| Serial Number: | 42-31048 |
| Name: | Not Known |
| Manufacturer: | Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17G-1-BO, Camouflage |
| Squadron: | 545th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
| Squadron ID Code: | 545th‑JD*L |
| Start Date: | 1 March 1944. New Replacement AC. |
| Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 8 combat missions with the 384th. |
| End Date: | 12 April 1944. Failed to return from combat operations. |
| Related Documents: | Missing Air Crew Report # 3866⇓ (16.978 MB) |
| Photo Album: | Aircraft 42-31048 Photo Album⇗ |
| History: | 42-31048 Delivered to Cheyenne, Wyoming for modification on 11 September 1943; North Platte, Nebraska on 19 September 1943. Ferried overseas and assigned to the 545th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code JD-L, 384th Bombardment Group, station 106, Grafton Underwood on 1 March 1944. The aircraft failed to return from a mission to Schweinfurt, Germany on 13 April 1944. The pilot-Max Jean Miller, co-pilot-James E. Dent Jr., navigator-Theophilius Edward Beinar, engineer/top turret gunner-Elvie Lawrence Rodden, radio operator-Henry Overholt Watson, ball turret gunner-Saul Jack Schelberg, waist gunner-Howard Rudolph Leconey and tail gunner-Albert Patrick Krizner WERE Killed in Action (8 KIA). The bombardier-Darrell Clark Getty [his leg had to be amputated in Eppenheim hospital] and waist gunner-Edwin Pierce Fulkerson were captured and became Prisoners of War. The aircraft was attacked head on by 15 enemy aircraft and crashed at Elmhausen/Bergstrasse, nine miles South of Darmstadt, Germany. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) #3866. |
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| Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70⇗ | 3 March 1944 | Target: Roller-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Berlin, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Turned back because of low fuel. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 73⇗ | 8 March 1944 | Target: Erkner Ball-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Berlin, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 74⇗ | 9 March 1944 | Target: Heinkel Aircraft Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oranienburg, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 75⇗ | 16 March 1944 | Target: Aircraft Assembly & Repair Works Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany | Spare, Completed Mission | Flying spare; joined formation. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 78⇗ | 20 March 1944 | Type: Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Flying Spare, Returned As Briefed | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 79⇗ | 22 March 1944 | Target: Heinkel Aircraft Assembly Plant at Annahof Airfield Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oranienburg, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 80⇗ | 23 March 1944 | Target: Airdrome and Airpark Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Gütersloh, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 81⇗ | 24 March 1944 | Target: Ball-Bearing Plant Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 82⇗ | 26 March 1944 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Le Grismont, Rebecques, France | Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused | |
| 85⇗ | 29 March 1944 | Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Brunswick / Braunschweig, Germany | Completed Mission | Landed away at Nuthampstead, due to weather. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 31 March 1944 | Ludwigshaven, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 86⇗ | 9 April 1944 | Target: FW-190 Fighter Aircraft Assembly Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Marienburg, Germany | Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused | |
| 88⇗ | 11 April 1944 | Target: FW Aircraft Parts Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Sorau, Germany | Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused | |
| 89⇗ | 13 April 1944 | Target: Ball-Bearing Plant Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany | Failed To Return | Shot down during fighter attacks which lasted from 1354 to 1357 hrs; crashed near Mannheim, Germany. MACR 3866 Sortie Report ⇗ |