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B-17G Fearless Fosdick #43-37838 (358BS) VK-A



B-17G Fearless Fosdick #43-37838 (358BS) VK-A

Combat Mission 229, 15 August 1944 (Missing Air Crew Report # 8440):
Mission to Wiesbaden, Germany in 303rd BG(H) Low "C" Group Lead Crew in B-17G 42-37838 Fearless Fosdick (358BS) VK-A. The formation was hit by 20-25 German fighters and was one of the nine formation B-17s lost on mission 229. Went down in flames and crashed near Beine-Nauroy, France. Three of the nine crewmen were not members of the 1Lt Stein Crew:
  • Captain Arnold S. Litman (P)(EVD) - Flew 13 of his 35 missions as a Lead Crew Pilot

  • 1Lt Wayne E. Krouskup (N)(EVD) - Member of the 1Lt James F. McNamara crew. Flew 15 of his 25 missions as a Lead Crew Navigator.

  • 2Lt Lawrence "Larry" M. Wolf (B)(KIA) - Member of the 1Lt Marvin S. Boyce crew on his 13th dispatched combat mission. A 20mm shell exploded in his back. He immediately lost consciousness and died within 10 minutes. Lt Krouskup (N) tended him until he died. His body was removed from the crashed B-17 by German soldiers. He is buried in the Restland Memorial Park in Dallas, Texas. A memorial monument was dedicated on 21 April 1990 in Beine-Nauroy, France (A very small city near Reims) honoring the Capt Litman Crew and 1Lt Wolf.
Evadees on mission 229:
Eight of the nine Captain Litman Lead Crew men evaded capture by the Germans. Escape & Evadee (E&E) report numbers and date of return to England:
Capt Litman (P)(E&E 1383) Returned 3 Sept 1944, 1Lt Stein (CP) (E&E 1384) Returned 3 Sept 1944, 1Lt Krouskup (N) (E&E 1385) Returned 3 Sept 1944), T/Sgt Meyer (R) (E&E 1386) Returned 3 Sept 1944, T/Sgt Card (E)(E&E 1387) Returned 3 Sept 1944, S/Sgt Grissom (WG)(E&E 1388) Returned 3 Sept 1944 , S/Sgt Truesdell (BTG)(E&E 1389) Returned 5 Sept 1944. Was captured and escaped two times. S/Sgt Williams (TG)(E&E 1684) Returned 7 Sept 1944.

[photos courtesy of Lynn Meyer Arngrimson, daughter of Fred R. Meyer]