of Ohio, $5 to paint a beaver on each side of the plane’s nose before he first flew it across the Atlantic in 1942. ' Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 5932 - An airman of the 306th Bomb Group with the nose art of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24487) nicknamed "Eager Beaver". From PCT article:...

Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO-Q] Westover 25/8/42; Thurleigh 13/10/42; AFSC 1/5/44; was longest serving B-17F in 8th BC; Returned to the USA Tinker 28/7/44; to Williamsport Technical Institute, Patterson Fd, Penn.; 20/6/45 for aeronautical programme, the nose section still on display. EAGER BEAVER.



See article here: http://www.psu.edu/ur/2000/25aug00newswire.html

'PENN COLLEGE DONATES WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT



Pennsylvania College of Technology has donated the last remnant of a World War II B-17 bomber to a Georgia Museum to honor a request from its pilot, retired Air Force Col. Marlen E. Reber. The "Eager Beaver," a nose cone from the historic aircraft that had been displayed at Penn College's Kathryn Wentzel Lumley Aviation Center since 1992, recently arrived at its new home, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum in Savannah.'



'The plane flew more combat missions (45) than any other B-17 in the European Theater of operations. After the war, Penn College's predecessor, Williamsport Technical Institute, bought the aircraft for $350 for instructional purposes. Most of the plane was scrapped in 1952, but the nose cone featuring a cartoon-like figure was retained. For more information on Pennsylvania College of Technology, visit http://www.pct.edu'

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36408642
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Gunner / Togglier / Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36350924
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17029571
  • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ground Crew
An airman of the 306th Bomb Group with the nose art of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24487) nicknamed "Eager Beaver".
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16014808, O-437584
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Places

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Flew to England

Westover Air Force Base, Chicopee, MA 01022, USA 25 August 1942

Other

First 8th Air Force aircraft to bomb Berlin

27 January 1943

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

B-17 Groups of the Eighth Air Force by Martin Bowman.

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log

41-24487: Gallery (4 items)