Battery Corporal
             Willis S. Cole
          Military Museum
                            A Non-Profit Corporation
                        Kirkland, Washington, U.S.A.

         "Lady Jeannette"

                           
                               B-17G-35VE     SN: 42-97904

Dual Medal Of Honor Bomber

       Follow the author's research from the day when he first heard about
the bomber, including tracing the bomber from its delivery to the Army Air
Force in California, on 1 April, 1944,  to its trip to England, arriving on
"D Day," 6 June, 1944, and its final flight on 9 November, 1944.
     Shown here as described to the author shortly before the bomber
ended its last flight.  Bailing out below is T/Sgt. Russell W. Gustafson
and hanging under the tail, where he was trapped, is the tail gunner,
S/Sgt. Herman B. Krimminger.

                          729th Bombardment Squadron (H)
                  452nd Bombardment Squadron (H)
                   45th Combat Wing
                     3rd Air Division
                     8th United Sates Army Air Force

       On the 9 of November, 1944, the "Lady Jeannette" left England on the
162 mission of the 452nd Bombardment Group.  The primary target was the
Metz/Thionville area, with the secondary target being the marshaling yards of
Saarbrucken, Germany.
       The last 300 bombers of the 1,000 plane raid was diverted to the secondary
target after the primary target was covered by clouds and dust.  The "Lady
Jeannette" was one of those bombers.
       Four minutes before bomb drop, the "Lady Jeannette" was struck by flak,
tearing the number 4 engine off the bomber clear back to the wing.  Seconds later,
the bomber was struck again, with the shell exploding just below the numbers 1 &
2 engines.  This shell also broke the leg of the Flight Engineer and almost cut off
the right hand, just above the wrist, of the Radio Operator.
      The Pilot, 1st Lt. Gott, and the Co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Metzger, using all their skill
managed to keep the bomber in the air and they decided to keep it going until they
reached the Allied lines.
      For their actions from the time the bomber was struck by flak until the bomber
crashed in the Boise de Hattonville, the Pilot and Co-pilot were awarded the
Congressional Medal Of Honor, one of two dual Medal Of Honor awards in the
8th United States Army Air Force, accounting for two of seventeen Medals Of
Honor awarded to the 8th Air Force.

    The museum's book, The Last Flight Of The Lady Jeannette,
ISBN 0-9662728-0-3, includes the author's research into this mission.
---------------------------------------
Crew:  1st Lt. Donald J. Gott, Pilot, K.I.A. Medal of Honor
                   2nd Lt. William E. Metzger, Jr., Co-pilot, K.I.A., Medal of Honor
                   2nd Lt. Joseph F. Harms, Navigator, W.I.A.
             2nd Lt. John A. Harland, Bombardier, W.I.A.
             T/Sgt. Russell W. Gustafson, Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gun, W.I.A.
             T/Sgt. Robert A. Dunlap, Radio Operator, K.I.A.
                    S/Sgt. James O. Fross, Belly Turret Gunner, W.I.A.
             S/Sgt. William R. Robbins, Right Waist Gunner
             S/Sgt. Herman B. Krimminger, K.I.A.
---------------------------------------
                       
              At this spot, on 9 November, 1944, the B-17G-35-VE, SN: 42-97904's
              forward section, of the bomber, nosed up, came to rest and burst
              into fire.   The Pilot, Co-pilot and Radio Operator are now known
              to have died during the crash and their bodies, were seen by many
              surviving French eyewitnesses, the Pilots in their seats, dead and
              slumped over and the Radio Operator lying in the open bush area
              between where the broken off tail and forward fuselage stopped.

              In addition, within 45 minutes these three bodies were seen
              lying at the edge of the crash site, with several Americans from
              the American stationed in the village, standing by them.

              At this site, we recovered either the Pilot's or Co-pilot's closed,
              burnt and rusted seat belt clasp.

                     
                As the bomber crashed through the woods it broke apart with the
                tail hitting first in the first depression, an engine fell in the second
                depression (we found its serial number plate) and the broken off,
                at the radio compartment, tail came to rest in the third depression.
                Just to the right of the first depression and a bit toward the third
                depression we found a tattered strip of parachute. 

                 Probably from the parachute of Sgt. Krimminger who was
                 hanging under the bomber's trail and later we found he was
                 torn-apart when bomber settled into the woods.

                The Tail Gunner's, SSgt. Herman B. Krimminger, parachute
                tatters and hangers were seen on the broken tail by the only
                surviving crewman who went to the actual crash site, Lt. Joseph
                Harms, Bombardier, later reported to us, that he saw the torn-
                apart pieces of Krimminger's remains along the trail he walked
                through the woods to get to the crash site.

                      
              One has to wonder which crewman had last wore this throat mike
              and which crewman's oxygen mask the air release flap came from?

                          
                    Willis S. Cole, Jr.  "Sam" with identifiable cowl flap piece
                    found down the debris trail, indicating the direction the
                    bomber crashed into the woods.

                                       
                             Congressional Medal Of Honor
                         1st Lt. Donald J. Gott, Pilot, C.M.H.
        2nd Lt. William E. Metzger, Jr., Co-Pilot, C.M.H.
Read the Medal Citations, General Order: 38, May 16, 1945.
                              (Click On The Picture And Go!)

   

              If any reader might know anything about the bomber, its crash,
crew or anything else at all about this bomber, please contact the museum staff
at: ww1@ww1.org.

             You may have seen the name Lady Janet used in connection with the dual
Congressional Medals of Honor which were awarded.  This wrong information in several
famous books, however that name has been wrong since it was first used.

              The real name, 'Lady Jeannette' was found through extensive archive and
 personal interviews with survivors to insure the correct name of the bomber is now used.

            If you wish, you can visit The "Lady Janet" information page.

            The bomber involved in the Dual Medal Of Honor Award, which
crashed in France, is the 'Lady Jeannette.' However, in 1963/64, the
wrong name started to be placed in famous 8th Air Force history books,
even though all the media of 1944/45 referred to the bomber as the
'Lady Jeannette.' All newspaper articles, including an interview with
Colonel Batson Burnham, the 452nd Bombardment Group (H)
Commander used the name, 'Lady Jeannette,' as well as all survivors
reports, death reports and the Congressional Medal Of Honor award
ceremonies. "Lady Janet Page"

Date Page Was Last Updated:  Sunday, May 15, 2005 21:32

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