On 8 March 1943, on a long-range photo-recon mission over
Gasmata airstrip on New Britain, a Sixty-fifth Bomb Squadron,
Forty-third Bomb Group B-17, the Old Man was jumped by
13 Zeros and a battle was on. One Zero pilot shot several bursts
into the nose of the aircraft, wounding the pilot Melville "Dutch"
Ehlers. Bombardier Thomas Lloyd "Breezy" Boren released
four 500-pound bombs and the long-range bomb-bay auxiliary fuel
tank to lighten the craft as they frantically clawed to gain
airspeed. They limped back to the Dobudura airfield complex,
Papua New Guinea, and the crew (also including copilot Joseph
Cochran, navigator Warren Bryant engineer Madison, gunner Echols,
radioman Boly, ball-gunner Andrade, and tail-gunner Ferriola),
was credited with five aircraft destroyed.
Signed and numbered by the artist. |