First B-17 landings at Dübendorf airfield, 17 August 1943 at 12.48 p.m. The B-17, better known during the war years as the ‘Flying Fortress’, caused an international sensation even before the war with numerous record-breaking flights. It was also well known in literature in this country. On 17 August 1943, 127 bombers from the 4th Bomb Wing of the 8th Air Force stationed in England attacked the Messerschmitt factories in Regensburg. As a tactical surprise for the opposing German air force, the attack plan was not to return to the original bases. Instead, after bombing the Bavarian industrial metropolis, the aircraft were to cross the Alps and land on makeshift airfields in North Africa. Two badly damaged ‘Flying Fortresses’ sought refuge in Switzerland during this attack. The belly landing of a B-17F-85-BO of the 100th Bomb Group in Dübendorf and a B-17F-95-BO in Utzenstorf, Bern, was a real sensation for both the air force and the population. The following report describes the landing of the first two B-17s in Utzenstorf and Dübendorf on 17 August 1943. Regensburg. The name of this German industrial town is probably forever associated with one of the bloodiest chapters of the 8th US Air Fleet. In addition to the U-boat bunkers and hydrogenation plants, the Americans' main targets were repeatedly the industrial plants in the Reich territory. However, these factories were a tough nut to crack for the bombers, as most of them were located in the heart of Germany, well defended by countless anti-aircraft batteries and the Luftwaffe, which at that time was still an equal and feared opponent of the bombers. In the summer of 1943, the cities in the north and north-west were the first to feel the terror of bombing, but German industry was not significantly weakened by these attacks. Huge numbers of aeroplanes and tanks continued to roll off the assembly lines, aircraft that could later make life difficult for the bomber crews. General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold, commander-in-chief of the 8th Air Fleet, was also confronted with this problem. Once these focal points of the aircraft industry had been eliminated, he thought, the bombers would be able to fly devastating attacks deep into the Reich's territory unhindered. The fact was that 48% of all Messerschmitt Bf-109s were manufactured in Regensburg and Wiener-Neustadt. It goes without saying that these cities were also at the top of ‘Hap’ Arnold's list. Regensburg was about 850km away from the bases of the 4th Bomb Wing. It was recognised that only very careful preparation promised success. The bombers of the 4th Combat Wing, later 3rd Air Division, all equipped with the range-extending ‘Tokyo tanks’, were to attack Regensburg, but then, in order to confuse the enemy, turn south and, after crossing the Alps, descend on the American bases in North Africa. To complete the confusion, the bombers of the 1st Combat Wing were to attack the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt and then return to their bases in England. The attack was scheduled for 17 August 1943. A year earlier, twelve B-17s of the 97th Bomb Group had flown the 8th Air Force's first attack on ‘Fortress Europe’. Since then, 404 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators had been lost over Europe. At 8.35 a.m., the 127 bombers of the 4th Bomb Wing took off with the target Regensburg. The formation was accompanied by 240 Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, but only just to the German border. At 9.00 a.m. the B-17s passed the Dutch coast. The Germans were not unaware of what was approaching. Shortly after Brussels, several Focke Wulf Fw 190s attacked and the first four B-17s were shot out of the formation. A merciless dogfight broke out and the B-17s were at the mercy of the Luftwaffe and anti-aircraft guns until shortly before the Alps. Nevertheless, the attacks could not deter the bombers from their path. At 10.37 a.m. Regensburg came into view, and in excellent weather conditions the aircraft had no problems getting the bombs on target as accurately as possible. Bring. P-38 reconnaissance photos showed that two thirds of the factory site had been destroyed, as well as important components of the Messerschmitt Me-262 prototype, which considerably delayed the development of the highly secret super aeroplane. To the great surprise of the Germans, the bombers turned southwards after the attack. In vain, the Luftwaffe in the north-west had put all units on high alert in order to kill the bombers on their return flight. The B-17s had enough problems as it was, with many carrying dead and wounded on board. Shot engines and leaking fuel tanks fuelled the oppressive uncertainty of ever reaching North Africa. One crew tried to get their battered B-17 through to Spain, but they had to abandon their aircraft over Toulouse. Neutral Switzerland was an ideal landing site for stricken bombers. 2nd Lt Stephen Paul Rapport of the 390th Bomb Group took advantage of this opportunity. This group, the youngest in the 4th Bomb Wing with three missions, achieved the best hit rate of all the groups involved, but also lost six aircraft. The ‘Battle Queen- Peg of my Heart’ separated from its unit shortly after Regensburg. Rapport managed to cheat his rather battered B-17 past all the fighters and into Switzerland. At 1.45 pm he landed his tired Queen with retracted landing gear on a meadow in Utzenstorf, Canton Bern. The B-17F95-BO with the serial number 42-30315 was later dismantled by the Swiss and scrapped after a thorough examination after the war. Two aircraft of the 100th Bomb Group also separated from their unit in the direction of Switzerland. Col William Kennedy's B-17, whose right inner engine was on fire after a hit, had to leave the bomber with its crew over Germany. Lt Kenneth Oakes had better luck with his ‘High Life’. Shortly after flying into Switzerland, his aircraft was picked up by a Morane fighter and escorted safely to Dübendorf. It was hard work for Oakes and his co-pilot Joseph Caldwell Harper to bring their B-17F-85-BO down safely on the unfamiliar and short field. The ‘High Life’ came in a little too ‘high’ and too fast, after about half of the runway the EP-F still had an altitude of 10 metres. Oakes, who did not want to put his sick B-17 through a second approach, pushed the ‘High Life’ into a dive. During the brutally hard landing, the left main landing gear wheel flew off in a high arc. The pilots narrowly avoided a rollover. In the end, the aircraft came to a halt in a huge cloud of dust. The Dübendorf team had not experienced such a spectacular landing for a long time, but it was not to be the last in these hectic times. After the main undercarriage was repaired, the B-17 with the serial number 42-30080 was parked next to the hangars of today's Aviation Museum and scrapped in Switzerland after the war. ‘High Life’ is the name of a well-known beer from the American company Miller, which is still available in the USA. Its logo, a girl riding on the moon, was painted on the aircraft. With this takeover, the crew probably wanted to emphasise the strict ban on alcohol that the American airmen had to undergo in England. Finally, let's take stock of the day. At 4.20 pm, the last of the 115 surviving Flying Fortresses touched down in North Africa. Several bombers had to ditch in the Mediterranean after crossing the Alps, and one crashed over Italy. Only sixty of these aircraft returned to England on 24 August 1943. The others were in an irreparable condition. In the September 1982 issue, COCKPIT reported on the landing of the first Boeing B-17 in Switzerland. An advert placed in an American Air Force magazine in connection with this article led to the crew of the bomber reuniting in Milwaukee for a glittering party after forty years. Let's turn the clock back forty years for the time being! On 17 August 1943, 21 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 100th Bomb Group took off from England to attack the Messerschmitt factories in Regensburg. The 100th Bomb Group lost nine aircraft, the highest number of losses of all the groups involved that day. The With twelve previous missions, ‘High Life’ had flown the most missions in this group. Twenty-five would have been needed for her and her crew to return to the States. The aircraft flew its first mission on 25 June 1943, when Bremen was bombed. The crew of the ‘High Life’ therefore consisted of experienced men who had proven themselves in missions over France and Germany. Not least for this reason, it was assigned the rearmost position in the highest formation of the 100th Bomb Group. As this position was particularly vulnerable to attacks by German fighters, it was given the macabre title ‘Cofin Corner’. The mission showed that the crews were not entirely wrong with this designation. Two of the aircraft's engines were shot out over the target. Oakes was about to order the crew to disembark when navigator Harris suggested flying to Switzerland. To 12.48 pm the B-17 then landed in Dübendorf. During the research for the COCKPIT article, the employee placed a wanted advert in the Eight Air Force News. Unfortunately, the printed photo was then provided with an incorrect comment. This called two members of the crew to the scene. Joe Harper from Texas corrected the error in a letter to the editor, while radio operator Scott spared no expense and called Switzerland directly from Alabama to clarify the matter. Scott and Harper had lost contact with each other and with the other members of the crew since their internment in Switzerland. Scott had the idea of tracking down the other members of the ‘High Life’. This is quite a difficult endeavour in the States, as Americans are in the habit of frequently changing their place of residence. ‘The phone calls alone that were necessary to find all my friends again cost about 1,000 francs,’ said Scott. ‘There was only one I couldn't find, our Bombardier Lloyd Hammerlund. I also learnt that McGrath had died in 1960 died’. At first, Jim Scott wanted to organise a small reunion party at his home, but then Miller Brewing Inc. in Milwaukee found out about the plan. Miller, the producer of ‘High Life’ beer, which is very popular in America, invited the crew and their wives to Milwaukee without further ado. The party lasted three days, from 9 to 11 June 1983. The flight, food and accommodation were paid for by the brewery. Many guests attended, and it was the event of the week for the local press and television. Congratulations arrived from all over the world, including congratulations from President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger. It was an uplifting moment when the nine men saw each other again for the first time in forty years. Also in attendance was a member who had not taken part in the memorable flight, Howard Ball was injured during a mission on 25 July 1943 and was succeeded by Lloyd Hammerlund. The highlight of the meeting was a flight in one of the last B-17s still flying, the Flying Fortress, a late G version, from the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh. The aircraft bears the fictitious registration number UD-F and the serial number 85740. For this occasion, the B-17 was given the original lettering as worn by the ‘High Life’ in 1943. The girl on the moon has been the emblem of this beer since 1903. The fourteenth mission of the High Life crew was a sightseeing flight from Mitchell Field Airport over the city of Milwaukee. Beforehand, the aircraft could be admired by a large number of onlookers. Jim Scott after the flight: ‘The thirteenth mission was a nightmare, this one was a sweet dream that I will never forget’. Jim Scott celebrated the fortieth anniversary in Dübendorf, where he had made an emergency landing on 17 August. Jim was moved when he saw the spot where the ‘High Life’ had come to a halt. Scott was 61 years old at the time. He worked as a rocket technician at Redstone Rocket in Huntsville, where he also lived. He donated a picture of the ‘High Life’ during the attack on Regensburg to the Aviation Museum.
Crew:
Pilot: 1st Lt Donald K. Oakes
Copilot: F/O Joseph C. Harper
Navigator: 2ndt Lt Hiram E. Harris
Bombardier: 2ndt Lt Lloyd A. Hammerlund
Engineer: T/Sgt George W. Elder
Radio: T/Sgt James P. Scott
Ball Turret: S/Sgt Leslie D. Nadeau
Right Waist: S/Sgt Vincent K. McGrath
Left Waist: S/Sgt Nolan D. Stevens
Tail Gunner: T/Sgt Leonard Goyer
