More information : Thursday 16th September 1943.
B17F (Flying Fortress) 42-30030 (Old Ironsides) of 388th Bomb Group, 560th Squadron USAF Station 136, Knettishall, Suffolk, was returning from a raid on La Pallice, near La Rochelle, when it became lost and ran out of fuel. It was forced to ditch 0.5 mile south of the Inner Farne, off Seahouses. The aircraft broke in two and sank in 4 minutes, drowning the 2 waist gunners.
Crew: Lt Nagorka, pilot, uninjured; Lt Parker, co-pilot, uninjured; S/Sgt Christensen, waist gunner, killed; S/Sgt Whitehead, waist gunner, killed; S/Sgt Harris, tail gun, injured. The rest of the crew uninjured.
Note: Remains of this aircraft were later dragged ashore by fishing boats onto the Black Rocks and can sometimes be seen at very low tide. (1)
Photograph of the nose art of "Old Ironsides". (1)
The aircraft ditched into the sea off the Farne Islands (date given as 17.09.1943) with the loss of 2 of the 8 crew. (2)
Commemorative display seen at Seahouses lifeboat station, 29th August, 2013. (4)
Built: 1942-3 (3)
Builder: Boeing (3)
Propulsion: 4 Wright Cyclone radial piston engines (3)
HP: each engine 1200hp (3)
Unit: 388th Bomb Group, 560th Squadron, USAF Knettishall (1)(2)
Crew: 8 (2)
Crew Lost: 2 (1)(2)
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in the Northumberland Aviation Diary:
"Kriegies, Caterpillars and Lucky Bastards", Glenn A Stephens |