Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Nose Art Page 1

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Nose Art Page 1

$5 With Breakfast

B-17G-95-BO 43-38728 was delivered at Lincoln on 21/9/44. It was assigned to the 851 Bomber Squadron 490 Bomber Group. It survived the war and was returned to the USA on 9/7/45. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation disposed of the aircraft for scrap metal.

Bastard’s Bungalow

Belle of the Blue

Boeing B-17G-50-BO Flying Fortress 42-3009 Belle of the Blue. Missing in Action Brux 12/9/44. 423BS 306BG [RD-W]. Shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed near Reichenow, south west of Wreizen, Germany. Nine crew POW, one killed in action.

Big Poison

Boeing B-17G-75-BO Flying Fortress 43-3789 was delivered at Cheyenne on 2/6/44. It was assigned to the 849 Bomber Squadron 490 Bomber Group on 1/7/44. During assembly for a raid on 6/2/45 there was a mid-air collision with 43-37806. Big Poison crashed near Prickwillow Suffolk, UK. The ball gunner was killed while the remaining crew bailed out. Two civilians were also killed and three injured.

Carolina Moon

Boeing B-17G-75-BO Flying Fortress s/n 43-37907 Carolina Moon of the 490th Bomb Group, 848th Bomb Squadron

Daddy’s Delight

Boeing B-17G-40-VE 42-97944 Daddy’s Delight of the 359th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, coded BN*I based at Molesworth (Station 107), Huntingdonshire from 2nd June 1944. Flew 118 Missions. Returned to the US post war and scrapped.

Dixie Demo

Boeing B-17E-80-BO s/n 41-9103 Dixie Demo. Assigned to the 414 Bomb Squadron 97th Bomb Group based at Polebrook from 4 April 1942. It flew on the first 8th Air Force mission on 17th August 1942. Transferred to the 92nd Bomb Group based at Bovingdon on 24th August 1942; the 91st Bomb Group at Bassingbourn on 3rd March 1943;the 385 Bomb Group at Great Ashfield in August 1943 where it was used as a target tow & hack. Returned to the USA the 23rd June 1944. It was sold for scrapping in 1946.

Double Trouble

Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-3082 was delivered at Cheyenne on 3/2/43It was assigned to the 333 Bomber Squadron 94 Bomber Group with code TS-E. It suffered battle damage over St Dizier 4/10/43 when an enemy aircraft knocked out number three engine. Double Trouble crash landed at Margate, Kent, UK where it was later salvaged for parts and scrapped.

E-Rat-Icator

Boeing B-17G (42-39970) E-Rat-Icator Code P 452nd BG 730th BS. Delivered the first load of napalm in European Theatre of Operations. Completed 128 missions returned to the US and scrapped.

Eager Beaver

Boeing B-17F-10-BO Flying Fortress s/n 41-24487 Eager Beaver. Assigned to the 368th Bomb Squadron coded BO*Q, 306th Bomb Group, based at Thurleigh, Bedfordshire from the 13th of September 1942. It’s first combat mission was flown on the 8th of November 1942.

On the 9th of November 1942, it received severe battle damaged on a low-level mission to the submarine base at Saint-Nazaire, France. On return, it force landed at RAF Portreath, Cornwall.

On a mission to the Luftwaffe air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France on the 12th of December 1942 it again received battle damage, with one crew member being wounded. The primary target was covered by clouds, so the formation turned west towards the secondary target at Le Havre where a flight of Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighters attacked the formation. The fighters continued their attack when the formation had to turn back towards the third alternative target, railway marshalling yards at Sotteville-lès-Rouen. Returning home across the English Channel, the plane was attacked by more Fw 190s, injuring the navigator. Cannon shells struck the right wing causing a large hole between no.3 and 4 engines, another shell making a large hole behind the ball turret.

Eager Beaver again received battle damage on a mission to the submarine yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany the 21st of May 1943, with two crew member being wounded. As the bomber reached the target, six to eight enemy fighters attacked in line abreast in an attempt to scatter the Group before bomb release.

On the 30th of July 1943, 24487 undertook a mission to the Gerhard Fieseler Werke (GFW) aircraft works at Waldau, Kassel, Germany. At the target flak was accurate and intense and there was large enemy fighter opposition both to and returning from target. The plane suffered considerable damage from flak and 20mm cannon shells.

Two engines failed during a mission to bomb a submarine supply ship in the Loire River at Nantes, France on the 16th of September 1943. En-route to the target no.1 engine caught fire and the propeller was feathered. With the fire extinguished, the crew continued and dropped their bombs over the target. Returning home, a second engine failed and the pilot force landed the plane at RAF Predannack, Cornwall.

By this stage after receiving so much damage and undertaking 45 missions, it was declared “war weary”. Eager Beaver was the longest serving B-17F in Eighth Air Force Bomber Command.

The plane was returned to US and assigned to the 4136th Base Unit (Oklahoma City Technical Service Command), Tinker Field, Oklahoma City, OK on the 28th of July 1944. On the 14th of February 1945, it was reassigned to the 4100th Base Unit (Fairfield Air Technical Service Command), Patterson Field, Dayton, OH.

On the 20th of June 1945 it was ferried to Williamsport Technical Institute, PA for the aeronautical program. Eager Beaver was finally scrapped in 1954.

Fertile Myrtle

Delivered at Cheyenne on 31/12/42 B-17F-55-BO 42-29520 was assigned to the 427 Bomber Squadron 303 Bomber Group with code GN-O. It was transferred to the 323 Bomber Squadron 91 Bomber Group with code OR-S on 7/9/43. Fertile Myrtle was reported Missing in Action after a raid to Bremen on 8/10/43. Three crew were Killed in Action with the other seven taken prisoner. The B-17 crashed near Neustadt-Wagenfeld, eight miles south east of Diepholz, Germany.

Fever Beaver

Delivered Cheyenne on 25/11/43 Boeing B-17G-25-DL 42-38047 was assigned to the 351 Bomber Squadron 100 Bomber Group with code EP-O and based at Thorpe Abbotts on 9/1/44. Fever Beaver completed 135 missions and was returned to the USA and sold for scrap metal in on 21/12/45.

Fime Sientz

Boeing B-17G-80-BO s/n 43-38260 Fime Sientz was assigned to the 837th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group coded 4F-A from 9 August 1944. On 22nd September 1944 on a mission to Kassel, flak hit the number 3 and 4 engines.It then caught fire and crashed near Seibersbach/Hunsruck, west of Bingen, Germany. One crewman was KIA and 8 taken POW.

Fireball Red

Boeing B-17G-30-BO 42-31876 Fireball Red coded QW*Q was assigned to the 412th Bomb Squadron, 95th Bomb Group and based at Horham, Suffolk from the 17th of February 1944.

Fireball Red participated in an Operation Frantic V shuttle mission to the Flugzeugwerk Gotenhafen Kurt Kannenberg AG Focke Wulf assembly works at Rahmel, Gdynia, Poland on the 6th of August 1944. After the target, the bomber continued east and landed at Poltava, Ukraine. It then undertook a mission to an oil refinery at Trzebinia, Poland on the 7th of August 1944, returning to Ukraine. It then operated a mission to an airfield in Rumania on the 8th of August. After bombing the airfield the plane continued on to Foggia #1, Celone, Italy, a Fifteenth Air Force base in southern Italy.

On the return flight to England Fireball attacked a Luftwaffe airfield at Francazal, Toulouse, France on the 12th of August 1944.

Aborted after take-off for a mission to the Rheinmetall Borsig armaments factory at Düsseldorf, Germany 9 September 1944 (10RTD). Over the North Sea, No.4 engine failed and the propeller feathered. The plane descended towards Horham and broke out of the overcast at 1,500 feet. Cutting short in the landing pattern, the lowering of the landing gear and flaps was delayed. On final approach the landing gear had not fully extended and the pilot instructed to go-around. He called for landing gear retraction but this didn’t happen and increasing engine power caused the plane to veer off the centreline but the drag prevented an increase in altitude. Running out of airfield, the pilot decided to land on the grass and put it down about 400 yards from the upwind end of the runway. Skidding on wet grass, the bomber was unable to stop before crossing the perimeter track and ran into a pile of concrete rubble, tearing off the chin turret and breaking the back of the fuselage. Fireball Red completed 70 missions. Salvaged 10 September 1944.

Fools Rush In

Fools Rush In a Boeing B-17G-1-BO 42-31066 was delivered at Cheyenne on 14/9/43. It was assigned to the 351 Bomber Squadron 100 Bom Group coded EP-H and based at Thorpe Abbotts. I was reported Missing in Action after a raid to Hamburg on 31/12/44 after being hit by flak. Hit by flak on the bomb run she spun down and collided with B-17 43-38124 of the 100BG). Both going down in flames and crashing near Radegast, Germany. Fools Rush In suffered six dead and three captured.

Flak Eater

Delivered at Tulsa on 3/4/44, Boeing B-17G-40-DL 44-6009 was assigned to the 364 Bomber Squadron 305 Bomber Group coded WF-J. It force landed on the continent on 4/12/44 but was repaired. Flak Eater was then transferred to the 351 Bomber Group at Polebrook on 23/5/45. Post war it was returned to the USA and sold for scrap metal.

Gremlin’s Delite

Boeing B-17F-75-DL s/n 42-3522 Gremlins Delite assigned to the 337th Bomb Squadron 96th Bomb Group coded AW-J from the 7th of September 1943. Transferred to the 533th Bomb Squadron 381th Bomb Group coded VP-L on the 27th of September 1943. Returned to the US 9th of July 1944 and scrapped post-war.

Hell’s Angels

Boeing B-17F 41-24577 Hells Angels was assigned to the 358 Bomber Squadron 303 Bomber Group coded VK-D. After a landing accident on 26-Apr-43 and following repairs, it was slated to go to the RAF’s 100 Squadron, but was retained by 803rd Bomber Squadron ATD (American Training Detachment) before completing 48 missions without an abort or any crewman injured. It was subsequently returned to the USA at Newark, New Jersey on 10 February 1944 for War Bond tour. 41-24577 was the first aircraft to complete 25 missions in the UK, earlier than the much more publicized Memphis Belle reached the same status. It was sold for scrap metal on 7 August 1945.

Hoosier Hot Shot

Boeing B-17G-25-DL Flying Fortress (42-38006). 324BS 91BG [DF-H]. Missing in Action Kassel 19/4/44.Eenemy aircraft knocked out three engines, set on fire and ship exploded on way down to crash near Waldkappel, 20 miles south east of Kassel, Germany. Eight crew captured, two killed in action.

Humpty Dumpty

Boeing B-17G-35-DL 42-107233 was delivered at Tulsa on 24/3/44It was assigned to the 351 Bomber Squadron 100 Bomber Group and coded EP-N/W based at Thorpe Abbotts. Humpty Dumpty was reported Missing in Action after a raid to Hamburg on 31/12/44 after being attacked by an enemy aircraft. Nine crew were taken prisoner. The B-17 crashed near Tauenbrueck, Germany.