Dates

Event

Constructed as a B-17G-45-BO by Boeing at Seattle, Washington, USA.

19 February 1944

Taken on Strength/Charge with the United States Army Air Force with s/n 42-97328.

20 February 1944

To United Air Lines, Modification Center #10, Cheyenne Municipal Airport, WY.

5 March 1944

Transferred to 242nd Base Unit (Operational Training Unit), Grand Island Field, NB.

22 March 1944

Transferred to North Atlantic Wing, Air Transport Command, Grenier Field (Station 16), Manchester, NH.

23 March 1944

Transferred to 561st Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, Knettishall (Station 136), Suffolk.
Operated with markings: Heavens Above

9 April 1944

First combat mission.

29 April 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to railway facilities around Berlin, Germany. The combat wing was off course heading to Berlin, attacked by enemy fighters and bombed Magdeburg. Flak over the target was very accurate.

25 May 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to a railway marshalling yard at LiAge, Belgium. Meagre flak was encountered crossing the French coast in the Le Treport area but very accurate flak at Poix-de-Picardie, France.

6 July 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a Crossbow mission to a German V-weapon site at Fleury, France 6Jul44 (1WIA:9RTD). Flak over the target was light but wounded the tail gunner and caused twenty-five holes in the plane from wing tip to wing tip and nose to tail.

6 August 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to the Daimler-Benz tank assembly works at Marienfelde, Berlin, Germany 6Aug44. Moderate to intense barrage and tracking flak was encountered over the target.

16 August 1944

Damaged.
Accident during a mission to the Braunkohlen Benzin AG synthetic oil refinery northeast of Zeitz, Germany. Mid-air collision with B-17G 44-6123. On the left turn at the I.P., aircraft 42-97760 turned too sharply for #328 to follow in formation. Aircraft #328 attempted to slide in to the right behind #760 but was caught in the propeller wash during this manuever and collided with aircraft #123 which was flying a tight formation at the time. Aircraft #328 first struck #123 with its wing on the No.4 engine and then cut off the vertical stabiliser. 44-6123 spun out of control and crashed.

25 August 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to the I.G. Farben synthetic fuel works at Politz, Prussia 25Aug44. Intense and accurate flak was encountered at the target.

12 September 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to a synthetic oil refinery at Magdeburg, Germany. Flak was encountered at the target and then the Group was attacked by a large force of enemy fighters.

25 November 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to the I.G. Farben chemical and synthetic oil works at Leuna, Merseburg, Germany. Flak over the target was intense and accurate.

5 December 1944

Damaged.
Battle damaged on a mission to the Altmarkische Kettenwerk tank factory at Tegel, Berlin, Germany. Flak over the target was a meagre to moderate barrage with several rockets.

19 April 1945

Final combat mission. Flew 128 combat missions during WWII.

3 May 1945

Damaged.
Damaged taxying at Knettishall.

Participated in Operation Revival. Modified with all guns, armament and ball turret removed with a wooden floor built over the bomb bay. Operation Revival; liberated prisoners of war from Russian controlled Stalag Luft No.I, Barth, Germany. British POWs were flown to southern England; American POWs were flown to Laon-Couvron (A-70), France. Flew 3 flights of liberated POWS.

Returned to US.

29 June 1945

Transferred to 121st Base Unit (Redeployment Processing), Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, CT.

2 July 1945

Transferred to 4168th Base Unit (Oklahoma City Air Technical Service Command), South Plains Field, Lubbock, TX.

17 December 1945

Assigned to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Storage Depot No. 41, Kingman Field, AZ for storage.

To War Assets Administration.

1 July 1946

To Wunderlich Contracting Company, Jefferson City, MO.

July 1946

Scrapped.

By October 1982

The TB-17G on display at Lackland AFB, TX, is displayed as this B-17.
For more information about this other airframe see this Airframe Dossier