The Tragic Final Mission of B-17G ‘Wee Willie’

[Talyn]

The Last Mission​

The oldest B-17G still in service with the 91st Bomb Group, and the next to last B-17 lost to hostile action by the Group, met a horrifying fate in the skies over Germany on April 8, 1945, just 30 days before Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

Wee Willie left RAF Bassingbourn on April 8, 1945 with a crew of nine, bound for railroad targets in Stendal, Germany along with 72 other B-17s. Using ground search radar known as H2S, the bombers located their targets through the cloud cover. Moderate anti-aircraft fire was encountered. What happened next is best explained by an eye witness, a gunner on another B-17 from the 401st Squadron, Staff Sgt. George Little:

“We were flying over the target at 20,500 feet altitude when I observed aircraft B-17G, 42-31333 to receive a direct flak hit approximately between the bomb bay and #2 engine. The aircraft immediately started into a vertical dive. The fuselage was on fire and when it had dropped approximately 5,000 feet the left wing fell off. It continued down and when the fuselage was about 3,000 feet from the ground it exploded and then exploded again when it hit the ground. I saw no crew member leave the aircraft or parachutes open. (Missing Air Crew Report [MACR] 13881)

The Tragic Final Mission of B-17G ‘Wee Willie’

The oldest B-17G still in service with the 91st Bomb Group and the next to last B-17 lost to hostile action by the group met a horrifying fate in the

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The well-known dramatic photo of ‘Wee Willie’ after being hit with a German 88 flak gun. The left wing has become completely separated as the aircraft goes down, and is now trailing the aircraft’s descent while inverted over the right wing, Stendal, Germany, Apr, 8, 1945.

Wee Willie had suffered a direct hit from the dreaded German 88 mm flak gun, causing the left wing along with its two engines to detach from the aircraft. In the resulting death spiral, possibly blown out by the first reported explosion, pilot 1st Lieutenant Robert Fuller did manage to escape the doomed aircraft.

The horrific third photo of the demise of ‘Wee Willie’ shows it has exploded and fragmented, with some pieces in flames. (Image credit: American Air Museum, Britain)