USAAF
5th AF
43rd BG
64rd BS
Former Unit Assignments
19th BG
30th BS
1943
Jack Fellows
Aircraft History
Adorned with nose art depicting 'Uncle Sam' giving thumbs up and 'The Old Man' in an old english font. On the opposite side was "Blitz Buggy" Served with the 19th BG, and then the 43rd BG. In that unit, it was serviced by ground crew: Ernie Vandal - C.C. John Duck - A.C.C., Mike Espinosa, William "Bill" McMurray.
Mission Over Gasmata
B-17F "The Old Man" flew a solo reconnaissance mission on March 8, 1943 over the Solomon Sea which included the Gasmata Airstrip. As soon as they passed over the field they were intercepted by as many as 13 Zeros and fought a 45 minute battle before reaching the clouds. The bombardier jetisoned their bombs and long range fuel tank. One zero put a burst of gunfire into the nose, wounding Boren in the left arm severly. He used a belt of ammuniton as a tourniquet, and kept shooting. The pilot was shot up so bad he was unconscious for the flight home. The co-pilot was also wounded. The navigator was very badly wounded plus two other people in the B-17 had minor wounds. Five Zero's were claimed shot down. The crew that mission included:
Pilot Melvin Ehlers "Dutch" (WIA)
Co-Pilot Joseph Cochran (WIA)
Navigator Warren Bryant
(WIA)
Bombardier Thomas Lloyd Boren "Breezy" (WIA)
Engineer Madison
Gunner Echols
Radio Boly
Ball Turret Andrade
Tail Gunner Gerriola
Photographer ?
Robert Rocker adds:
"If I recall it right the top turret gunner landed the B-17 at Dobodura he had washed out of flight school with the help of one of the wounded pilots. A photographer from the 8th PRS was assigned to the flight to take photos on the mission and when Lloyd Boren got shot and was bleeding and he asked the photographer to help him get his belt off for a tourniquet the 8th photo guy froze in fear and became useless because of all off the blood. So Boren had to keep firing his gun and tend to his wound by himself. He told me that when they got into the clouds and everything calmed down that he wanted to push the man out of the B-17 for being so useless, when they got to Dobodura a 7th FS pilot Dick Vodra took the wounded out of the B-17 and he remembered Bob he said when they opened the chin hatch there was so many badly wounded in that aircraft that 'blood ran out of the aircraft'. Every one of the wounded went to hospitals in Australia and lived. Years later, Lloyd Boren got artist Jack Fellows to do a painting 'The Old Man at Gasmata'."
Further Service & Demise
Later, it became General Whitehead's (C.O. 5th Fighter Command) personal transport. The nose art remained, but bomb markings were painted over. Also, only '403' on the tail. Scrapped at Clark Field 1948.
References
War In Pacific Skies, page 81
Pride of Seattle page 7-8, 10
Thanks to Robert Rocker and Aerothentic for historical information.
B-17
Photo Archive
