Aviation History - July 2018

32 AH JULY 2018

would “get out in front of our formation—in line

abreast of 25 or 30 Focke-Wulfs or Messer-

schmitts—and spray the formation with cannon

fire, rockets and .30-caliber machine guns.” As a

result, he said, “We suffered tremendous fatali-

ties.” Anti-aircraft artillery also took a toll, and

Crosby noted that as they approached Bremen,

the group encountered “Flak, a whole, mean sky

full of it.” Luckadoo and his crewmates returned

to Thorpe Abbots that day, but seven B-17s were

lost and 72 aircrew died on the Bremen mission.

Crosby’s shot-up B-17 barely made it back on

three engines to crash-land at an abandoned RAF

airfield. After catching a ride in a lorry to Thorpe

Abbotts, Crosby and his fellow crewmen, who

were presumed lost, found their beds stripped and

personal possessions removed. “On the bare cot

were two clean sheets and two pillowcases, two

blankets, one pillow, all neatly folded,” he wrote.

“Ready for the next crew.”

Two days later, 21 Forts departed Thorpe

Abbotts for Munster, but just 13 reached the tar-

get. The losses on the Munster mission were dev-

astating: 12 aircraft and 121 men. A single B-17,

Rosie’s Riveters, piloted by Lieutenant Robert

Rosenthal, bombed the target and returned to

Thorpe Abbotts that day.

The perceived impact of the losses was com-

pounded by the attrition in squadron leadership:

100

TH

BOMB GROUP’S WORST MISSIONS

Date Target Crew Losses

August 17, 1943 Regensburg

October 8, 1943 Bremen

October 10, 1943 Munster

March 6, 1944 Berlin

May 24, 1944 Berlin

July 31, 1944 Merseberg

September 11, 1944 Ruhland

December 31, 1944 Hamburg

“DID WE DESERVE TO BE CALLED THE ‘BLOODY 100TH’? OTHER OUTFITS

LOST MORE PLANES AND CREWS THAN WE DID. WHAT MARKED US WAS

THAT WHEN WE LOST, WE LOST BIG. THESE EIGHT MISSIONS GAVE US

OUR NOTORIETY.” —HARRY H. CROSBY, A WING AND A PRAYER

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

The B-17G Hang the

Expense II returned from

Frankfurt on January 24,

1944, in spite of a flak

hit that blew tail gunner

Staff Sgt. Roy Urich from

the plane. He survived to

become a prisoner of war.

15

9

7

12

9

8

12

8