Warbird Information Exchange

B-17E "Yankee Doodle" 41-9023.
Assigned 414BS/97BG Polebrook 3/42; with Lt. John P. Dowswell and MajGen Ira C. Eaker, Commanding General, VIII Bomber Command on first 8AF mission 17/8/42; transferred 92BG Bovingdon 24/8/42; 323BS/91BG [LG-X] Bassingbourn 30/3/43 as Blind Approach Training Flight; then to 324BS [DF-X] as target tow and hack; Salvaged 26/7/45.





Somewhere during her long career, she got a new nose.

_________________
When I was young "sex was safe & flying was dangerous".

*First 8AF B-17 over occupied Europe
B-17E-BO
Butcher Shop
41-2578
326th Bomb Squadron, 97BG Bomb Group, VIII Bomber Command, US 8th Air Force

While Yankee Doodle (B-17E 41-9023) was often touted as the “first American heavy bomber over occupied Europe,” the truth is a bit more complicated than that. That particular mission was launched on 17 August 1942 as a strike against the railroad marshalling yards of Rouen, France. The flight consisted of two formations, with two elements each, totaling twelve bombers of the 97th Bomb Group (not counting the additional six flown on a diversionary course). The lead aircraft was flown by MAJ Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., though this was neither his aircraft nor his crew; his B-17 was Red Gremlin, B-17F-10-BO 41-24444, and included favored bombardier and navigator Tom Ferebee and “Dutch” van Kirk. Tibbets was the group XO, and with him was the group's CO, COL Frank A. Armstrong, Jr., who had recently replaced LTC Cornelius W. Cousland under the orders of a dissatisfied BG Ira C. Eaker. Armstrong was Eaker’s “problem-solver” and this incident was the inspiration for the novel/film Twelve O’clock High. Eaker’s aircraft, Yankee Doodle, was the lead bomber in the second formation – Eaker, whose background was in pursuit aviation, had never flown in a B-17 until this operation.

The Rouen strike photo.

The raid shared few characteristics with what was to come. Two bombers were damaged (flak) and gunners claimed a single kill (most likely false). Butcher Shop stayed in service until March of 1944, when it was transferred to the 20FG to be used as a squadron hack for COL Cy Wilson under the name Big Tin Bird. The bomber was scrapped on site on 6 August 1945, by which time it was the oldest B-17 in the 8AF.

*First B-29 over Tokyo
B-29-40-BW
Dauntless Dotty
42-24592
869h Bomb Squadron, 497th Bomb Group, 73rd Bombardment Wing, XXI Bomber Command, US 20th Air Force
A1

Crew (Left to Right):
(Back Row): 1LT Andrew G. Mayse (Co-Pilot), CPT Vincent B. Evans (Bombardier), MAJ Robert K. Morgan (Pilot), 1LT Edward T. Lee (Engineer), 1LT Noel S. Alton (Navigator)
(Front Row): SSGT Sherwood Fritzshall (Radio), SGT Willard B. Sanor (Left Waist), SSGT Edward H. Cordes (CFC), TSGT Ralph W. Powell (Radar), MSGT Milton N. Brinkmeyer (Crew Chief), SGT Donald T. Black (Tail)

The handguns issued to the crewmen were typical of 20AF personnel. Japanese holdouts remained a constant problem throughout the rest of the war, and it was recommended that servicemen in the Marianas stay armed at all times.

Once again, publicity distorts truth, and in this case the first B-29 over Tokyo was not Thumper but Dauntless Dotty. Dotty was the personal aircraft of MAJ Robert K. Morgan, the same pilot who’d had risen to fame flying the Memphis Belle. Something of a womanizer, Dotty was named for a woman akin to the Belle, but this time it was Morgan’s third wife, Dorothy Johnson. By this time Morgan was 869BS CO, bringing his old bombardier, CPT Vincent B. Evans with him – an effort to bring along the same tail gunner, SSGT John P. Quinlan, wasn’t so successful.

Dotty was the lead aircraft of the formation for the raid on 24 November 1944, carrying 73BW CO BG Emmett “Rosie” O’Donnell, Jr. along as mission leader. A total of 111 B-29s shockingly failed to cause major damage, for the first time encountering the effects of the Asian-Pacific jet stream. Why Dotty did not achieve greater publicity is something of a puzzle, as it had also flown over Tokyo by itself nights before on a recon mission, making its status as “first” a bit of a double-whammy. Dotty continued its service throughout the war though Morgan was pressured into a non-combat role after 26 missions - which in the end saved his life. Dauntless Dotty crashed shortly after takeoff a little after 3:00am on 7 June 1945 – it was on the second leg of its return to the states.

*First B-29 over Japan
B-29-5-BW
Postville Express
42-6279
792nd Bomb Squadron, 468th Bomb Group, 58th Bombardment Wing, XX Bomber Command, US 20th Air Force

Crew (Left to Right):
(Back Row): MAJ Donald J. Humphrey (Pilot), 1LT Earl J. Nelson (Co-Pilot), CPT Carl A. Hansman (Navigator), 1LT William F. Duffey (Bombardier), 2LT Ernest C. Saltzman (Engineer), 2LT Martin J. Govednik (Radar)
(Front Row): TSGT Michael A. Kundrat (Radio), TSGT Harold D. Gillett (Left Waist), SSGT John A. MacDonald (CFC), TSGT Ralph C. Lindley (Right Waist), SSGT Rouhier E. Spratt (Tail)

Postville Express was named for the hometown of its pilot, MAJ Donald J. Humphrey, who hailed from Postville, Indiana. The Express was a participant of the ill-fated Operation MATTERHORN, which sought to justify the massive US expense in Chinese aid by establishing air bases for their B-29s. Situated around Cheng-Tu with harsh opposition from the British in India and 14AF CO LTG Claire L. Chennault, XX Bomber Command struggled to supply their own bases. This strike, the first USAAF raid on Japan since the Doolittle raid, took place on the night of 15 June 1944 against the Yawata steel mills on the island of Kyushi, Japan. Using pathfinder techniques akin to RAF Bomber Command, Postville Express was the lead aircraft of a force of 75, with 58BW CO BG Laverne G. Saunders aboard as mission leader. One bomber was shot down by Japanese interceptors, another strafed upon emergency landing, while another five was lost to indirect action (i.e., succumbing to flak or fighter damage later on, pilot error, technical failure, etc.). Despite nearly a year of operations in China, the failure of the Chinese military to guarantee the security of US air bases and the logistical difficulties of maintaining them resulted in the transfer of the XX Bomber Command to the Marianas in March of 1945.

US bombers are prepared for the 15 June 1944 raid on Yawata.

Postville Express did not join its comrades in moving to the Marianas, as it was written off as “war weary” in late-1944 and returned to the US to be scrapped. Its replacement, B-29-45-BW 42-24704, was given the same name, but was later shot down on 11 January 1945 over Malaya, killing many of the crewmembers listed above.