384th Bomb Group B-17s line up on the perimeter track of Station 106, Grafton Underwood Air Base before a mission in April, 1944.
Center aircraft is "Snuffy", a B-17G-35-BO, Ser. No. 42-32106, with squadron codes JD+R.This aircraft was assigned to the 545th Squadron, 384th Bomb Group on March 24, 1944. It was salvaged on October 10, 1945.
According to Dewayne Bennett, former pilot of the 384th Bomb Group, Lt. Jackson and the Clayton crew flew in "Snuffy" on the April 11th, 1944, to Sorau, Germany. They flew in the 41st "A" Combat Wing, high squadron of the high group, flying on the left wing of the squadron leader.
"Snuffy"was from the same production block as "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby", the B-17G combat veteran now on display at the Air Force museum, Wright Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio.
It was the thirtieth B-17G completed after "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" and rolled off the Boeing assembly line in March or April, 1944.
It is interesting to note that while both of these B-17Gs ("Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" and "Snuffy") had the early heavy framed B-17G waist windows, "Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby" did not receive the Cheyenne tail turret modification, whereas "Snuffy" did.
After VE day, "Snuffy" was transferred with the 384th to Istres, France to facilitate the moving of displaced persons.
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