| Serial Number: | 42-29717 |
| Name: | MR. FIVE BY FIVE |
| Manufacturer: | Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17F-65-BO, Camouflage |
| Squadron: | 544th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
| Squadron ID Code: |
544th‑SU*H (through 1943-11-03) 544th‑SU*M (through 1944-02-25) |
| Start Date: | 13 September 1943. Transferred: Received from the 92nd BG.. |
| Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 19 combat missions with the 384th. |
| End Date: | 25 February 1944. Failed to return from combat operations. |
| Related Documents: | Missing Air Crew Report # 2774⇓ (1.201 MB) |
| Photo Album: | Aircraft 42-29717 Photo Album⇗ |
| History: | 42-29717 Delivered to Cheyenne Modification Center, Colorado on 9 February 1943. Transferred to the 94th Bombardment Group at Pueblo Army Air Base, Colorado on 18 February 1943; then to Salina (Smokey Hill Army Airfield), Kansas on 25 February 1943; then to Brookley Field, Alabama on 19 March 1943. Moved back to Smokey Hill Army Airfield, Kansas on 23 March 1943; then to Syracuse Army Air Base, New York on 8 April 1943. Assigned to the 332nd Bombardment Squadron, squadron code XM*Z, 94th Bombardment Group, station 121, Bassingbourn UK on 17 April 1943; then to Station 158, Earls Colne, station 458 on 12 May 1943; then to Rougham on 13 June 1943. Transferred to the 326th Bombardment Squadron, 92nd Bombardment Group at Station 102, Alconbury on 1 August 1943. Moved to the 544th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code SU*M, 384th Bombardment Group, Station 106, Grafton Underwood on 13 August 1943. The aircraft went Missing in Action (MIA) on a mission to Augsburg on 25 February 1944 with Pilot-Jack Kirbey Larsen, Copilot-Warren Francis Donovan, Navigator-John James Fallon, Bombardier-Edward Joseph Murray, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner-Karl Francis Barnes, Radio Operator-Robert Lester Cole, Ball Turret Gunner-Alton Bernhard Haverlah, Waist Gunner-Edward Simon, Waist Gunner-Edward Ralph Holler and Tail Gunner-John William Moore were taken prisoner (10 POW). The aircraft had a mechanical fault and crash landed at Bruchsal, Germany. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 2774. Aircraft Name: MR FIVE BY FIVE. |
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| Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25⇗ | 23 September 1943 | Target: Submarine Repair Ship Type: Submarine Facility Location: Nantes, France | Completed Mission | Landed away at RAF Wing, Buckinghamshire. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 27⇗ | 2 October 1943 | Target: Port Facilities Type: Transportation Location: Emden, Germany | Flying Spare, Returned As Briefed | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 29⇗ | 8 October 1943 | Target: Workshops Type: Submarine Facility Location: Bremen, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 30⇗ | 9 October 1943 | Target: Aircraft Factories Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Anklam, Germany | Completed Mission | Low Squadron lead. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 31⇗ | 10 October 1943 | Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Münster, Germany | Completed Mission | Landed away at Desborough due to weather. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 13 October 1943 | Emden, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 32⇗ | 14 October 1943 | Target: Ball-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 33⇗ | 20 October 1943 | Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Düren, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| --⇗ | 30 October 1943 | Gelsenkirchen, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 34⇗ | 3 November 1943 | Target: Port Area Type: Transportation Location: Wilhelmshafen, Germany | Completed Mission | Kennedy (CP) and Hedin (N) wounded by flak burst in nose of aircraft. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 45⇗ | 22 December 1943 | Target: Steel Shops/Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Osnabrück, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 46⇗ | 24 December 1943 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Croisette, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 47⇗ | 30 December 1943 | Target: I. G. Farben Industrie, Chemical/Synthetic Rubber Plants Type: Industry Location: Ludwigshafen, Germany | Completed Mission | Composite Squadron Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 54⇗ | 21 January 1944 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Preuseville, France | Completed Mission | 41A Group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 24 January 1944 | Frankfurt am Main, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | A Grp Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 55⇗ | 29 January 1944 | Target: Aircraft Parts Plants Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Completed Mission | Lead group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 56⇗ | 30 January 1944 | Target: Aircraft Assembly Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Brunswick / Braunschweig, Germany | Completed Mission | Low group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 57⇗ | 3 February 1944 | Target: Submarines (under construction) Type: Submarine Facility Location: Wilhelmshaven, Germany | Completed Mission | Lead Group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 58⇗ | 4 February 1944 | Target: Alfred Teves Main Works: Aircraft Parts Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Completed Mission | High group, 41st B Combat Wing. Turned back with 'supercharger trouble.' Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 60⇗ | 6 February 1944 | Target: Nancy/Essey Aerodrome Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Nancy, France | Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off | This aircraft did not take off. 544th BS loading list does not identify the crewmembers; pilot identified from other documents. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 61⇗ | 8 February 1944 | Target: Piston Ring Factory Type: Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Completed Mission | High Squadron. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 63⇗ | 20 February 1944 | Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Leipzig & Bernburg, Germany | Completed Mission | 41B Group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 64⇗ | 21 February 1944 | Target: Fighter Field & Aircraft Storage Depot Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Werl, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 65⇗ | 22 February 1944 | Target: Aircraft Factory Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Halberstadt & Aschersleben, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | 41A Group. Took off late (0922 instead of 0845) due to mechanical trouble but succeeded in joining formation. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 66⇗ | 24 February 1944 | Target: Ball-Bearing Plant Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany | Completed Mission | High Squadron, lead group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 67⇗ | 25 February 1944 | Target: Aircraft Assembly & Ball Bearings Plants Type: Industry Location: Augsburg & Stuttgart, Germany | Failed To Return | 41C Group, High Squadron, Lead Group. Feathered #2 engine at 1325 hrs but continued on towards target; at 1420, three minutes before target was reached, jettisoned bombs and peeled off from formation, perhaps heading for Switzerland; crash-landed near Bruchsal, Germany. MACR 2774 Sortie Report ⇗ |