[Hornchurch]

Originally Posted by jim

Hi Hornchurch, do you have any info about B17s flying out of Snetterton around 1944 ?

I am doing a little research and you could save me some library time if you can start me off in the right direction.

Hi Jim - before I answer your question, I have to say that those series of books that FlyX has recommended do appear to be really good....a few of my mates in London have accquired some on special order from that same publisher & they rate them very highly.


Ironic that you should mention you want to research B.17's from Snetterton.

When I moved from London to the Norfolk coast, several locals told me over a beer or two, about a B.17 that crashlanded on the beach/mudflats, only
1/2 a mile-away, with a full bomb-load on board eek !!!!!

Researching it, it turned out to be a Snetterton B.17 from the 96th B.G.

On the 19th Aug 1943, B.17 -F (42-30172) wearing the fuselage Sqdn codes QJ *F (nicknamed "Black Heart Jr"), was the lead-ship in a formation sent to bomb Woensdrecht (Luftwaffe) airfield in Holland.
Whilst leading the formation, climbing at 13,000ft, a large 'in-house' fire developed within the fuselage, spreading rapidly & causing several oxygen tanks to blow-up, increasing the flames intensity.

Numerous B.17's were lost by this same cause/problem, that plagued many B.17 F's, until the fault was traced, after repeated problems/instances.
The (worn) wiring looms would chafe away, in the central turret column/spigot & then cause a massive short-circuit & subsequent fire, especially as the oxygen tanks were located close by, on the bulkhead.

The pilot of "Black Heart Jnr" (2nd/Lt Attway) gave the Bail-out alarm & engaged Auto-pilot, before everyone jumped (including their high-ranking passenger that day, Col J.Travis-403 wing Exec officer).

Co-Pilot 2nd/Lt Matt Vinson found that only he & the bombardier (Miller), were left on board & that Vinson's 'chute was missing
Disengaging the Autopilot, he found the '17 still responded to the controls, though he could only see through the sliding side window.
As he Crash-landed (VERY, VERY gently) onto the mudflats, the No 1 prop came off & slashed through the nose !!!
Once the '17 skidded to a halt, Vinson squeezed out of the side cockpit window & ran with difficulty, being in a burned, fume filled & exhausted state.
Locals ran across to help carry him away & 15 mins later, the delayed G.P.500 pounders went up, blowing 42-30172 to smithereens.
Lucky to be alive, Vinson was later awarded a D.S.C.


The 96th B.G. were at Snetterton (Norfolk) from June '43 till Nov '45.
Unit identifiers, (when worn) were a large 'C' in a square (from July '43 onward)....... from March '44 onward the 96th received Metal/Silver (N.M.F.) B.17 'G's.
From Jan '45 onward they wore Two parallel Red bands on (outer)wings..... & Two Red bands on tail surfaces....... the lower one; from tail-fillet to back of tail-fin --- the upper one, behind Unit/96th 'C' Square marking.

Of the 4 x Sqdns that made up the 96th B.G. codes were.....
337th (B.Sqdn) = AW ; 338th = BX ; 339th = QJ ; 413th = MZ ;

I strongly recommend you (laser-order) obtain from your local library.......

The Mighty Eighth - Roger A. Freeman (regarded as the main reference source for folks studying the 8th A.F. - he was the 8th A.F.'s Vet's official historian, till his sad passing, last year).
Massive source of info, It also contains unit colours of 8th's, B.G's & F.G.'s.

also The Mighty Eighth 'War Diary' by the same author

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by jim

........you could save me some library time if you can start me off in the right direction.

What's a library?...

[Hornchurch]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

What's a library?...

Dear smelly one, what happened to the cute face & your lush black & white tail, that U used to proudly display on your avatar?????????

More to the point, what gives with the Boy George look????
Have you gone all P.C. & turned Communist ????

.

[SKUNKY]

Hornchurch - I'll have you know that's the one and only, 'Fred Garvin - male prostitute.' ...(aka Dan Aykroyd)

(the skunk probably won't be back until Spring)

[watou06]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Hornchurch - I'll have you know that's the one and only, 'Fred Garvin - male prostitute.' ...(aka Dan Aykroyd)

(the skunk probably won't be back until Spring)

For a little while, I thought it was Tom Hanks in Catch me if you Can.