Date & Time:
Oct 21, 1942 at 1300 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24443
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Polebrook - Polebrook
MSN:
3128
YOM:
1942
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Polebrook on an operation to Lorient. While cruising at an altitude of 13,000 feet just below the cloud layer, it was attacked by a German fighter and the German Flak that shot away one engine, the ball turret, the top turret, the intercom system and the elevator controls. The airplane was ditched into the sea some 15 km off Brest and floated for about 30 seconds. All 10 crew members were rescued by a French fishing boat and turned over to the Germans as PoW. The airplane sank and was lost.
Crew:
1st Lt Milton Stenstrom, pilot,
1st Lt Robert L. Carlberg, copilot,
1st Lt Harold Spire, navigator,
1st Lt Ewart T. Sconiers, bomb aimer,
T/Sgt Roy T. Nalley, flight engineer,
S/Sgt William A. Adams, radio operator,
Sgt William E. Schimke, air gunner,
Sgt Thomas C. Calhoun, air gunner,
Sgt John M. Hughes, air gunner,
Sgt James C. Simmons, air gunner.
Crew:
1st Lt Milton Stenstrom, pilot,
1st Lt Robert L. Carlberg, copilot,
1st Lt Harold Spire, navigator,
1st Lt Ewart T. Sconiers, bomb aimer,
T/Sgt Roy T. Nalley, flight engineer,
S/Sgt William A. Adams, radio operator,
Sgt William E. Schimke, air gunner,
Sgt Thomas C. Calhoun, air gunner,
Sgt John M. Hughes, air gunner,
Sgt James C. Simmons, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter and the German Flak.
