| Serial Number: | 42-30049 |
| Name: | MISS DEAL |
| Manufacturer: | Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17F-85-BO, Camouflage |
| Squadron: | 544th Bombardment Squadron (H) |
| Squadron ID Code: | 544th‑SU*G |
| Start Date: | 1 April 1943. Original AC. |
| Missions: | This aircraft was credited with 1 combat mission with the 384th. |
| End Date: | 25 June 1943. Failed to return from combat operations. |
| Related Documents: | Missing Air Crew Report # 16349⇓ (1.083 MB) |
| Photo Album: | No Photo Album For This Aircraft |
| History: | 42-30049 Delivered to Cheyenne, Wyoming for modification on 3 April 1943; Sioux City, Iowa on 14 April 1943; Kearney, Nebraska on 4 May 1943; Dow Field, Maine on 24 May 1943. Assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code SU-F, 384th bombardment Group, station 106, Grafton Underwood, UK on 30 May 1943. The aircraft failed to return from a mission to Wangerooge Island, Holland on 25 June 1943 with pilot-John R. Way, ball turret gunner-Charles Earl Crawford, waist gunner-William R. Feagin {body washed up on 7 July 1943}, tail gunner-Raymond R. Dodge {body washed up later} (4Killed in Action). Co-pilot-Stephen R. Fabian, navigator-Robert M. Janson, bombardier-Thomas J. Corrigan, engineer/top turret gunner-William C. Hill Jr., radio operator-Edmund S. Gadomski, and waist gunner-Albert F. Westlake were captured and became Prisoners of War. The aircraft was brought down by a combination of enemy aircraft and flak damage. After the crew bailed out, the ship exploded and crashed into Dollart Bay, an estuary of River Ems between Holland & Germany. Missing Air crew Report (MACR) #16349. Aircraft Name: MISS DEAL. |
| Bits & Pieces: |
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| Research Notes: | 2021-02-14 rfp. Removed SqCode SU* obtained from FORTLOG: Loss pre-dated standard for squadron codes. Aircraft letter-in-squadron taken from Take Off & Landing Form. |
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| Number | Date | Target | Results | Mission/Sortie Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- | 23 June 1943 | Bernay-Saint-Martin, France, RECALLED | Mission Recalled | Alternate Sortie Report ⇗ |
| 2⇗ | 25 June 1943 | Target: Industrial Area & Submarine Pens Type: Military Location: Hamburg, Germany | Failed To Return | After making two unsuccessful runs on the primary target, the crew headed for Emden as a likely target for their bomb load. The flak guns found them, inflicting serious damage and injuries - then they ran into fighters. A furious running battle ensued, with some crew members bailing out, and finally the aircraft exploded. The main part of the wreckage came down in the Dollard (Dutch: Dollart), an embayment of the Ems River on the border between Germany and the Netherlands. MACR 16349 Sortie Report ⇗ |