B-17G 42-31740

Aircraft Details

Serial Number:	42-31740
Name:	Not Known
Manufacturer:	Built by the Boeing Airplane Company, B-17G-30-BO, Camouflage
Squadron:	546th Bombardment Squadron (H)
Squadron ID Code:	546th‑BK*T
Ground Crew Chief:	Konzem, Hubert Philip
Start Date:	1 March 1944.
Missions:	This aircraft was credited with 14 combat missions with the 384th.
End Date:	9 April 1944. Failed to return from combat operations.
Related Documents:	Missing Air Crew Report # 3653⇓ (14.958 MB)
Photo Album:	Aircraft 42-31740 Photo Album⇗
History:	42-31740 Delivered to Denver, Colorado for modification on 11 December 1943; Moved to Kearny AAF, Nebraska on 27 December 1943; Repositioned to Oklahoma City 12 January 1944 then back to Kearney AAF, Nebraska on 16 January 1944. Assigned to the 546th Bombardment Squadron, squadron code BK-T, 384th Bombardment Group, Station 106, Grafton Underwood, UK on 1 March 1944. Missing In Action on a mission to Marienburg, Germany, 9 April 1944 with pilot-George William Schock, co-pilot-Elliott Leroy Gadd, navigator-Ehrhardt Mittendorf Jr., nose gunner-James Tomas Yeater, radio operator-Charles Joseph Hawkins, ball turret gunner - Lester Wilson Van Gorkum, waist gunner-Morton Washington Hamm, waist gunner-Patrick Denis Benker; tail gunner-Charles F. Mitchell (9 Prisoners of War) The engineer/top turret gunner-Lucian Shannon was Killed in Action. The aircraft was shot down by flak and crashed at Ulsnis, near Steinfeld, Germany. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) #3653.
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B-17G Aircraft 42-31740 Was Assigned To 15 Missions Manned by 384th BG Personnel,
Earning Combat Credit For 14 Of Them
Number	Date	Target	Results	Mission/Sortie Information
70⇗	3 March 1944	Target: Roller-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Berlin, Germany	Mission Recalled	Sortie Report ⇗
71⇗	4 March 1944	Type: Military Location: Berlin, Germany	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying spare, joined formation. Sortie Report ⇗
72⇗	6 March 1944	Target: Erkner Ball-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Berlin, Germany	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Returned to base after group leader abandoned attempt to join assigned combat wing. Sortie Report ⇗
73⇗	8 March 1944	Target: Erkner Ball-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Berlin, Germany	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
74⇗	9 March 1944	Target: Heinkel Aircraft Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oranienburg, Germany	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
76⇗	18 March 1944	Target: Aircraft Assembly & Repair Works Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
78⇗	20 March 1944	Type: Industry Location: Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Mission Recalled	Sortie Report ⇗
79⇗	22 March 1944	Target: Heinkel Aircraft Assembly Plant at Annahof Airfield Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Oranienburg, Germany	Completed Mission	High Squadron, high composite group. Sortie Report ⇗
80⇗	23 March 1944	Target: Airdrome and Airpark Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Gütersloh, Germany	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
81⇗	24 March 1944	Target: Ball-Bearing Plant Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
82⇗	26 March 1944	Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Le Grismont, Rebecques, France	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
83⇗	27 March 1944	Target: Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Tours & Chartres, France	Spare, Completed Mission	94 Group, Flying Spare. Joined formation. Sortie Report ⇗
84⇗	28 March 1944	Target: Dijon-Longvic Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Dijon, France	Completed Mission	Sortie Report ⇗
85⇗	29 March 1944	Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Brunswick / Braunschweig, Germany	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying Spare; joined formation. Landed away at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, due to weather. Sortie Report ⇗
86⇗	9 April 1944	Target: FW-190 Fighter Aircraft Assembly Plant Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Marienburg, Germany	Failed To Return	Hit by flak at 1546 hrs; left wing root on fire; the aircraft was seen circling under control and 10 chutes emerged; crashed east of Schleswig, Germany. Sortie Report ⇗