DOCUMENT 53004

By downloading this document, you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions

401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 26, 22 Feb 1944, Oschersleben, Germany. 32 aircraft were airborne by 0935. 29 operational aircraft had returned by 1755 while four aircraft were reported down at other airfields in the UK and two were missing.Major (later Colonel) W. T. Seawell led the Group on a mission that involved a coordinated attack by the 15th Air Force from its bases in Italy. As a result of heavy flak and fighter attacks, aircraft piloted by Lt. Loy M. Shanks (# 42-31930) and Lt. Vernon A. Arneson (# 42-38002) were shot down. Lt. Arneson's tail gunner, S/Sgt. R. G. Schmitt, was unable to bail out with the other crew members because his parachute was riddled by machine gun fire but survived without injuries when the B-17 landed itself in a field.

Connections

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

Units

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

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Heaven Can Wait, Boche Buster
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Maggie
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Sac Hound
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Shade Ruff
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Salvo Sadie
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron

Locations

Mission

Revisions

Date:
Contributoracbernstein1
ChangesChanges to unit associations
Date:
Contributoracbernstein1
ChangesChanges to caption and aircraft associations
Date:
Contributoracbernstein1
ChangesCreated entry with caption, unit associations, place associations and mission associations