Lt.
Randolph Jacobs (back row, 3rd from left) and crew in front of B-17G
"Goin Dog" after completing their tour of duty.Lt.
Randolph Jacobs (back row, 3rd from left) and crew in front of B-17G
"Goin Dog" after completing their tour of duty.The Jacobs crew completed their twenty five missions on this date. Most of the crew went home. However, 1st Lt. Randy Jacobs and 2nd Lt. John Curtin volunteered for a second tour of duty. Jacobs was promoted to Captain and given command of the 547th Squadron (384th BG). Curtin was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and continued to fly with Jacobs.
FRONT ROW, left to right: S/SGT. L.Wager, S/SGT. J.Goetz (Engineer, Top Turret gunner), S/SGT. D.Gorham (Ball Turret gunner), S/SGT. C.Ripley (Waist Gunner), S/SGT. W.Amstead
BACK ROW, left to right: Lt. J. Curtin (Navigator), Lt.Col. A. Nuttall (Pilot), Capt. R. Jacobs (Pilot), 2nd Lt. O. Allio (Co-pilot), Lt. E. Mason (Bombardier).
On December 30th, 1943, Randolph Jacobs was the pilot and WAJ Jr the co-pilot of a B-17G named "Sea Hag" which ditched in the English Channel while returning from a mission.
"Goin Dog", a Boeing-built B-17G-10-BO, Ser. No. 42-31235, with squadron codes SU+C was assigned to the 544th Squadron, 384th Bomb Group from January to May, 1944.
On May 7,1944, "Goin Dog" was destroyed in a crash landing in Germany during a mission to Berlin. The pilot, 1st Lt. Theodore Goller, and the rest of the crew survived the crash to become prisoners of war.
The very next day, May 8, 1944, Capt. Randolph Jacobs (and Lt. J. Curtin) flew with a different crew on a mission to Sottevast, France. Their B-17 was hit by flak over the target and crashed. Capt. Jacobs and 8 others of his crew were killed or missing, including Lt. J. Curtin.
WAJ Jr, flying as pilot on another B-17 on this May 8th mission was badly wounded but succeeded in returning to England. 2nd Lt. Joseph Uniszkiewicz, Navigator with WAJ Jr's original crew, was killed on yet another B-17 this day.
Photo contributed by Jack Goetz via Marc Poole.
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