Boeing B-17 Flying Fortess
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PART 1 B-17 Flying Fortress | Behind the Wings PART 1 B-17 Flying Fortress | Behind the WingsThe B-17 wasn’t the biggest, fastest, or most widely-used bomber in World War II, but it has become an icon of ...
12/11/2022
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Jessica O’Donnell 🏈 on Twitter “ another angle”
10/10/2022
10/10/2022
25/09/2022
Finally, The Rest of the Story BY RAY L. SHEWFELT (355TH FG)
As so often happened when a plane went down, we never heard of the fate of the pilot until word came from the Red Cross that he was killed in action or hopefully was a prisoner of war. Rarely did we ever hear the details of his loss. In this case, 55 years later we have the rest of the story.
On September 18, 1944, 110 B-17s were tasked to drop badly needed supplies to Polish guerrillas in an uprising in Warsaw. They were escorted by 64 P-51s from the 355th Fighter Group. The mission was known as Operation FRANTIC VII, the last of seven so-called shuttle missions to Russia wherein the bombers bombed, or in this case dropped supplies in Poland and continued on to land in Russia. Two days later they bombed in Hungary and continued on to Italy. The third leg was a bombing mission in France enroute to their home base in England. In the Warsaw area, they were attacked by 109s from JG-51 (Moelders), and one B-17 and two P-51s were lost. (Four ME-109s were also shot down.) One B-17 and the P-51s of Lt. Joseph Vigna and Lt. Robert O. Peters of the 358th Fighter Squadron were lost.
Fast forward: In September 2000 I received an e-mail from a Polish Air Force officer, Jersey (Jurek) Boc, inquiring about the two pilots and asking for details from the records of the squadron such as the MACR (Missing Air Crew Report), the location of their crash, the Battle Order for this mission, and if possible, photos of the men and their planes. I complied with his request. He replied, “I finally found the places of death of Lts. Peters and Vigna. According to Mr. Wisniewski, an eyewitness, Lt. Peters made a controlled crash landing 15 km NW of Warsaw, near the village of Wrona. After the crash, the pilot was still alive for about thirty minutes but indicated that he did not want to get out of the cockpit. (I suspect that
he knew he was mortally wounded.) German soldiers surrounded the plane and didn’t allow inhabitants to rescue the pilot. The plane was now burning and he died very soon. He was buried next to the aircraft and the grave was marked with four pegs.” Due to the efforts of Jurek Boc and the local priest, a memorial service in honor of the two pilots was held in the village Catholic church on September 16, 2000, the 56th anniversary of their loss. The entire village was in attendance.
A case of serendipity: In February 2001 I received an e-mail from a young woman in North Carolina who was researching the loss of her father. She was two months old when he was lost. Mrs. Lynne Peters Ander - son was the daughter of Lt. Robert O. Peters. I immediately put her in touch via e-mail with the Polish officer and he told her what he had found. Lynne’s husband was planning a business trip to Warsaw, so she decided to accom-
pany him. Jurek met her and took her to the scene of her father’s crash, where there remain shards of the plane and .50 cal bullets. She met Mr. Wisniewski, who had been a 15- year-old boy working on the farm, and now she has a piece of the plane, which was located with a metal detector.
The experience finally brought closure to Lynne and her mother, Mrs. George Griese.
Unfortunately, Lt. Peters was shot down by one of the pilots in his own squadron when he slid into the line of fire. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) for shooting down five enemy aircraft on July 20 while escorting bombers.
Lt. Vigna crashed several kilometers away. He was thrown from the plane. His face was shot away and his legs badly burned. German soldiers and the pilot who had shot him downarrived. He ordered the co**se to be put in a body bag and Vigna was buried near the crash. The Luftwaffe pilot claimed Vigna’s equipment as a trophy.
In September 2001, the 355th Fighter Group had its reunion in Pittsburgh, PA. John Anderson, Lynne’s husband, had worked hard and enlisted the aid of his congressman and had been successful in securing on short notice a visa for Jurek Boc to come to the United States for a visit. Jurek, Lynne, and John were honored guests at our reunion. Jurek subsequently toured the Air Force Museum at Dayton; Washington, D.C.; and New York.
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18 września 1944 roku o 6:00 rano w ciagu 20 minut z angielskich lotnisk 8 Armii Powietrznej wystartowało 110 bombowców Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" z 13 Skrzydła Bombowego 3 Dywizji Bombowej 8 Armii Lotniczej USAAF eskortowanych przez 73 myśliwce Mustang, aby wykonać pierwszy i jedyny z zaplanowanych, dzienny lot zaopatrzeniowy nad objętą powstaniem Warszawę.
Formacja leciała wzdłuż morza Bałtyckiego i nad ląd stały wleciała nad Kołobrzegiem, dalej trasą nad Toruniem i Płockiem aż do Warszawy. Na ok 40 km przez Warszawą myśliwce eskortujące wyprawę odparły atak niemieckich samolotów zestrzeliwując 4 Messerschmitty Bf-109 i uszkadzając trzy dalsze przy utraconych dwóch własnych maszynach.
W rejonie Puszczy Kampinoskiej na wysokości Łomianek w wyniku ostrzału prowadzonego przez niemiecką obronę przeciwlotniczą jeden z amerykańskich Bombowców B-17G 43-38175 o nazwie "I'll be seeing you/till we meet again" został trafiony i eksplodował w powietrzu, a kilka samolotów zostało poważnie uszkodzonych.
Nad Warszawą "Latające Fortece" pojawiły się około południa, zrzucono 1284 zasobników z bronią i amunicją. Powstańcy zdobyli jedynie 188 zasobników, 32 odbito w walce, w 28-miu spadochrony zostały zniszczone przez pociski zapalające.Część lądującego lub zniszczonego ładunkuzostała przejęta przez ludność cywilną poszukującą żywności.
Po jedenastu godzinach lotu samoloty uczestniczące w wyprawie Frantic VII wylądowały na lotnisku w Połtawie.
11/09/2022
This Boeing B-17 received a direct flak hit over Dobroczen, Hungary, 21 Sep '44. Pilot, 2nd Lt. Guy M. Miller, and co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Thomas M. Rybovich, were able to land, but upon landing, the tail wheel gave way, causing the plane to bend at the point where it received the hit.
08/03/2022
In 1947, the Lacey Lady B-17 Bomber was illegally relocated—without proper permits—in the dark of night, at approximately zero two hundred hours, from the Troutdale Airport to Art Lacey’s Milwaukie, OR area gas station with the assistance of patriotic citizens. Following the stunt, a patriotic Justice of the Peace fined Mr. Lacey a mere $10.00 for the offense so long as he promised not to do it again.
PHOTO: Circa 1947, courtesy of the Lacey family archive.
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11/02/2022
Aircraft are repaired / overhauled at the USAAF Air Depot in Townsville Australia - 1943
LIFE Magazine Archives - George Silk Photographer