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re: Anyone related to any B-17s pilots or survivors on here?
Posted on 2/17/24 at 6:00 am to TutHillTiger
Posted on 2/17/24 at 6:00 am to TutHillTiger
My wife’s grandfather was a bomber pilot in WWII. He died before we met. But my water-in -law said he flew in the Mediterranean campaign. Flew a mission on an oil field (I assumed Ploseski) as he said they were lot to fly low over the target. His wave was getting decimated so the increased altitude, dropped his load over target and flew how.
His commander threatened him with a court Marshall but he said either court Marshall me are send me back out. That his job was to kill Germans and bring his crew back safely. He went on to fly more missions and made it back to the states
His commander threatened him with a court Marshall but he said either court Marshall me are send me back out. That his job was to kill Germans and bring his crew back safely. He went on to fly more missions and made it back to the states
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Posted on 2/17/24 at 6:15 am to TutHillTiger
Great grandpa was a navigator on one. There was a story of one of the crew and some brain matter being splattered from shrapnel. Guy went unconscious, and I think it was him they had to dump with a parachute or something for some reason, and the guy survived.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 6:19 am to TutHillTiger
My grandfather was a colonel in the Air Force and flew them. He was stationed in Kimbolten, England during the war. His planes would come back like Swiss cheese because the German artillery was basically so poorly made or lacking the necessary supplies by the end of the war.
He did get shot but they had reinforced the seats under the pilots with steel and that saved his life. It blew his leg to shite and he had to be in a body cast below his waist for almost 6 months to recover. Always walked with a limp and had huge gouges in his leg. He died when I was 14 so I never got to hear stories really directly from him but my dad would tell us how he would sometimes catch his dad crying at night over all the bombs and people he killed. He was responsible for a lot of bombings and I forget the number of missions he did but it was hundreds if not thousands of bombs he dropped.
He did get shot but they had reinforced the seats under the pilots with steel and that saved his life. It blew his leg to shite and he had to be in a body cast below his waist for almost 6 months to recover. Always walked with a limp and had huge gouges in his leg. He died when I was 14 so I never got to hear stories really directly from him but my dad would tell us how he would sometimes catch his dad crying at night over all the bombs and people he killed. He was responsible for a lot of bombings and I forget the number of missions he did but it was hundreds if not thousands of bombs he dropped.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 6:37 am to burgeman
quote:
Do you know about the 401st group page? You can see your grandfather's mission logs
Yeah I do. Trying sharing the link but it failed.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 7:40 am to TutHillTiger
quote:
Thanks. My uncle never talked about it. One year he wrote a long letter explaining everything. We all thought it was trauma of being in prison, but I think now it probably the trauma of seeing his friends killed on raids
My uncle refused to talk about it also. His son tried to get him to talk about but could never get him to tell any stories. I was hoping he told him in private but its been over 7yrs since he has passed and nothing from my cousin regarding his service as a pilot.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 7:42 am to Auburn1968
In ministry at a nearby Assisted Living Facility, I was privileged to serve a WWII Pilot (originally from New Orleans). He flew a fighter off the deck of USS Yorktown II CV-10 (Yorktown I CV-5 was sunk by the japs at Midway). He was 92 and still cocky. As part of her school assignment for Veterans Day my granddaughter interviewed him.
That was a special moment for both of us. He's in heaven now I'm sure, having rejoined his wife.
What an amazing generation.
That was a special moment for both of us. He's in heaven now I'm sure, having rejoined his wife.
What an amazing generation.
This post was edited on 2/17/24 at 7:46 am
Posted on 2/17/24 at 7:44 am to TutHillTiger
CSB: One of my great uncles was on a B-17 crew late in the war.
On a bombing run over Germany his plane was shot down. Nothing was ever recovered.
Fast forward to the 1990s. A kid in Germany is out in the forest near his house with a metal detector. He finds a ring and brings it home. After cleaning it up, he realizes it's a ring with English writing and a date on it.
His parents take it to either the U.S. or British embassy, where it was determined to be a class ring from Holy Cross in New Orleans. It was my great uncle's class ring.
Because of that discovery, a search was launched for more evidence of the bomber crew. Remains from a few crew members were found along with some parts of the plane, but no remains from my great uncle were ever found other than his class ring.
On a bombing run over Germany his plane was shot down. Nothing was ever recovered.
Fast forward to the 1990s. A kid in Germany is out in the forest near his house with a metal detector. He finds a ring and brings it home. After cleaning it up, he realizes it's a ring with English writing and a date on it.
His parents take it to either the U.S. or British embassy, where it was determined to be a class ring from Holy Cross in New Orleans. It was my great uncle's class ring.
Because of that discovery, a search was launched for more evidence of the bomber crew. Remains from a few crew members were found along with some parts of the plane, but no remains from my great uncle were ever found other than his class ring.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 7:44 am to TutHillTiger
My great uncle served onboard a B-17 but he wasn't a pilot. He was the bombardier. My maternal grandmother was his sister and she related to me a story one time about how she saw a photograph of my great uncle's plane after it had returned from a bombing mission over Europe. It had been so inundated with flak holes that she didn't know how it remained airborne to make it back to Great Britain from its mission.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 7:48 am to TutHillTiger
My grandfather flew in many different theaters in WW2. It’s been so on I don’t remember if the B-17 is on of the bombers he flew but it had to be multiple things.
I remember asking him (when I was like 4 years old) when he mentioned flying g in Africa if they were fighting the animals.
Looking back, yes they were
I remember asking him (when I was like 4 years old) when he mentioned flying g in Africa if they were fighting the animals.
Looking back, yes they were
Posted on 2/17/24 at 8:35 am to athenslife101
My uncle was in the Army Air Corps but never talked about it.
He did tell me he bailed out of a plane but that was it.
Joseph Heller
Explains what influenced the famous line,
Yossarian : Ok, let me see if I've got this straight. In order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy. And I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy anymore, and I have to keep flying.
He did tell me he bailed out of a plane but that was it.
Joseph Heller
quote:LINK
In 1942, at age 19, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Two years later he was sent to the Italian Front, where he flew 60 combat missions as a B-25 bombardier.[11] His unit was the 488th Bombardment Squadron, 340th Bomb Group, 12th Air Force.
Explains what influenced the famous line,
Yossarian : Ok, let me see if I've got this straight. In order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy. And I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy anymore, and I have to keep flying.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 8:42 am to TutHillTiger
My great grandfather was a B-17 pilot. He was there in the first wave of the 8th Air Force when they were largely bombing the Uboat pens in France. He was also flying on the first raid over Germany when they bombed Wilhelmshaven.
He had completed 21 missions and was shot down by flak after a bomb run on St. Nazzaire in May of 1943. He was able to bail and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 3 then was marched to Stalag 7A.
I was lucky enough to know him well as he lived until I was in high school. My hero
He had completed 21 missions and was shot down by flak after a bomb run on St. Nazzaire in May of 1943. He was able to bail and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 3 then was marched to Stalag 7A.
I was lucky enough to know him well as he lived until I was in high school. My hero
Posted on 2/17/24 at 8:54 am to TutHillTiger
My Grandfather, who passed right before I was born, was a navigator on a B-17 in the 305th. Got shot down dropping leaflets of all things, and was crossing the occupied French countryside with the only two other crewmwmbers that survived. He ditched his uniform, stole some farmer’s clothes and pretended to be deaf and mute when the Nazi’s found them. That did not work and they were taken to a prison camp, maybe Stalag 17, I’m not sure.
Every day they interrogated him about the B-17 bomb sight, apparently it was top tech at the time the Nazi’s didn’t have. All he gave them was name, rank, and serial number.
They would come in and tell him my Grandmother moved on, and the family gave him up for dead to try to break him, but he stood firm.
When Patton came calling through, he shot the lock off the gates with his pearl handled revolver, csb.
Anyway, he contracted polio from the dirty prison camp and lived another 25 years with the polio the damn Nazi’s gave him.
Even after all that though, my grandmother still said those dirty japs were way worse than the Nazi’s.
Every day they interrogated him about the B-17 bomb sight, apparently it was top tech at the time the Nazi’s didn’t have. All he gave them was name, rank, and serial number.
They would come in and tell him my Grandmother moved on, and the family gave him up for dead to try to break him, but he stood firm.
When Patton came calling through, he shot the lock off the gates with his pearl handled revolver, csb.
Anyway, he contracted polio from the dirty prison camp and lived another 25 years with the polio the damn Nazi’s gave him.
Even after all that though, my grandmother still said those dirty japs were way worse than the Nazi’s.
Posted on 2/17/24 at 8:58 am to TutHillTiger
That is a confusingly written paragraph
Posted on 2/17/24 at 9:01 am to rundmcrun
quote:<——Pops was a WWII combat veteran and would be a spry 97.5 years old today.
I don't think any centenarians post here
He was a certified glider pilot (part of his Airborne training).
This post was edited on 2/17/24 at 9:04 am
Posted on 2/20/24 at 11:52 am to soccerfüt
I found out he was actually 19 years old and probably the youngest B-17 pilot ever, (he lied about his age etc ) and was shot down on his 17th or maybe 18th mission, (not clear from interview if he was on his 17th or 18th) so he beat the odds more than one way. I am not sure if he was hit by flak and or fighters. I think it was mostly flak though. I used to know the name of the plane but I forgot.
WWL or someone did an interview with him which is hopefully at the WW2 museum. I really hope they post his letter to all of us too.
If anyone else can find anything like this from their relatives please post it.
We was a wonderful man, I never heard him get mad or lose it, and was always cool as a cucumber, which I am sure made him a good pilot. He became a pharmacist and owned ideal pharmacy in Franklinton forever. His brothers both went to Yale and had advanced degrees and one was a 3M executive and was actually head of operations in Iran when the overthrow occurred and the other was lobbyist or something in DC, and an episcopal preacher. They truly were the greatest generation.
Bill Babingtons interview
Interview of Louisiana B-17 pilot
WWL or someone did an interview with him which is hopefully at the WW2 museum. I really hope they post his letter to all of us too.
If anyone else can find anything like this from their relatives please post it.
We was a wonderful man, I never heard him get mad or lose it, and was always cool as a cucumber, which I am sure made him a good pilot. He became a pharmacist and owned ideal pharmacy in Franklinton forever. His brothers both went to Yale and had advanced degrees and one was a 3M executive and was actually head of operations in Iran when the overthrow occurred and the other was lobbyist or something in DC, and an episcopal preacher. They truly were the greatest generation.
Bill Babingtons interview
Interview of Louisiana B-17 pilot
This post was edited on 2/20/24 at 12:00 pm
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