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Air Force B-17 to fly fifty. Two days later, a tragic
accident caused by a certain degree of careless-
ness ignited a spark that caused an explosion of
gasoline vapors and a subsequent fire when the
airplane was on the apron, as its chief mechanic,
Sgt. Chris Starr, conducted some cleaning proce-
dures with gasoline. A proud veteran of almost
fifty missions, she was destined to not be record-
ed into the history of the 8th Air Force. However,
during her forty-nine sorties, despite significant
damage and dead or wounded on board, Horny II
was always able to reliably bring her crew back
home.
Ground staff member S/Sgt. Ernest M. Lovato,
author of the “Horny II” nose art. In addition
to this aircraft, his talents also graced a number
of other B-17s from the 100th Bombardment
Group. Here, Ernest Lovato signs his name on
a B-17F “Squawkin’ Hawk” in the spring of 1944,
which was to return to the United States after
completing 50 missions.
The last crew to fly the “Horny II” were the men of
Lt. Ferdinand J. Herres. The aircraft “Good Pickin,”
s/n 42-6153, was used for training in the US and
never made it to the battlefield.
Removing the wreckage of “Horny II”
after the accident on May 9, 1944.
B-17F 42-5957 XR
-
D ”Horny II“, crews of Lt. Sumner Reeder,
Lt. Henry M. Henington, 349th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group,
Thorpe Abbotts, early 1944
The English portion of Loren C. Van Steenis
crew’s adventure didn’t begin at Thorpe Abbotts
but in Bury St. Edmunds, with the 94th Bomb Group,
where they arrived in the early fall of 1943 and
spent short time in the group’s training program
before beginning combat missions. The crew was
ready to begin their combat tour with their unit,
proudly bearing the letter ‘A’ in a square on their
aircraft, when a request from command reached
the unit to transfer some of their crews to Thorpe
Abbots, as the 100th Bombardment Group she was
seriously depleted. It was almost the middle of Oc-
tober and the Hundred had lost twenty crews since
the beginning of the month. Van Steenis’ men were
loaded onto a truck and taken to Thorpe Abbotts.
T/Sgt. Earl V. Benham recalled that day:
‘… an of-
ficer of the 100th welcomed us and we entered the
operations office. We had been joking about arriv-
ing this date on October 13th. We called it a good
luck omen. When mentioned this to the officer, he
said ‘you fellas are listed as Crew #13 and the air-
plane assigned to you is #413, and also this is the
13th Combat Wing.’ As we were leaving he said as
an after thought. ‘Oh yes, your airplane is named
Hard Luck!’ ’
Perhaps no other B-17F in the 100th Bomb
Group is as surrounded by so many legends and
myths as this one. This was exasperated by the
repeated appearance of the number 13, which has
always played a certain role in aviation. Some
of the connections were real, while others were
exaggerated, but either way, there is no disputing
that it was an exceptional aircraft. This B-17F had
a serial number ending in 13, arrived in England
on August 19, 1943, but legend has it that it was on
Text: Jan Zdiarský
Color profiles: Michal Fárek
Photos: 100th Bomb Group Archives
Title photo: B-17F 42-3413 “Hard Luck” in formation
during a training flight over England, July 1944.
The early form of the aircraft’s nose lacks the dark
background and other color details that were gradu-
ally added during the nearly 12-month combat career
of this B-17F.
HARD LUCK!
B-17F-55-DL 42-3413 LN
-
V
Speciál B-17F / The Bloody Hundredth 1943 INFO Eduard
57
June 2024