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| USAAF 5th AF 19th BG 30th BS |
Aircraft History Built by Boeing at Seattle. Constructors Number 2484. Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-17E Flying Fortress serial number 41-9012. On March 11, 1942 delivered to Minneapolis. During April 1942 ferried overseas via Hickam Field then across the Pacific to Australia. Wartime History Assigned to the 5th Air Force (5th AF), 19th Bombardment Group (19th BG), 30th Bombardment Squadron (30th BS). No know nickname or nose art. This bomber might have been known as "The Phantom" likely after the comic strip of the same name. This B-17 operated from Mareeba Airfield in Queensland in Australia and staged from 7 Mile Drome near Port Moresby for bombing missions. On September 15, 1942 took off piloted by Lt. Paul Holdridge as one of seven B-17s on a night bombing mission (SM 49/15) against Vunakanau Airfield with the secondary target Lakunai Airfield near Rabaul. This B-17 was part of "A" flight and flew via Hood Point then over New Britain bound for Rabaul. The weather was extremely bad with rain, lightning and thunder storms and no moon. During October 1942, Australian artist William Dargie made a pencil drawing of this B-17 parked at 7 Mile Drome with personnel standing nearby with another B-17 taking off and a searchlight beam in the distance. Dargie noted, "Twenty bombers (the greatest number to this date) took part in this raid. One failed to return. A couple of nights later forty-two B17's went on the same mission. This aroused great enthusiasm in Moresby at the time and we all felt the Japs were at last getting something of their own back". On November 5, 1942 while parked at Mareeba Airfield in a hangar accidentally caught fire and burned leaving only the tail section and outer wings. Afterwards, stripped for usable parts and moved to a bone yard at Mareeba Airfield. Ken Elder Bledsoe adds: "In my father's Vernon O. Elder black & white photos there are several pics of the [B-17] [nicknamed] 'Phantom' burning. According to Ralph Dietz, in his interview with us, the ground crew was cleaning oil off the engines with gasoline before they were completely cooled. That's what caused the fire." Steve Birdsall adds: "There's no evidence that 41-9012 ever had anything painted on the nose, but no evidence that it didn't." Fate On July 27, 1943 the tail section was broken up and scrapped by the 2nd Australian Corps Special Salvage Unit plus B-17E "Frank Buck" 41-2659. References USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-17E Flying Fortress 41-9012 AWM ART22074 "Flying Fortresses (B17's) taking off at 0230 from 7 Mile Drome, Moresby to bomb Rabaul town and harbour" The B-17 Flying Fortress Story (2000) page 77 On Wings We Conquer (1990) page 185 Fortress Against The Sun (2001) pages 293, 418 Thanks to Steve Birdsall, Ken Elder Bledsoe and Edward Rogers for additional information Contribute
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