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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
Perhaps no other B-17F in the 100th BG was
wrapped in as many legends as this aircraft.
It was surrounded by the recurring number 13.
Some of these legends were real, some fictional,
but Hard Luck’s status as an exceptional aircraft
is indisputable. The aircraft had the last two dig-
its of its s/n “13” and arrived in England on August
19, 1943. Legend says it was a Friday 13th, and
was flown to England by Lt. Don Mitchell’s crew,
No. 13. This is no longer considered true. Anyway,
Mitchell’s crew did fly with Hard Luck on their
first combat mission and several more thereaf-
ter. The Hard Luck’s hard stand was to be the one
with the number 13, and the 100th Bombardment
Group was part of the 13th Combat Wing. Other
men that flew this aircraft included Lt. Loren C.
Van Steenis’ crew, which is primarily associated
with this aircraft. They flew 17 missions with Hard
Luck.
One cannot write about Hard Luck without
mentioning her ground crew chief, the distinctive
M/Sgt. Glenn M. “Zip” Myers, to whom (among
others) the aircraft owed its long combat career.
Toward the end of 1943 and into the winter of 1944,
other crews flew this aircraft, including those of
Randall T. Chadwick, John M. Shelly, and espe-
cially John S. Giles, who flew 8 missions with
her. After the mission on May 8, 1944, the aircraft
had a long “wellness” break. Hard Luck received
a new glass nose, waist windows closures, and
a new type of top turret from a cannibalized B-17G.
All four engines were overhauled. In fact, this
aircraft became the 8th Air Force’s record holder
after flying 50 combat missions with the original
engines and turbochargers with which she was
flown across the ocean in the summer of 1943.
After repairs, she returned to combat duty on
July 8, 1944, with the crew of Lt. Albert E. Trom-
mer, which was on their third combat mission
and became Hard Luck’s primary user for the
remainder of her existence. In addition to train-
ing flights, they flew 8 combat missions together
during July 1944. On August 14, 1944, Hard Luck
flew her 62nd mission, this time with the crew
of Lt. Donald E. Cielewich. The target was Lud-
wigshafen. There, the aircraft was fatally hit by
flak. The crew dropped the bombs, and the air-
craft headed for the ground in a wide turn. Before
this B-17 impacted the ground, she allowed all
the men aboard to leave the aircraft with para-
chutes. Hard Luck was thus the last B-17F to fly
combat with the 100th BG.
Variant 1 - crews of Lt. Loren C. Van Steenis and Lt. John S. Giles, Jr, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,
Thorpe Abbotts, April 1944
Variant 2 - Lt. Albert E. Trommer crew, 350th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, Thorpe Abbotts, July 1944
Variant 1
Variant 2
Variant 2
INFO Eduard
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