| Serial Number: | 42-31058 |
| Name: | LIBERTY RUN |
| Manufacturer: | Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17G-1-BO, Camouflage |
| Squadron: | 546th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
| Squadron ID Code: | 546th‑BK*T |
| Ground Crew Chief: | Francis, Percy Tom |
| Start Date: | 18 October 1943. New Replacement AC. |
| Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 12 combat missions with the 384th. |
| End Date: | 28 February 1944. Failed to return from combat operations. |
| Related Documents: | Missing Air Crew Report # 2937⇓ (36.613 MB) |
| Photo Album: | Aircraft 42-31058 Photo Album⇗ |
| History: | 42-31058 Delivered to Cheyenne, Wyoming for modification on 13 September 1943; Grand Island, Nebraska on 27 September 1943. Ferried overseas and assigned to the 546th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code BK-T, 384th Bombardment Group, station 106, Grafton Underwood, UK on 18 October 1943. The aircraft failed to return from a mission to Pas de Calais, France on 28 February 1944. The pilot-Austin Dean Rinne, co-pilot-Francis Joseph Bornhorst Jr., navigator-William Ernest Trees, bombardier-John Lloyd Aegeter, engineer/top turret gunner-Leroy Charles Jones, radio operator-Thomas Joseph Edwards Jr., ball turret gunner-James Currie Hickey, waist gunner-William Marvin Page and waist gunner-Robert Henry Cooper were captured and became Prisoners of War (9 POW). The tail gunner-Charles Thomas Regan was Killed in Action when his parachute failed to open. The aircraft suffered mechanical problems and crashed near Envermeu, France. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) #2937. Aircraft Name: LIBERTY RUN. |
| (more...) | |
| Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| --⇗ | 30 October 1943 | Gelsenkirchen, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 36⇗ | 16 November 1943 | Target: Knaben II Molybdenum Mine Type: Industry Location: Knaben, Norway | Completed Mission | Landed away at RAF Ouston (now RA Albemarle Barracks), near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 38⇗ | 29 November 1943 | Target: Port Area Type: Transportation Location: Bremen, Germany | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 30 November 1943 | Solingen, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 39⇗ | 1 December 1943 | Target: Non-Ferrous Metals Plant Type: Industry Location: Solingen, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Low Squadron lead; turned back due to excessive icing (3/4' on wings), frozen guns, and lagging turbo. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 40⇗ | 5 December 1943 | Target: Fighter Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Saint-Jean-d'Angély, France | Returned To Base | High Squadron lead. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 54⇗ | 21 January 1944 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Preuseville, France | Completed Mission | 41B Group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 24 January 1944 | Frankfurt am Main, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | B Grp Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 55⇗ | 29 January 1944 | Target: Aircraft Parts Plants Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Completed Mission | Low group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 56⇗ | 30 January 1944 | Target: Aircraft Assembly Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Brunswick / Braunschweig, Germany | Flight Completed | Wearther aircraft; remainder of crew (CP, N, Eng, RO) not identified in Group documents. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 57⇗ | 3 February 1944 | Target: Submarines (under construction) Type: Submarine Facility Location: Wilhelmshaven, Germany | Completed Mission | Low Group, Low Squadron Deputy. 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 A Combat Wing. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 59⇗ | 5 February 1944 | Target: Bricy Aerodrome, Luftwaffe Training and Bomber Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Orleans, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 60⇗ | 6 February 1944 | Target: Nancy/Essey Aerodrome Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Nancy, France | Completed Mission | High Squadron deputy, low group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 63⇗ | 20 February 1944 | Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Leipzig & Bernburg, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | 41B Group. Turned back at 1023 hrs due to #2 cylinder head on #1 engine blew out, causing a fire, which resulted in feathering of engine. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 66⇗ | 24 February 1944 | Target: Ball-Bearing Plant Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany | Completed Mission | Low Squadron, low group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 67⇗ | 25 February 1944 | Target: Aircraft Assembly & Ball Bearings Plants Type: Industry Location: Augsburg & Stuttgart, Germany | Completed Mission | 41A Group. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 68⇗ | 28 February 1944 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Preuseville, France | Failed To Return | Went down in France during the first bomb run between the IP and target with one engine smoking badly and in flames; no flak or fighters encountered up to that point; ten chutes seen; one did not open; aircraft seen to hit ground; crashed near Envermeu, France. MACR 2937 Sortie Report ⇗ |