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B-17G #43-38197
Skid Crash
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B-17G (No Name) #43-38197 (427BS) GN-U
09 December 1944 - Skid Crash into 'J' Hangar

B-17G #43-38197 crashed into the "J" Hangar taxiing for take-off on mission #284 to Stuttgart, Germany. The brakes failed on slippery ice and snow. No sand or gravel had been used to reduce the danger of skidding on the slick surface. Brake failure was caused by low batteries that provided insufficient power to run the hydraulic pressure motors. Pilots had been warned at the mission briefing that the perimeter track was extremely slippery and was covered with ice and frost in some places. Pilot 1Lt Jack W. Rose and his crew transferred to a spare B-17 and completed the combat mission. The aircraft also hit and damaged a Reconnaissance Car and Cletrac. The #4 engine nacelle was sheared off. The left wing buckled against the fuselage, causing wrinkles in the fuselage and outer wing panel. The B-17 was salvaged and sent to the "Boneyard."

[photo courtesy of George T. Mackin]



B-17G (No Name) #43-38197 (427BS) GN-U
09 December 1944 - Skid Crash into 'J' Hangar

[photo from the 303rdBGA Archives]