303rd Bomb Group,360th BS crew and B-17F 41-24559 Ooold Soljer January 1943
Aircraft participated in 19 Operations (4 were aborted) See Biography events for crew information.
17-Nov-42 MISSION # 1 - U-Boat Pens at St. Nazaire, France
18-Nov-42 MISSION # 2 - U-Boat Pens at St. Nazaire, France
6-Dec-43 MISSION # 3 - Carriage & Wagon Works, Lille, France
13-Jan-43 MISSION # 4 - Fives Company Locomotive Works, Lille, France
23-Jan-43 MISSION # 5 - U-Boat Pens at Lorient, France
27-Jan-43 MISSION # 6 - Naval Base and U-Boat pens, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
2-Feb-43 MISSION # 7 - Railroad Marshalling Yards, Hamm, Germany - Aborted
4-Feb-43 MISSION # 8 - Industrial areas of Osnabruck - Aborted
14-Feb-43 Mission # 9 - Railroad marshalling yards, Hamm, Germany - Recalled
16-Feb-43 Mission #10 - U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France - Aborted. The ball turret gunner's heated suit failed and the interphone equipment malfunctioned and aircraft forced to RTB.
26-Feb-43 Mission #11 - Naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Homer Bigart, War Correspondent of the New York Herald Tribune flew as an observer. Walter Cronkite, Jounalist flew as an observer on B-17F 41-24619 "S for Sugar", 303BG/427BS on this mission also.
27-Feb-43 MISSION # 12 U-Boat pens at Brest, France
4-Mar-43 MISSION # 13 Railroad Marshalling Yards, Rotterdam, Holland
6-Mar-43 MISSION # 14 Port area and U-Boat pens, Lorient, France.
12-Mar-43 MISSION # 15 Railroad Marshalling Yards, Rouen, France.
13-Mar-43 MISSION # 16 Railroad Marshalling Yards, Amiens, France.
22-Mar-43 MISSION # 17 - Port Area, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
26-Mar-43 MISSION # 18 - Railroad Marshalling Yards, Rouen, France.
31-Mar-43 MISSION # 19 FINAL OPERATION - Shipyards, Rotterdam, Holland.
The aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 42-29573 "Two Beauts" 303BG/358BS over Wellingborough, UK in 10/10ths cloud cover while on a mission to bomb the port area of Rotterdam, Holland. The right wing from the #4 engine outward was sheared off and the aircraft crashed at Mears Ashby, Northamptonshire killing 8 of the crew. 2 bailed out successfully. 8KOM (Killed on Mission) 2RTD No MACR issued.