1940 Armorer Class at Hickam Air Corp Base.

1940 Armorer Class at Hickam Air Corp Base

Austrian civilians and kids surrounding the wreck of an American bomber B-17 crashed on a wood near the Austrian town of Vöstenhof. The aircraft, the Boeing B-17G-30-BO Flying Fortress s/n 42-31804 of 463rd Bombardment Group’s 775th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force, USAAF, based in Southern Italy, Foggia Airfield Complex, was shoot down by the Flak during a mission, May 10, 1944, against the Wiener Neustadt’s aircraft factory on Vienna Area. A direct hit by AA fire in the fuel tanks between the number 3 and number 4 engines set the aircraft on fire and forced the crews bail out, but two crewmembers, 1st Lt. Stanley Dwyer and gunner Sgt. John Boros, was killed. The 10 May 1944, 21st mission from his Italian bases, was a bad day for the BG: 34 Flying Fortress was sent against the well-defended WNF (Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke) aircraft factory, which produced Messerschmitt 109s, South of Vienna. The result of the raid was judged “excellent”, the bomber’s gunner claimed 16 German aircraft destroyed and five probable, but seven B-17s failed to return. Victor Sierra