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ing co-pilot. Sumner Reeder left the formation and
turned for home. It was necessary to descend to
a lower altitude where they could operate without
oxygen. Although they were still attacked by fight-
ers, no further serious damage was done. The pilot
shook off the fighters with almost aerobatic eva-
sive maneuvers, and a couple of still functioning
machine guns helped in the defense. Finally, the
plane ducked into some local cloud cover, where
the pilot changed direction several times so that
the intercepting fighters could not guess from
where they may emerge. Several times they flew
from cloud to cloud, changing their course by 180°
and thus confusing the fighters.
When there was no immediate danger from en-
emy fighters, the top turret gunner, T/Sgt. Pope,
dismounted and entered the cockpit to lay the
wounded co-pilot on the floor. However, the latter,
F/O Edeburn, tried to return to his seat three times
to help the wounded commander fly the aircraft.
On the third attempt, he fell on his back into the
space behind the seats and did not get up again.
When Reeder managed to shake off the fight-
ers, they were low above the terrain, with no idea
where they were. After some time, despite his in-
juries and the loss of navigational aids, the naviga-
tor was able to advise the pilot of an approximate
course to England. Once they reached the coast,
they followed it north in order to be over land in
case they had to make an emergency landing or
abandon the plane by parachute, since as at least
one of their two dinghies was destroyed. Several
times they headed blindly 40-50 miles west over
the sea, but then always returned to the French
coast and continued along it. Finally they spotted
a faint haze in the west. Running low on fuel, they
tried again, successfully this time. In England they
started looking around for an airport big enough to
land on. Finally they saw a bomber on the ground.
It was an RCAF base where they were taken care
of. After landing Lt. Reeder climbed out of the
plane and lay motionless on the grass for several
minutes. He then telephoned his base and, like his
comrades, was taken to hospital. He did not return
to active duty until early January 1944. The bom-
bardier and navigator were decommissioned due
to their serious injuries and sent back to the US.
For his performance on this mission, Lt. Reed-
er was awarded the DSC (Distinguished Service
Cross), seriously wounded lieutenants Engel and
Delao received the DFC (Distinguished Flying
Cross). This was also posthumously awarded to
co-pilot F/O Edeburn for his heroism and efforts
despite serious injuries to assist the also wounded
pilot in controlling the damaged aircraft.
With Lt. Reeder on the mend, the rest of the
crew continued their missions with a new pilot
and co-pilot. They did not return from a mission
after a controversial incident - on 5 November,
most of them had to leave the aircraft over enemy
territory, while the replacement pilot and co-pi-
lot flew the B-17 back to England (see Mugwump
and Squawkin’ Hawk medallions). One of the crew
was killed when his parachute failed to open, four
were taken prisoner and three managed to escape
from the enemy.
After being discharged from the hospital,
Sumner Reeder became the Operations Officer for
the 349th BS and later its commander. He com-
pleted his operational tour in July of 1944, passed
on his squadron command and returned to the
United States. There, he joined the Transport Air
Force and was killed off the coast of Florida on
March 19th, 1945 during a training flight in a C-54.
Aircraft 42-5957 was repaired and returned to
combat service. It was assigned to the crew of
Detail of the damage to the front of the aircraft. Lieutenants Engel and Delao, the navigator and bombardier, were seriously wounded here. Right: Another photo of the
damage shows, among other things, a detail of the aircraft’s production description. Note the incorrect designation of the production block “F-41 VE.” In fact, it is the F-40-VE
block, while the “41” block never existed.
B-17F 42-5957 after landing at the RCAF base on her
return from Stuttgart on September 6, 1943. At that
time, it still had the red-lined Type 3 insignia. The yellow
object caught on the horizontal tail surfaces is a dinghy,
a lifeboat that fell out of the storage compartment and
got caught on the elevator stabilizer.
Maj. Sumner H. Reeder
Group Operations Officer, Maj. John B. “Jack” Kidd,
at the schedule board for the September 3, 1943
mission. Four of the crews on this list did not return
that day (Winkleman, Fineup, Floyd, and also the crew
of Lt. King, who was not yet written on the board at
the time of the photograph). Fourth from the top, with
the airplane code letter “D,” the crew of Lt. Henington
(incorrectly spelled with two “N’s”) lost its first aircraft
named “Horny” (42-30611) that day when it was “bathed”
in the English Channel.
INFO Eduard
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943
54
June 2024