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The fate of the B-17F 42-5957, nicknamed Horny
II, and its crews was very turbulent. It returned
from its first mission on September 6, 1943, with
a dead co-pilot on board and a seriously wound-
ed pilot, bombardier, and navigator. On a mission
to Stuttgart that day, this B-17 was flown by the
crew of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder. Despite the badly
damaged aircraft, he managed to return to En-
gland. For this feat, he was awarded the DSC.
The aircraft was repaired and assigned to the
crew of Lt. Henry M. Henington. Their very first
mission with this ship was a raid on Bremen
on October 8, 1943, one of the worst days for
the Bloody Hundredth. Horny II again returned
from the mission with only two working engines.
Henington’s crew completed its operational tour
of 25 missions in late 1943, flying a large portion
of them in this aircraft. The last mission of Hen-
ington’s team took place on December 31, 1943.
The target was Paris, and Horny II returned again
with only two working engines and with flat land-
ing gear tires.
By early May 1944, Horny II was close to be-
coming the first B-17 from the 8th Air Force to fly
50 missions. This impending record was ruined
by an electrical discharge that caused the gas-
oline cleaning the aircraft on the hardstand to
burst into flames. All that remained of Horny II
was charred wreckage. However, in its 49 mis-
sions, it was a reliable airplane for its crews,
always managing to bring them home despite
considerable damage.
crews of Lt. Sumner H. Reeder,
Lt. Henry M. Henington, 349th Bomb
Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,
Thorpe Abbotts, early 1944
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