B-17G   42-31486     612th

29 January 1944   Mission #17   Target: Frankfurt


                  29 January 44 , 0710 hours , engines are on.
                  35 planes are off on mission #17.
                  Target today is Frankfurt, Germany.

                  On the return flight the plane was hit by German fighter.
                  2 men survived and were POW's , 8 men died after plane exploded mid air.

Missing Air Crew Report : 2272

1.    Organization : AAF Sta 128.                  
               

       Command : 8th Air Force.
       Group : 401st.
       Squadron : 612th.

2.    Place of depature : AAF Station 128.
       Course : East.
       Target : Frankfurt , Germany.
       Type of mission: Operational Bombing.

3.    Weather conditions when last sighted : 10/10 undercast.

4.    Last know date : 29 Jan 1944
       time : 11:05
       location : 50° 30'N - 07° 40'E.

5.    Aircraft believed to have been lost as a result of : Enemy aircrafts.

6.    Aircraft type : B-17G
       serial no. : 42-31486

7.    Engines : R-1820-97.

9.   Persons listed below listed as : Battle Casualties.

10.  Persons on board : Crew : 10.

11.  List crew position , name , rank , serial no. and current status :
Pilot John Tannahill Jr. 2nd Lt 0-803899 KIA
Copilot Harry Edward Selby 2nd Lt 0-748813 KIA
Navigator Edward Lewis Harris 2nd Lt 0-809598 KIA
Bombardier William Clarence Frye Jr. 2nd Lt 0-682102 POW
Radio Operator Harold Miron Roark S/Sgt 37375554 KIA
Engr / Top Turret Patrick Joseph Powers S/Sgt 31128629 KIA
Ball Turret Gunner Harley Benjamin Kennemer Sgt 38052370 KIA
Tail Gunner Laurence Ray Freeman S/Sgt 38167419 KIA
Left Waist Gunner Weldon Gene Martin Sgt 39308536 KIA
Right Waist Gunner Thomas Edward Brennan Sgt 13170708 POW
13.  Person believed to have last knowledge of missing aircraft :

Suprise, Walter L.        S/Sgt.        17129684

- Aircraft last seen with #1 and #2 engines on fire after attack by enemy aircraft.
  It was still partly under control as lost altitude and went into clouds.




Mission to Frankfurt, germany, Aircraft last seen with #1 and #2 engines on fire after attack by enemy aircraft.


Casualty questionaire

This is the report a crewmember writes after he was back in England


- Your name : WILLIAM CLARENCE FRYE Jr.
- Rank : 2nd Lt.
- Serial number : 0-682102.

- Mission : Frankfurt on Main.
- Target : Warehouses and Rail road yards.
- Target time : 12:10 PM.
- Altitude : 24.000 Ft ?.

- Where were you when you left formation : On return trip very near target area.

- Did you bail out : I was in bail out position when plane exploded blowing me clear.
- Did other members bail out : All members of crew bailed out.

- Tell more about others : Brennan was blown clear in explosion landed in parachute some 50 yards from me.
                                                We were captured at the same time.

- Where did plane strike the ground ? : Approx. 20 Km from Kaiserslautern and Bad Kreuznach.

- When did you last see any members :

        I was informed by German civilian Doctor who visited me in the local jail the day following the crash,
        that there had been 4 bodies in the ship and that 4 had been thrown clear, all 8 were dead.

        The Navigator was uninjured the last contact I had with him
        The surviving waist gunner, Sgt. Brennan, informed me that left waist gunner, Sgt. Martin, had been hit
        and was " downed " the last thing he could remember before the explosion

        Over the target we had 2 engines out ( one was on fire ).
        Under heavy fighter attack previous to explosion.
        I " believe " the pilots may have been hit for I heard shells exploding in the cockpit.
        Ship went into a steep dive.
        I started for cockpit to try to lend assistance, A/C started to spin, I pulled emergency escape hatch and
        was blown out by ship exploding.
        As I attempted to get to the cockpit I could see the Top turret gunner, or at least the lower half of him.
        As far as I could tell he was uninjured at the time of the explosion.

        I assume the pilots were injured due to the way the plane acted, immediately after I heard shells
        exploding in the cockpit.





  
William Frye Jr. Pennsylvania       1917 - POW   Stalag Luft 1 South
Thomas Brennan Pennsylvania       1924 - POW   Stalag Luft 4
John Tannahill Jr. Texas       1915 - 1944 KIA LO B - 26 - 1
Harry Edward Selby New Jersey       1919 - 1944 KIA LO B - 32 - 35
Edward Lewis Harris Tenessee                - 1944 KIA LO E - 37 - 21
Harold Miron Roark Missouri       1921 - 1944 KIA LO B - 25 - 2
Patrick Joseph Powers Massachusetts       1911 - 1944 KIA LO D - 32 - 23
Harley Benjamin Kennemer Texas       1919 - 1944 KIA LO E - 20 - 28
Laurence Ray Freeman New Mexico       1915 - 1944 KIA LO B - 31 - 3
Weldon Gene Martin California       1912 - 1944 KIA    

LO = Lorraine , France

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