WW II photo

[Bob Wright]

The post regarding the Masters of the Air concerning the 8th AF:

My brother was in the 8th AF, serving as th squadron clerk for the 338th FS, 55th FG. He made this photo, on the back he wrote, "One of the B-17s that visited our base."


Aparently to load up with .50 caliber ammunition, as that is what this trailer contains. Seems to have a healthy appetite!

Bob Wright

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Cool pic!

 

[Snake45]

The post regarding the Masters of the Air concerning the 8th AF:

My brother was in the 8th AF, serving as th squadron clerk for the 338th FS, 55th FG. He made this photo, on the back he wrote, "One of the B-17s that visited our base."

Aparently to load up with .50 caliber ammunition, as that is what this trailer contains. Seems to have a healthy appetite!

Bob Wright

Dunno how you could draw that conclusion from either the photo or what you say is on the back. None of the people is identified so we have no idea if they have anything to do with the B-17 or not. It's an equally valid conclusion (if not even more so) that these are 55FG personnel on their way to arm up their P-38s or P-51s, which both also used .50-cal BMG ammo, and someone just wanted to take their picture with the B-17 in the background.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Great Picture, BUT there has to be more to the story. Why did the 17 land at the fighter base. Normally the fighter fields were shorter. The 17 would have landed at it's own base to get ready for the next mission. No they would not have been taking on ammo since they were already in England. The 17 may have been about out of gas and needed gas to get to home base.

 

[eveled]

Thanks for sharing Bob.

I'm curious how you know those boxes contain.50 cal ammo?

Can you read the writing, or just recognize the boxes?

 

[Jeepnik]

Perhaps in WWII aircraft would land at any base when problems arose. Maybe something like having expended fuel and machine gun ammunition. Rather than simply fuel and send it up defenseless they also rearmed it as well.

No reason to doubt the veracity of comments made about the topic of the photo.

Heck every base I was at was a fighter base And, we had stuff as larger as C-5’s and B-52’s land from time to time. Some planned others not so much.

Because of this possibility we had a manual that showed emergency shut down procedures and egress for all USAF and many USN & USMC aircraft.

 

[Bob Wright]

Thanks for sharing Bob.

I'm curious how you know those boxes contain.50 cal ammo?

Can you read the writing, or just recognize the boxes?

I enlarged a similar photo and was able to read "Cal..50 AP M2." Ad I beieve I also read the arsenal, though now I've forgotten which one, though I think it was LC for Lake City.

Bob Wright

 

[Bob Wright]

My brother told of B-26s landing and re-arming with ammunition during the D-Day landings and afterwards. Why they did this he never told me, and I didn't know enough then to question my big brother.
Even some P-47s visited at times. Maybe it sped things up some to do so.

Bob Wright

 

[Tenbore]

When I first stood next to a B-17, I was amazed at how "small" it was! I know it was a large aircraft for the time, but compared to aircraft today, I was shocked at the size.

 

[Conman]

Dunno how you could draw that conclusion from either the photo or what you say is on the back. None of the people is identified so we have no idea if they have anything to do with the B-17 or not. It's an equally valid conclusion (if not even more so) that these are 55FG personnel on their way to arm up their P-38s or P-51s, which both also used .50-cal BMG ammo, and someone just wanted to take their picture with the B-17 in the background.

Next time we shall have him write a novel with 193 pages of details!!

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

My wife's uncle, Robert Mazzacane ("Uncle Bob") was a radioman/waist gunner aboard Rosie's Riveters II (RR II), a B-17G in the 100th Bomber Group (heavy) that was shot down over Germany in May 1944. RR II had initially been piloted by Robert Rosenthal, who named the aircraft after his first B-17, Rosie's Riveters. (Why Rosie? Well, that was Rosenthal's nickname as a boy.) Rosenthal piloted a different aircraft for the rest of the war.

Rosenthal was the real deal. He flew 52 missions by war's end and was twice shot down. He was a highly decorated pilot, having received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star (with oak leaf cluster), Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal (with seven clusters) and Purple Heart. He also received a Distinguished Fly Cross from Great Britain, and a Croix de Guerre from France. After Germany's surrender Rosenthal, who had been an attorney prior to joining the Army, served on the Nuremburg war crimes legal staff.

"Uncle Bob" Mazzacane and all of his RR II fellow crew members were PoWs from May 1944 through war's end. After war's end, Mazzacane obtained an electrical engineering degree and worked, until retirement, for the consumer products division of GE. In his final years, he served as an expert witness in many product liability lawsuits and was a member of UIL's consumer products safety committee.

I know all of this because Uncle Bob is (was) my oldest son's godfather. We spoke frequently and visited him several times before his death. Because Bob was proud of my son's service in the Army (160th SOAR aircraft maintainer, CWO Blackhawk pilot), Bob willed to my son all of Bob's military records. There were many such records because Bob functioned as a historian for the 100th Bomber Group, and had gathered a trove of military records, flight crew and witness statements and newspaper articles. It is fascinating reading.

The media rightfully focused on the women who built much of WW II's military hardware. But the reality is that the famous WW II B-17 Rosie's Riveters' crew named that aircraft (and crafted its nose art) for the man who flew it - Lt. Col. Robert Rosenthal.

 

[Snake45]

Fabulous story, Johnny, thanks so much for sharing it!

 

[Wyandot Jim]

The rest of the story

Boeing B-17F-120-BO Flying Fortress

s/n 42-30758

418th Bomb Squadron, 100th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force

Plane was named for the pilot, Robert Rosenthal, one of the most popular, respected and skilled pilots in the 100th Bomb Group. This crew was the only one to return from the October 10,1943 mission to Munster,Germany. The 100th put up 20 planes that day (2 borrowed from the 390th Bomb Group). Six of those aborted for various reasons, leaving 13 to go it alone. Flak and fighters chewed the 100th to pieces that day, somehow Rosenthal brought his crew home with two engines shot out and two badly wounded gunners aboard. They were flying a plane named "Royal Flush" (s/n 42-6087) that day.
Front Row (L-R):

2nd Lt. Ronald C. Bailey - navigator

Capt. Robert Rosenthal - pilot (flew two tours for a total of 52 missions)

2nd Lt. Clifford T. Milburn - bombardier

2nd Lt. Winfrey Lewis - copilot



Back Row (L-R):

S/Sgt. Loren F. Darling - right waist gunner

T/Sgt. Michael V. Boccuzzi - radio operator

Sgt. James F. Mack* - left waist gunner

T/Sgt. Clarence C. Hall - engineer/top turret gunner

S/Sgt. William J. DeBlasio - tail gunner

S/Sgt. Ray H. Robinson - ball turret gunner
The plane named "Rosie's Riveters" was lost on the Feb. 4,1944 mission to Frankfurt,Germany. She was badly damaged by flak and had to make a forced landing near Maunchen Gladbach,Germany. All ten crewmen survived and became POWs (MACR 2344).

 

[Bob Wright]

Another thing my brother told me was they were glad when a B-17 visited. The mess hall would make up the ice cream mix and the bomber would take it aboard and take the mix up to 20,000 ft. or so and freeze it. Maybe the .50 cal. was payment for the ice cream? I didn't have enough sense to quiz him at the time.

Bob Wright

 

[Snake45]

Another thing my brother told me was they were glad when a B-17 visited. The mess hall would make up the ice cream mix and the bomber would take it aboard and take the mix up to 20,000 ft. or so and freeze it. Maybe the .50 cal. was payment for the ice cream? I didn't have enough sense to quiz him at the time.

Bob Wright

Hey, maybe those ammo crates are actually filled with the ice cream mix!

 

[coryj]

Cool pic

 

[Johnnu2]

FABULOUS STUFF here.........thanks everyone

J.

 

[jimbo1096]

Cool stories. I had read about Rosenthal in other publications and he deserved all his decorations. Thanks to all for sharing the different stories.