(Document Source:) This is the ultimate and improved version of this archive by Willis ‘Sam’ S. Cole and Doc Snafu. This is not just a simple republishing. A series of articles laying out the true events behind the crash of the Gott & Metzger B-17G and the creation of Sam’s best seller book The Best Kept Secret Of World War Two published a couple of years ago and still available on Amazon.
I think it is also interesting to let you know that Sam have published a second book, also available on Amazon under the title Why We Killed Patton because he stated that he was going to quit the Army and then was going to destroy those bastards who were going to destroy him!
In December 1945, when it became known that Gen George S. Patton had told his staff he was quitting the Army so he could speak freely and after the New Year 1946, he was going to tell the American public the truth about what those who were attempting to destroy him had done. He was positive, once that truth was known, he could live freely and it was their careers that would be destroyed. A series of day-by-day articles beginning on November 9, 2015, which was the 71st anniversary of the crash of the Lady Jeannette, B-17G, SN: 42-97904.
I will describe the shooting down and the crash of two American bombers in France. One was the B-17G #42-97904 (Lady Jeannette), and the other, was B-24J SN:42-51226 (I Walk Alone) which was flying a top-secret night mission while attached to the 100th Group Royal Air Force. The B-24J also crashed in France, early on the morning of Nov 10, 1944, 138 miles from the crash site of the Lady Jeanette.
CREW MEMBERS #42-97904
2/Lt Joseph F. Harms (Bombardier)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
Air Medal, Purple Heart
T/Sgt Russell W. Gustafson (Flight Engineer)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
Air Medal, Purple Heart
1/Lt Daniel J. Gott (Pilot)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
KIA, Medal of Honor, Air Medal, Purple Heart
2/Lt William E. Metzger Jr (Copilot)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
KIA, Medal of Honor, Air Medal, Purple Heart
2/Lt John A. Harland (Navigator)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
Air Medal, Purple Heart
T/Sgt Robert A. Dunlap (Radio Operator)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
KIA, Air Medal + 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
S/Sgt James O. Fross (Belly Gunner)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
Air Medal, Purple Heart
S/Sgt William R. Robbins (Gunner)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
Air Medal
S/Sgt Herman B. Krimminger (Tail Gunner)
729th Bomber Squadron – 452nd Bomber Group
Eight Army Air Force (Heavy)
KIA, Air Medal, Purple Heart
The crew of the B-17G #42-97904 arrived in England on D-Day (Jun 6, 1944). As a replacement crew, the men were assigned to the 452nd Bomb Group, 729th Bomber Squadron (Eight Air Force) until their last mission over Germany, when shot down and crashing near Hattonville, France (Department of the Meuse). On November 9, 1944, the 452nd Bomber Group, was assigned a support mission ahead of Patton’s Third Army in the Army’s new push into Germany. The day’s targets were located along the German border in the area opposite the region of Metz–Thionville (France). One of their B-17G bombers was the Lady Jeannette, piloted by 1/Lt Donald J. Gott.
The 452nd Heavy Bombardment Group (USAAF)(45th Combat Wing) was activated on June 1, 1943, at Geiger Field (Washington). The Group was immediately sorted into four squadrons: 728-BS, 729-BS, 730-BS, and 731-BS while the Cadre formation took place at Salt Lake City Army Base. During training, the troops would be sent to various locations, including Ephrata, Walla Walla, and Moses Lake (Washington); Rapid City (South Dakota); Lincoln (Nebraska) Grand Island (Nebraska); Sioux City (Iowa); Wilmington (North Carolina); Shaw Field (South Carolina); Oklahoma City (Oklahoma); Pendleton Field (Oregon); Redmond (Oregon); and Great Falls (Montana). They would become one of twenty-four B-17 Heavy Bomber Groups in England.
On January 2, 1944, the first wave of the 452-BG’s troops embarked from Camp Shanks (New York), many on the RMS Queen Elizabeth liner, arriving in Scotland on January 8. The servicemen experienced cramped quarters, taking turns on deck, and eating meals twice a day. Many flight crews assigned to Station 142 started their journey in a B-17 via Newfoundland and Labrador. The troops spent a month getting used to the British weather, attended classes, and received tips on how to operate their ‘Stove Pipe’ heaters, and warm beer. Although the 452-BG arrived late in the war, it proved critical timing. On February 5, 1944, the first mission was flown, target Romilly (France).
After take-off from Deopharm Green (UK-AAFB-15) on November 9, 1944, the Group joined the mission stream and crossed the English Channel into France. Over the Channel, each of the gunners tested his weapon and the bomb bay doors were opened to verify if they were operating properly. Their bomb load that day was eight 500-pound bombs in the bomb bay and two 1000-pound bombs, one under each wing. As they approached the IP (Initial Point) of the Primary Target, the Group in front sheared off and went toward the IP of their Secondary Target, the marshaling yards at Saarbrücken (Germany), just across the German border. The mission plan varied little, except they would fly south toward the new target, drop their bombs, and circle around to the east to begin their flight back to base.
As they left their Secondary Target IP, they opened the bomb bay doors and went on automatic pilot under the control of the bombardier. Unable to change altitude or position, the crews felt most vulnerable as they approached the black clouds of exploding FLAK (Fliegerabwehrkanonen – Antiaircraft Artillery) in front of them. As they approached their Secondary Target, the pilots sat with their hands lightly on the controls as the controls moved automatically by the automatic pilot, ready to take over, if necessary. Each man, in his position, followed the routine of their previous missions, except for the co-pilot, 2/Lt William E. Metzger Jr, who was on his second mission with the Gott crew to obtain combat experience, and the bombardier, 2/Lt Harms, who also was on his 
second mission, as a fill-in for the normal Gott crew bombardier, who failed to report for the mission.
Each of the gunners scanned the sky for any approaching German fighter, however, their minds were on the bank of exploding German FLAK staining the sky ahead. In their previous 27 missions, the crew had never seen a single German fighter, however, at every target they had seen other B-17s going down and crashing due to FLAK. All they could do was hope that Lady Luck would be with them again. In another B-17, in the formation behind them, 1/Lt Collins, their normal copilot was flying with 2/Lt Metzger’s normal crew, to give them a battle-experienced pilot during their first missions. Lt Collins was watching the Group approach the FLAK cloud and suddenly, he saw a FLAK burst on the right wing of the Lady Jeannette.
Immediately, it began to move around, as the pilots attempted to regain control. Aboard the bomber, each of the crew experienced the FLAK burst differently. The pilots immediately tightened their hands on the controls, as the plane began to pitch up on the right side, due to the explosion. The men in the nose, Lt Harms and Lt Harland, were shaken in their seats and turned to see if they could find out what had happened. The intercom was suddenly full of everyone talking at once, asking what had happened or reporting what they had seen.
In the rear, the tail gunner, S/Sgt Krimminger, was badly shaken as the tail whipped back and forth and suddenly he saw a stream of fire to his left. The waist gunner, S/Sgt Robbins, was thrown to the floor and was getting back up to find out what had happened. The radio operator, T/Sgt Robert A. Dunlap, could not see what had happened, but he had his right hand at his radio controls, in order to broadcast what the pilot might order.
In the top turret, the flight engineer and gunner, T/Sgt Gustafson, looked to his right to see what had happened and was astonished to see the number four engine, the outboard engine on the right wing was missing. He had seen B-17s that had returned with engines missing, but the engine mount and cowl back to the wing were still there. Their engine, its mount, and the engine cowling were gone all the way back to the wing, leaving a large hole in the leading edge of the wing. He also saw a large fire flowing back into the slipstream and at first, he expected to see the wing melting and they would crash but taking a second look, he realized the engine had been blown down and off the wing, taking the fuel line with it, until it broke and the escaping fuel caught fire.
Fortunately, the fire was below the wing and it was no immediate threat to the bomber. Gustafson attempted to contact the pilots via the intercom to find it was not working, so he swiveled around to be able to get off his turret seat and tell the pilots the fire was not going to make them crash. As he put his weight on his right foot, suddenly there was another loud FLAK explosion. A fragment of the shell, which had exploded under the numbers 2 and 1 engines, on the left wing, broke through the fuselage, cutting the bomb bay controls, and slicing through Gustafson’s leg, just above the ankle, cutting out an inch and a half of his leg bone. It then broke into the hydraulic oil tank behind the copilot, allowing the hydraulic oil to flow down and over the flight engineer’s parachute.
The belly turret gunner, S/Sgt Fross, had been looking ahead in order to count the bombs as they fell, so the bombardier would know all the bombs had cleared and the bomb bay doors could be closed when the FLAK shell burst within 15 feet of his turret. He was badly shaken, and small fragments of the shell had broken through the turret and embedded in his skull. However, his training kicked in and he began to turn the turret to a position where he could climb up to the waist.
In the radio compartment, a fragment of the German 88-MM AAA shell flew up through the floor and struck Dunlap’s left thigh. It continued up through the radio operator’s table and through Dunlap’s right arm, just above the wrist, almost cutting his hand away from the lower arm leaving it hanging by sinew and muscle. In the rear, Krimminger had released his seat belt and was making his way to the tail gunner escape hatch, when a third shell burst occurred. As soon as the second shell burst, a fragment killed the number one engine, leaving its propeller blade in the flight position causing a great drag.
In addition, another fragment or two flew up into the number two engine where they blew the cylinder head off two or more cylinders. This allowed engine oil to flow out and turn into smoke that flowed back along the slipstream. At the same time, the engine lost its ability to provide full power and this left the bomber with only two working engines, the number three, inside engine on the right wing undamaged, and the damaged number two, inside engine on the left wing.
The sudden change in power and the FLAK explosions caused the B-17 to dive out of the formation. Lt Collins saw his crew’s bomber begin to spiral down and out of the formation and to him and all those who were watching it was going to crash from the damage they could see. There was a large flame streaming back behind the right wing and heavy smoke was flowing from the left wing these men had seen other bombers, with much less damage fail to regain control. Collins called the navigator and told him to mark the position where the Lady Jeannette had been seen then he and the pilot began to tighten up the formation.
As another B-17 closed into the same position the Lady Jeannette had been in that B-17 was also hit by FLAK, killing one engine. It did manage to maintain formation long enough to drop its bombs and turn with the formation to circle to the east, as they began their western return to their base. This B-17 left the formation and parachutes were seen, as it dove to the earth. Along the same route, a third B-17 that had been less damaged by the FLAK over Saarbrucken also crashed.
As the Group continued on its bomb run, aboard the Lady Jeannette the pilot and copilot struggled with the controls. Sitting on the deck behind them in agony, Gustafson thought, they were going to crash. However, they were an excellent team and as they dropped in altitude the wings gripped the heavier air and the control panels allowing the spiraling dive to end.
Due to the large hole in the right wing, the number three engine had to be sped up to emergency RPMS to balance the hole. The left wing’s un-feathered numbered one engine props created a great drag that almost overcame the pull the damaged number two engine could provide. The damage was extensive. From both FLAK explosions, the bomb bay doors were open, the two outside bombs and the eight bombs in the bomb bay were still aboard and all they had was one and a half working engines to keep the plane above stall speed, so they could keep flying. As control was being obtained, the navigator dropped the nose escape hatch and the bombardier went up the crawlway to the cockpit to see if he could help.
By this time, Gustafson had pulled on the sleeve of the copilot to let him know that he was wounded, he had gotten one morphine shot out of the first aid kit and was attempting to inject it. The bombardier realized his problem and helped him open his pants to inject the morphine into his leg. Having realized, when he tried an emergency bomb drop, that the system was no longer working, he moved past the flight engineer and hand-dropped the large bombs under each wing. Then, he went into the bomb bay to try to manually drop the bombs. Realizing this, he tried to kick the bombs out, but their shackles had jammed, so he went back into the radio compartment as the pilot had requested to find out the condition of the men in the back.
In the waist, S/Sgt Robbins had just gotten to the belly turret to help S/Sgt Fross get out when the second FLAK burst took place. He held on, as the plane went through a violent shaking and he felt the plane begin a dive which made him think it might crash. As it settled down, he looked down the fuselage and saw Sgt Krimminger crawling out of the tunnel to the tail with his bell badly ringing and he looked very shaken up. Immediately, Robbins opened the turret hatch and helped Fross climb out. Fross looked and acted like his bell had also been rung and he was hardly able to talk. Realizing he had not seen Dunlap, Robbins told the two to go to the waist escape hatch and prepare to bail out, as he turned and opened the door between the waist and the radio compartment.
He was shocked, as he saw blood spattered all around the compartment and Dunlap was collapsing onto the deck. Then, he saw that Dunlap’s hand was hanging by shreds of muscle and skin and blood was squirting out with each beat of Dunlap’s heart. Robbins immediately knelt down to help Dunlap and at the same time, he saw the door from the bomb bay to the radio compartment open and an officer that he had never seen came into the compartment and knelt down to help.
Between them, they got a tourniquet on Dunlap’s arm and used a bandage to hold his severed hand to the stump of his right arm with the hope it could be sewn back on and saved. It was obvious, that Dunlap had lost a lot of blood. He must have tried to get up and get help, then spun around several times before falling to the deck. They had pulled his arm out of his flight jacket to work on it and all they could do now was to zip up his jacket with the right arm inside and tell the pilots of his condition.
Lt Harms, told Robbins to join the other two and wait for an order to bail out, while he would go tell the pilots what had happened. On his way back through the bomb bay, he tried to kick the shackles to release the bombs but gave up and went into the cockpit where Gustafson had been talking to Metzger who had just handed Gustafson his parachute. After Gustafson had a chance to review his situation, he reached for his parachute to get ready to bail out. He always stored it under the hydraulic tank behind the copilot and the same shell fragment that cut the piece of bone out of his leg had entered the tank and the hydraulic oil had soaked his parachute.
