Clearing & Colder ...

[Mark Allen M]

Winter of 1944 shows a 398th BG B-17 sitting in the snow at Station 131 with a ground crew member clearing the snow from its wings. The B-17 was a 601th BS plane, serial number 43-38658.


Source: https://www.398th.org/Images/Images_Ass ... older.html

Below is a set of 398th BG B-17's on a few different missions.
I'm going to give photo credit to: Tom Powers, who's father took many of these photos from his navigator seat.
(Most of these photos also were duplicated and handed out to others post-war as well.)

The 398th Bomb Group was part of the 8th Air Force 1st Air Division during WWII. The 398th was formed in the United States in 1943 and was stationed in Nuthampstead, England from April 1944 until June 1945.





ckr

[mastaphixa]

Merry Christmas Mark and thanks for some more great images. I find it interesting that in many of these images the ball turrets and facing straight down. I've often wondered if this was for bomb damage assessments (BDA).

[phil65]

The guns had to be pointing straight down in order for the hatch to be opened and let the gunner in or out.
So chances are there's nobody in the ball turret..

Phil

[Warbird Kid]

Awesome shots. Notice in some of them, there is the pathfinder B-17 "K8T" in the background.