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Members of the ground crew in late December 1943,
when their “Sunny II” had 13 missions under her belt.
Only one more combat mission awaited her.
John H. “Lucky” Luckadoo and an order for the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
Variant 2: B-17F 42-30796 EP
-
J „Sunny II“, Lt. George
W. Brannan crew, 351st Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb
Group, Thorpe Abbotts, Great Britain, 30 December
1943
Variant 2
and on February 13th, 1944, he flew his 25th and
last mission.
The fate of Sgt. Dickerson was not as kind.
For his 25th mission, he was added as a waist
gunner to the crew of Capt. Thomas Murphy fly-
ing Piccadilly Lily. Lucky, his original co-pilot, flew
‘King Bee’ and led the second element, essentially
directly behind Lily. It was October 8th, 1943, and
the target that day was Bremen. Lily didn’t return
from the mission and Sgt. Dickerson was killed on
his last, twenty-fifth, mission…
That fateful mission to Bremen was also under-
taken by their former Sunny II. Lt. John T. Griffin
had the controls. This was the third journey over
enemy territory for his crew in Piccadilly Lily and
sixth mission overall.
Sunny II returned badly damaged. The top tur-
ret cupola was completely destroyed after be-
ing hit by a fighter, seriously injuring the gunner,
Sgt. Harjo. The explosion of the projectile knocked
him to the floor near the navigator and bombardier
compartment. He scrambled back into the turret
with the shattered dome. His gloves, stained with
blood from his head, froze to the controls of his
machine guns, but he continued to fight. He was
later sent back to the United States because of
his injuries. The co-pilot, Lt. Johnson, after his re-
covery was transferred to a non-combat role with
the Group. Rear Gunner Sgt. Pilgrim was hit in the
right arm. Engine number 3 was disabled and the
wing and fuselage were punctured by countless
hits from fighters and flak. Still, Sunny II returned
from Bremen. Upon returning, the pilot, Lt. Griffin,
counted hits to four of the twelve propeller blades
as well.
The redesignation of the aircraft’s individual letter from K to J was made after repairing extensive damage
sustained by “Sunny II” in the raid on Bremen on October 8, 1943.
“Sunny II” after an emergency landing
at Harlseton, 30 December 1943.
Variant 2
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943 INFO Eduard
41
June 2024