| Serial Number: | 42-30043 |
| Name: | RUTHLESS |
| Manufacturer: | Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17F-85-BO, Camouflage |
| Squadron: | 547th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
| Squadron ID Code: | 547th‑SO*V |
| Start Date: | 1 April 1943. Original AC. |
| Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 18 combat missions with the 384th. |
| End Date: | 4 October 1943. Ditched. |
| Photo Album: | Aircraft 42-30043 Photo Album⇗ |
| History: | 42-30043 Delivered to Cheyenne, Wyoming on 3 April 1943; Sioux City, Iowa on 14 April 1943; Kearney, Nebraska on 4 May 1943; Bangor, Maine on 23 May 1943. Assigned to the 547th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code SO-V, 384th Bombardment Group, station 106, Grafton Underwood, UK on 29 May 1943. Failed to return from a mission to Frankfurt, Germany on 4 October 1943 with pilot-Giles Felker Kauffman, co-pilot-George Molnar, navigator-Frank Pogorzelski, togglier-David D. Danneman, engineer/top turret gunner-William Jarrell, radio operator-Jules Theodore Beck, ball turret gunner-Jacob M. Martinez, waist gunner-Paul Spodar, waist gunner-Peter Seniawsky, tail gunner-Stanley Thomas Reuben. The aircraft ditched in the North Sea and the entire crew was rescued from the sea by HM drifter 'Lord Keith'. Because the entire crew was returned to duty, no Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) was generated. Aircraft Name: RUTHLESS. |
| Bits & Pieces: |
|
| (more...) | |
| Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1⇗ | 22 June 1943 | Target: General Motors Truck Factory Type: Industry Location: Antwerp, Belgium | Completed Mission | Group Lead. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 23 June 1943 | Bernay-Saint-Martin, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 2⇗ | 25 June 1943 | Target: Industrial Area & Submarine Pens Type: Military Location: Hamburg, Germany | Completed Mission | Jettisoned bombs on enemy-occupied Terschelling Island. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 3⇗ | 26 June 1943 | Target: Villacoublay Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused | |
| 4⇗ | 28 June 1943 | Target: Fighter Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Beaumont-le-Roger, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 5⇗ | 29 June 1943 | Target: duNord Aircraft Works, Villacoublay Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 9 July 1943 | Abbeville, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 7⇗ | 10 July 1943 | Target: Drucat Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Abbeville, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 8⇗ | 14 July 1943 | Target: Villacoublay Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 9⇗ | 24 July 1943 | Target: Aluminum & Magnesium Plants Type: Industry Location: Herøya, Norway | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 10⇗ | 25 July 1943 | Target: Blohm & Voss Aircraft Works and Shipyard Type: Industry Location: Hamburg, Germany | Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused | |
| -- | 26 July 1943 | Hamburg, Germany, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 11⇗ | 28 July 1943 | Target: Aircraft Engine Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Kassel, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Turned back because they couldn't keep up with formation; detonation suspected. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 12⇗ | 29 July 1943 | Target: Naval Base Type: Military Location: Kiel, Germany | Completed Mission | Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑3104 which was flown by the Sierens Crew. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 14⇗ | 12 August 1943 | Target: Synthetic Fuel Hydrogenation Plant Type: Industry Location: Gelsenkirchen, Germany | Aborted Mission After Taking Off. | Turned back over Yarmouth; could not reach altitude or keep up with formation; lower turret was out and top turret Vickers unit was 'vaporizing' (?). Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 16⇗ | 16 August 1943 | Target: Le Bourget Airport & Air Depot Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Paris, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 19 August 1943 | Gilze-Rijn, Holland, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 24 August 1943 | Diversion (Non-Combat) | Returned To Base | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 18⇗ | 27 August 1943 | Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Watten, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 30 August 1943 | Achiet-le-Grand, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 19⇗ | 31 August 1943 | Target: Fighter Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Romilly-sur-Seine, France | Completed Mission | High Squadron Deputy. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 2 September 1943 | Vannes, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 20⇗ | 3 September 1943 | Target: Air Park and Aerodrome Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Romilly-sur-Seine, France | Completed Mission | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 21⇗ | 6 September 1943 | Type: Industry Location: Stuttgart, Germany | Completed Mission | Landed away at RAF West Malling, Kent, due to low fuel. Returned to Station 106 at 1530 hours. Flak hole in left elevator. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 22⇗ | 7 September 1943 | Target: Bruxelles-Evere Airfield/Repair Depot Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Brussels / Bruxelles, Belgium | Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off | Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑30005. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 23⇗ | 9 September 1943 | Target: Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Lille-Vendeville, France | Completed Mission | Group Lead. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 24⇗ | 16 September 1943 | Target: Blockade Runner Ship (in Loire River) Type: Transportation Location: Nantes, France | Completed Mission | Landed away at RAF Chivenor, Devon. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| -- | 21 September 1943 | Riems, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 27⇗ | 2 October 1943 | Target: Port Facilities Type: Transportation Location: Emden, Germany | Completed Mission | Low Squadron Deputy. Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 28⇗ | 4 October 1943 | Type: Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany | Failed To Return: Ditched | Ditched North Sea; crew rescued and returned to duty. Sortie Report ⇗ |