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RichardWhite0001.jpg
| Description | : | Fred Preller's photo-interpretation:
This is a photo taken in England, upon arrival at a combat unit. Key evidence is the band around the nose indicating the 390th BG (from July 1944: 568 BS-red; 569 BS-dark blue; 570 BS-yellow; 571 BS-bright green) or 486th BG (poss late January 1945: 832 BS-yellow; 833 BS-medium blue; 834 BS-red; 835 BS-bright green) - identifying this as being taken in-theater. Also the combat-qualified nose-art! Key evidence of "arrival" is that there are darned few ribbons below the wings (on the tunics). I can't make anything out of the numbers - that is a "56" partly obscured by the nose-band. One really curious thing is that the engine cowlings are installed rong. The darkened sector is supposed to face the cockpit - it is an anti-glare treatment. I can't convince myself that the nose-band is yellow, or if it is red (or any other color...). It looks yellow in the enhanced photo to the right. Original message accompanying photo: "My Dad, Everett Sutton White, was a belly-gunner in a B-17 late in the War in England. I do not know anything about his group other than he graduated NC State in 1943, then joined the Air Corp. He was stationed in Tampa, McDill Field(?), and Arizona. I have a picture of his crew beside the plane. The only numbers that I can see are just behind or partially covered by a cockpit band are half of a 6 and a full 6. Behind those numbers are P39 above 190, then a painting of a nude Lady. "Can you help me identify my Dad’s unit and anything about them? I do remember him talking about his tail gunner, an Australian named Richard, for whom I was named. "Dad is second from the right. I think the last on the right is Richard from Australia, the tail gunner. "Dad died February 14, 2008." NEW INFO FROM MERV IN ENGLAND: "The aircraft is B-17G-55-VE serial number 44-8256. This H2X a/c was originally assigned to 303BG(359BS-S/Y) where she was nicknamed “Yankee Girl” – see 303BG website for coloured pix of nose art. However in the photo you sent me she had been transferred, probably in late May 1945, to 100BG at Thorpe Abbotts and assigned to 418BS ( as LD-R).Hence the coloured nose band .Obviously the ground crew have found a way to re-arrange the engine cowls." http://www.303rdbg.com/pp-yankeegirl.html http://www.303rdbg.com/na-yankeegirl.jpg PeterEngelhorn Wed Mar 4 21:31:10 2009 Richard, Great to see your posting ... now for my bit ... the gent on the far right in this photo is my father George Eugene Engelhorn. This is of the U.S. 8Th., 418th.BS in Thorp Abbotts U.K. 1944-45. George D. Sharpe pilot I believe on far left. |
| Location | : | "Somewhere in England" |
| Photo Credit | : | Richard Sutton White, 2008 |
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