Hi All, I found this footage of B-17s titled 'Troop concentrations near St. Lo, 07/24/1944' on the HDARCHIVES YouTube channel: [video=youtube]https://youtu.be/MB5oASJ0JJM?t=122[/video] After a bit of Googling, the aircraft I found to be from the 368th and 369th Bomb Squadrons, 306th BG. The 'Triangle H' of the 306th results in several aircraft being clearly distinguishable in the footage. Also appearing are some ground scenes which I have tied down between the S bend on the D900 Periers/St. Lo road and the village of Saint-Gilles, some four thousand yards to the south. The bomb run is being flown north to south, so the ground footage appears with south at top of the frame. Below are two solid ties: First, the southern curve of the S bend - our 'Herd of Allied Tanks' location on the old D77 road has just been flown over in this opening scene at bottom left. Note tie fields 'A' and 'B': The final aerial scenes are over the village of Saint-Gilles - note the narrow, angled field 'C': Whether the footage is from the 'recalled' mission on the 24th July, when some B-17s bombed before receiving the message, or from the far more devastating mission on the 25th July, I know not. In any event, the footage also shows some nice clear shots of the following aircraft: 42-102619 'BO-G', which was damaged beyond repair in August when it collided with another aircraft on the runway at USAAF Station 111 (RAF Turleigh), is seen below: 42-31454 'BO-B', which survived the War to be salvaged in January 1946: 42-31143 'WW-P' "Satan's Lady" also survived only to be scrapped again in December of 1945: 42-97297 'WW-N' "How Soon?", another 369th BS aircraft, which also appears to have survived and eventually scrapped: I am looking for the mission numbers of the two Cobra missions flown by the 306th BG on the 24th and 25th July - had the page last night but cannot find it now. If anyone spots it, I would appreciate the link. Thanks, Pat
Hello, You can find the mission reports (and anything you ever wanted to know about the 306th Bomb Group) at http://www.306bg.us/MISSION_REPORTS/htm/mr1944.htm Please let me know if I can be helpful. My grandfather was on those missions but did not survive the war. I am also the chairman for the 306th reunion this year in Indianapolis if you are interested in learning more. Thanks. Doug
I was able to identify: 42-102618 G - Report to the Nation 368 42-31454 B - St Anthony 368? 42-31143 P - Satan's Lady 369 42-97297 N - How Soon? 369 42-102558 W - Silver Streak 369 42-97181 B - Steady Hedy 369 43-37619 S - Flak Shak 369 42-97301 U - Bouncing Baby 369 42-97365 Z - Zambro 369 43-37693 L - Unnamed 369 (On this mission, the aircraft was crewed by the Baxter crew) In the footage, you can identify Radio Operator R.N. 'Mitch' Mitchell, either Waist Gunner P. Gonsoullus or W. M. Yager (I believe it is Yager), and Ball Turret Gunner J. L. Brien. Video was probably shot by an extra on the crew roster listed as J. J. Zipperer.
Hi Douglas, First, you are very welcome to the Forum and I really appreciate the links to the 306th BG Mission Reports. Extremely interesting documents and I have just gone through the Reports for the 24th and 25th July. I see that BO-B (42-31454) 'St Anthony', WW-P (42-31143) 'Satan's Lady' and WW-N (42-97297) 'How Soon?' all had the same formatiom positions on both the 24th and 25th July missions. The map attached to the 25th July mission would fit very well with the ground scenes in the footage, so I am assuming its shot on this mission, that of the 25th July. However, am I missing something? I don't see BO-G (42-102619) 'Report to the Nation' listed in the 25th July Mission Report. Can you have a look please Douglas and correct me if I am wrong? Thanks, Pat