Mike Conley - 3 Jan 3 2007: Peter Kliest is seen in this picture petting Adolph, the mascot. Sgt Sweeney (gunner) and Adolph where featured on the cover of YANK magazine July 7, 1944. Adolph returned to the states with Sweeney.
Bachelors" DELIGHT may lay claim to the most missions completed at 123.
M Conley - 8 Jan 2007: Citation of Units: The 301st HBG for outstanding perfomance of duty in armed conflct with the enemy, 25th of February 1944. 31 aircraft of this group participated in the bombardment of heavily defended enemy aircraft factories at Regensburg Germany, in one of the first coordinated attacks by the AAF. An intense and vicious air battle took place en-route and while leaving the target area with an estemated 200 enemy aircraft. The 301st lost 11 aircraft and 110 men did not return. A highly successful bombing run was completed.
Aircraft model is B-17F-105-BO
M Conley @ 68.88.172.17 (Tue Jan 23 10:49:55 2007)
Bachelors' DELIGHT completed a record setting 124 combat mission's. On the 123rd mission she had two engines shot out and it looked as if she wouldn't reach the magical 124th mission. But the ground crew worked all night and day changing the two engines and upon completion the battle order was announced. July 19th a mission on an ordanance depot in Munich, Germany and "Bachelors' DELIGHT" was on the list. Next she roared down the runway and soared into the air with 1,010 combat flying hours.
That afternoon upon return it looked like mission 125 was a cinch until her landing gear folded and the plane skidded on her belly to a stop. The ground crew once again put her back together and she flew her way into a honorable retierment doing training flights.
Bachelors' DELIGHT would no longer fly through those flak puffs with machine guns chattering away at the enemy fighters. But she would go down into the ranks of airplane greats.
