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“Double strike” mission for the 100th BG were
the aircraft factories at Regensburg followed by
a landing in North Africa. It was the 14th mission
for Murphy’s crew, and Lily’s thirteenth. In an al-
most last minute decision, the unit’s operations
officer made a change when a ‘trainee’ observer
from 8th Air Force Headquarters, Lt.Col. Bernie
Lay, was reassigned from the crew of ‘Alice from
Dallas’ to co-pilot ‘Picadilly Lily’. During the mis-
sion, the 100th BG lost nine aircraft, ninety men.
‘Alice from Dallas’ was one of the lost B-17s. Picca-
dilly Lily was brought safely to Algiers by her pilot
Thomas Murphy.
Bernie Lay submitted a report to headquarters
about the horror experienced and the heroism
displayed during the battles over Regensburg,
in which, among other things, he nominated all
the crew members of the 100th BG participating
in the Regensburg mission for the DFC and the
commanding pilot of the low squadron, Maj. Gale
W. ‘Bucky’ Cleven, for the Medal of Honor.
Through September 21st, 1943, ‘Lily’ flew only
two more missions. Among the reasons were
the difficult repairs to damage that the aircraft
endured during the course of its missions. Flak
over Paris on September 15th, 1943 severely im-
pacted the underside of the aircraft, tearing off
half of the bomb bay doors. Meanwhile, Thomas
Murphy’s crew was nearing the end of its opera-
tional tour. When ‘Lily’ and her ground crew were
photographed on September 21st, 1943, she was
painted with fifteen bomb mission markings, two
ducks and eight swastikas symbolizing downed
enemy fighters.
On the afternoon of October 7, 1943, Murphy’s
crew were notified that they had been removed
from flight status, although they still had two mis-
sions left to complete their tour. The officers of the
crew were notified of their pending promotions,
evidently being considered for promotion to com-
mand positions.
Thomas Murphy was to become the assistant ex-
ecutive officer of the group, while other officers
from the crew were to go to the headquarters of
the 13th Combat Wing or the 3rd Bombardment
Division.
Variant 1: Capt. Thomas E. Murphy crew, Lt. Col. Beirne Lay. Jr., 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,
Regensburg mission, 17 August 1943, Telergma, Algeria
Piccadilly Lily in North Africa.
The 100th BG formation chart for the Regensburg mission on August 17, 1943. Crosses indicate lost
aircraft.
INFO Eduard
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943
32
June 2024