The pilots
name in this photo is Capt. R.B. Campbell. The photo was taken
on April 21, 1943.
[photo from 91st
BG Website
]
|
serial number |
plane type
/ name |
squadron |
code |
date lost |
reason |
mission lost on |
pilot / crew |
|
42-2990 |
Boeing B-17F-10-DL
"Dame Satan" |
91 BG
322 BS |
LG-R |
Aug. 17, 1943 |
Hit by a 109
|
Schweinfurt
Crash Location Wannebecq
(Bel) |
Hargis,
2 KIA, 4POW, 4EVD,
MACR 277 |
Extract from PIECES OF NOSTALGIA by Bill
Turcotte (contributed by Dave Hanst)
So it was when the 322nd
led the 91st Group on the first Schweinfurt mission, August 17, 1943, our
4th with all original aircrew.
ME-109s and FW-190s attacked head on, wings blazing, peeling off
belly up below us.
Repeated passes wing to wing and the Hargis aircrew on our left wing
in "Dame Satan" (42-2990) was hit by a 109 that came barely
over our left wing. I watched as it left formation.
Over the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt, bombs raked the target area,
and great columns of brown smoke and dust were rising.
I hardly noticed the flak in the absence of fighters. They met us again
and again on the way out. All ammunition in the nose was expended. Hot cartridge
cases were 3 inches deep and burned your ankles.
We made it, but 4 of the 322nd crews went down, including "Dame
Satan".
Fifty years later, I learned their fate, although I had heard that some
of the crew were P.O.W.s. ...
B17F-10-DL
"Dame Satan", 42-2990 
