On the same day as the Ruhr dams raid ended, the captain of B-17F Flying Fortress Memphis Belle completed his 25th mission. The famous bomber itself did so two days later. How did the two reach those milestones — and did any other 8th Air Force ‘heavies’ get there first?

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Memphis Belle is among the most famous aeroplanes of the Second World War. Ask people on the street to name an individual aircraft, and chances are that ‘the Belle’ would feature very highly. It helps, of course, that Memphis Belle was the subject of — and, indeed, gave its name to — both a 1944 documentary by famed Hollywood director William Wyler, and the 1990 feature film directed by Michael Caton-Jones centred on a dramatisation of its final mission over Europe. Nevertheless, the fame of the aircraft is in no small part down to its wartime exploits and those of its crew members.

But what exactly is the justification for the Belle’s renown over the thousands of other 8th Air Force bombers that contributed to the US daylight campaign against Nazi-occupied Europe from 1942-45? People who have seen either film might say it was because it was the first to complete a 25-mission tour of duty, while those with more extensive knowledge may answer that the Belle’s regular crew was the first to reach that milestone. In truth, neither is quite correct. So, what is the truth behind the Belle’s fame?

Memphis Belle was a B-17F-10-BO, serial 41-24485, contracted for construction in 1941 and completed at Boeing’s Seattle plant in 1942. It was accepted after inspection by the Army Air Forces on 15 July 1942 and assigned to the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group. The squadron was at that time based at Dow Field in Bangor, Maine, where all the group’s B-17s were inspected before taking the North Atlantic ferry route to the UK. Memphis Belle assumed its now-famous name from Margaret Polk, the sweetheart of Capt Robert K. Morgan, a 24-year-old pilot from North Carolina who was assigned as captain of 41-24485.

The Belle was headed for the war in Europe, with the 8th Air Force’s first ‘Heavy’ mission over occupied territory just around the corner. By the time the Belle and the 91st BG had arrived at their home field of Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire, known to the AAF as Station 121, the 97th Bomb Group, flying out of Grafton Underwood, had already initiated the ‘Mighty Eighth’s’ campaign by hitting a marshalling yard in Sotteville-lès-Rouen, France.

The Belle’s co-pilot was Capt James ‘Jim’ Verinis of Woodbridge, Connecticut. Verinis was a qualified first pilot, and by rights should have captained his own ship, but there were not enough aircraft available at the time the 91st BG was ready to move overseas. Instead, he was offered a position accompanying Morgan in the cockpit and gratefully accepted. The other officers on the Belle’s crew were bombardier Capt Vincent Evans and navigator Capt Charles Leighton.

Here, the first complication arises when considering exactly what the Belle became famous for. While most of the crew Morgan began his tour with aboard the Belle remained constant, not all did. Verinis, as described below, received his own B-17 and crew as soon as there were enough aircraft available. The enlisted men of the crew varied throughout the Belle’s 25 missions, only the radio operator, left waist gunner, ball turret gunner and tail gunner counting as consistent members of the Morgan crew. Of those who flew aboard the Belle and finished their tour of duty, none completed all 25 missions aboard it. The aircraft remained their regular ship, but quite naturally the Belle was grounded for repairs at various times while operating from Bassingbourn. And while Morgan was the regular first pilot, six men piloted the Belle on her 25 missions, while no fewer than 13 served as co-pilot.

The first mission of that famed tour for the Belle — and indeed the 91st BG — came on 7 November 1942 in a strike against the U-boat bunker at Brest, France. Only 14 of the group’s aircraft took off, eight hitting the target and six aborting. 41-24485 returned safely without damage, and the first mission marker was applied to its nose. A further four sorties were flown with Morgan and Verinis in the cockpit, hitting targets at Saint-Nazaire on 9 and 17 November, Lille on 6 December, and Romilly-sur-Seine on 20 December. The Belle recorded its first enemy aircraft damaged on the second Saint-Nazaire trip.

From the sixth mission onwards, Morgan’s crew and that of the Belle would change each time. Verinis acted as first pilot during a sortie to the submarine installations at Lorient on 30 December 1942 when Morgan was ill. Thereafter, Verinis was given his own ship, 42‑2970, which he named Connecticut Yankee; he flew 19 missions in this B-17, plus one on 42-5069 Our Gang, for a total tally of 26. With the departure of Verinis, neither the Belle nor Morgan seem to have had a truly regular co-pilot again, none being in the second seat on more than five occasions — one fewer than Verinis.

3 January 1943 saw the Belle fly its seventh mission and Morgan’s sixth — according to some records, Morgan flew as co-pilot to the squadron commander, Maj Claude E. Putnam. The aircraft recorded its first enemy aircraft destroyed, and suffered minor damage in return.

Following a gap of 10 days, Memphis Belle notched up its eighth mission on 13 January, piloted once again by Morgan with the group commander, Col Stanley T. Wray, acting as co-pilot. It was the lead ship for the first time, and things proceeded smoothly, with no damage and no claims on enemy aircraft. This would change for the Belle’s second mission in the lead — its ninth in all, which took place on 23 January 1943, and brought Morgan’s tally up to eight. The target was the submarine pens and installations at Lorient, and the B-17 received moderate damage.

It was duly grounded on 27 January 1943 for repairs, so on 4 February Morgan completed his ninth mission by piloting Jersey Bounce, along with his regular crew, bombing Emden as a secondary target after the primary objective at Hamm was found to be obscured by cloud. Another run to Hamm on 14 February was unsuccessful for Morgan and the Belle, which returned with bombs still on board. Nevertheless, this was credited as completed.

The Belle was damaged again on 16 February, while attacking the basin locks at Saint-Nazaire. This was both the B-17’s and Morgan’s 11th missions, but with the aircraft back in the hands of the groundcrew for repair, Morgan flew his 12th and 13th in Jersey Bounce, on 26 and 27 February, bombing submarine construction facilities at Wilhelmshaven and the docks at Brest. For the first of those, Morgan acted as first pilot and the crew was his regular one. For the second, he occupied the co-pilot’s seat with 1st Lt John S. Jackson in command and, presumably, Jersey Bounce’s regular crew filling the other positions.

An aborted sortie while flying a different aircraft — probably Jersey Bounce, although records are unclear — on 4 March 1943 prevented Morgan from reaching number 14. That figure was chalked up on 6 March with a strike against the Lorient submarine pens, the 12th mission for the Belle.

Two days later, Memphis Belle went on a sortie without its regular crew. This time, Capt Edward D. Gaitly was at the helm with Col Stanley Wray as co-pilot. It’s likely the Morgan crew was rotated out on this occasion, and the Belle selected because Gaitly’s usual ship was grounded.

The Belle’s 13th and 14th missions — numbers 15 and 16 for Morgan — took place on 12 and 13 March and were attacks on marshalling yards in Rouen and a locomotive depot in Abbeville. As far as the Belle was concerned these were successful, with no damage to the aeroplane. The same can be said for its 15th mission — Morgan’s 17th — on 22 March, to Wilhelmshaven docks.

A strike against locomotive repair shops in Rouen on 28 March saw mission 16 for the Belle and 18 for Morgan. It claimed one enemy fighter shot down, but a crew member was wounded and the B-17 suffered minor damage.

The pilot for the aircraft’s 17th sortie, on 31 March, was Maj Haley Aycock, who had flown in it several times before as co-pilot and even, on one occasion, as nose gunner. He was the 324th Bomb Squadron’s new CO, and Memphis Belle was the lead ship.

By now something of a veteran, the Belle found itself back in the hangar during early April for repairs and maintenance. On the 4th, an engine failed while en route to Paris to bomb the Renault plant at Sèvres. The aeroplane turned back before entering enemy airspace, meaning the mission was not counted. The Belle was grounded for repairs, so the following day Morgan and his crew flew Bad Penny for his 19th sortie.

All was still not right with the Belle, and on 16 April Morgan was forced to turn back before reaching the submarine pens at Lorient due to low fuel and oil pressure. This time, though, it got far enough to count as its mission number 18, and 20 for Morgan. The fault must have been rectified quickly as the aircraft was back in time to bomb assembly shops in Bremen on 17 April, returning with no damage — its 19th sortie and Morgan’s 21st.

Number 20 for the Belle and 22 for Morgan came on 1 May in a strike against shipbuilding and repair shops at Saint-Nazaire. The Belle was undamaged. Nevertheless, on 4 May, Morgan completed his 23rd mission flying The Great Speckled Bird, this being a strike against the Ford Motor Company factory in Antwerp.

On 13 May, Morgan was on leave in London so 1st Lt Clayton L. Anderson flew the Belle on its mission 21, without any of Morgan’s crew, in a raid on an airframe factory at Méaulte. It returned unharmed, to be flown on 14 May by 1st Lt John H. Miller — who would be killed just two weeks later — on a mission to hit an electrical testing shop at Kiel.

Morgan returned for the Belle’s missions 23-24, which took place on 15 and 17 May. These were sorties to Wilhelmshaven and Lorient, during which the gunners claimed one enemy fighter damaged and one destroyed. The Wilhelmshaven raid resulted in the bombs being released over Heligoland, a target of opportunity. The attack on Lorient was mission number 25 for Morgan, completing his tour of duty. The Belle itself flew its 25th mission on 19 May with 1st Lt Clayton L. Anderson’s crew aboard, attacking a turbo engine workshop and engineers’ workshops at Kiel. The Anderson crew had taken the Belle to 25 missions, having also flown the aircraft on its 21st.

The 25-mission milestone was of huge publicity value for the AAF. Morgan, his crew and Memphis Belle returned to the US in the summer of 1943 to engage in an exhausting tour promoting the sale of war bonds. Here is where the myth that Memphis Belle and its crew were the first to complete their tour gained prominence. In a booklet accompanying the tour could be found the following claim: “With its distinguished crew, which has remained intact since its formation 10 months ago, the ship [Memphis Belle] has been returned to the United States for another — and no less important — mission.”

In fact, other aircraft and other skippers had reached the 25-mission mark before Memphis Belle and Morgan, and the crew had been subject to the usual evolution, meaning its make-up was somewhat different in May 1943 than in November 1942. But it was the closest thing to a full crew that had so far completed a tour and therefore the complication was smoothed over. The War Department’s truth-stretching was most acute in the case of Verinis, who had flown 19 missions as lead pilot with his own aircraft and crew, but was effectively billed as Morgan’s co-pilot for the entire tour.

Memphis Belle’s place in the story of the 8th Air Force’s war had essentially already been set when director William Wyler selected Morgan’s crew as the subject for the documentary he was filming. Wyler’s cameras accompanied them on seven missions, not all in Memphis Belle. The eventual film, Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, was released in 1944 to great acclaim.

After the war bond tour, the Belle remained a useful airframe, becoming a trainer for air and groundcrew at MacDill Field, Florida. After VE-Day it was flown to Altus AAF in Oklahoma, where it joined hundreds of war-weary machines to await scrapping. Having been discovered, the aircraft was purchased for $350 thanks to the mayor of Memphis, Walter Chandler. It remained on outdoor display at various locations until 2004, by which point it was in poor condition. The time on show in Memphis had caused heavy airframe weathering, and virtually all the interior fittings had been removed by souvenir-hunters. A few attempts to house the B-17 under cover proved futile, and it fell into further disrepair.

Memphis Belle had been donated to the US Air Force Museum in the 1970s, and in 2004 it decided it should take over the care of the aircraft. It was moved to Dayton in August 2005 for a complete restoration and eventual display at what was now known as the National Museum of the US Air Force. The project took 12 years, and was officially unveiled on 17 May 2018, 75 years to the day since the bomber’s 25th mission.

THE CREW

Key members of Memphis Belle’s crew and the missions they flew were as follows…

Pilot: Capt Robert K. Morgan* completed 20 missions aboard Memphis Belle. Squadron records show he actually co-piloted his sixth mission, on 3 January 1943. He flew three missions (one as co-pilot) aboard 41-24515 Jersey Bounce, one on 41-24480 Bad Penny, and one on 41-24527 The Great Speckled Bird.

Co-pilot: Capt James A. Verinis* completed six missions on Memphis Belle, one as pilot. He flew 19 on 42-2970 Connecticut Yankee and one on 42-5069 Our Gang. He had finished 26 missions by the time of the war bond tour.

Navigator: Capt Charles B. Leighton* completed 20 missions aboard Memphis Belle. He also flew two aboard Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird. It is not known which aircraft his 25th was on.

Bombardier: Capt Vincent B. Evans* completed 21 missions aboard Memphis Belle. He completed two missions aboard Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird. He later flew as bombardier on Morgan’s B-29 in the Pacific theatre.

First engineer/top turret gunner: SSgt Leviticus ‘Levy’ Dillon was Memphis Belle’s original engineer and top turret gunner. He flew four of the Belle’s first five missions and was replaced by Eugene Adkins.

Second engineer/top turret gunner: SSgt Eugene Adkins completed five missions on Memphis Belle and one on Jersey Bounce. Adkins got frostbite on his hands and was replaced by Harold Loch.

Third engineer/top turret gunner: TSgt Harold P. Loch* completed 13 missions aboard Memphis Belle, two on Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny and one on The Great Speckled Bird. Loch flew his first 10 sorties as a right waist gunner before moving to the position of engineer/top turret gunner.

Radio operator: TSgt Robert Hanson* completed 21 missions aboard Memphis Belle, two aboard Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird.

Ball turret gunner: SSgt Cecil Scott* completed 20 missions aboard Memphis Belle, two on Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird. One sortie was flown on an unknown aircraft.

Right waist gunner: SSgt E. Scott Miller spent 16 missions on Morgan’s crew: 12 on Memphis Belle, one on Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird. He remained in England during the war bond tour to complete his 25-mission assignment.

Right waist gunner: SSgt Casimer A. ‘Tony’ Nastal* flew as rear gunner on the Belle’s 21st mission, as part of 1st Lt Clayton Anderson’s crew. He was also aboard Jersey Bounce on Morgan’s 13th mission, which Morgan co-piloted. It has been claimed that Nastal joined Memphis Belle for Morgan’s 25th mission after 24 sorties with the 447th Bomb Group out of Rattlesden, but this unit was not formed until May 1943.

Left waist gunner: SSgt Clarence E. ‘Bill’ Winchell* completed 21 missions aboard Memphis Belle, two aboard Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird.

Tail gunner: SSgt John P. Quinlan* completed 20 missions aboard Memphis Belle, two aboard Jersey Bounce, one on Bad Penny, and one on The Great Speckled Bird.

* — Part of war bond tour crew.

There were also numerous co-pilots, who assumed other roles on different missions:

Co-pilot: 1st Lt John S. Jackson co-piloted the Belle on its sixth mission and flew in Jersey Bounce with Morgan as co-pilot on Morgan’s 13th.

Co-pilot/pilot: Maj Claude E. Putnam, the 324th BS commander, is shown in some records as co-pilot but in operations record books as pilot of the Belle on its seventh mission, Morgan’s sixth.

Co-pilot: Col Stanley T. Wray co-piloted the Belle on mission eight, Morgan’s seventh, and Jersey Bounce on Morgan’s ninth.

Co-pilot: Lt Col Baskin R. Lawrence, the group executive officer, co-piloted the Belle on mission nine, Morgan’s eighth.

Pilot/co-pilot/nose gunner: Maj Haley Aycock, CO of the the 324th BS from 17 February 1943, co-piloted the Belle on its 10th-12th and 24th missions, as well as Jersey Bounce on Morgan’s 12th. He also flew as nose gunner on Jersey Bounce on Morgan’s 13th mission. Aycock piloted the Belle on its mission 17.

Co-pilot: 1st Lt Charles W. Freschauf co-piloted the Belle on missions 13-15.

Co-pilot: 1st Lt James M. Smith co-piloted the Belle on missions 16-17.

Co-pilot: 1st Lt John H. Miller co-piloted the Belle on missions 18, 19 and 23, as well as Bad Penny with Morgan as pilot on Morgan’s 19th.

Co-pilot: 1st Lt Clyde E. DeBaun co-piloted the Belle on mission 20.

Co-pilot: 1st Lt Vernon A. Parker co-piloted The Great Speckled Bird on Morgan’s 23rd mission, and the Belle on its 22nd.

Co-pilot: 2nd Lt David F. Gladhart co-piloted on missions 21 and 25. Gladhart was Anderson’s regular co-pilot.

Crew chief: MSgt Joe Giambrone

Mascot: Stuka the Scottish terrier

Of the Morgan crew, it is understood six others completed their 25 missions flying with Morgan. They were Capt Charles B. Leighton (navigator), Capt Vincent B. Evans (bombardier), SSgt Robert Hanson (radio operator), SSgt Cecil Scott (ball turret gunner), SSgt Clarence E. Winchell (left waist gunner) and SSgt John P. Quinlan (rear gunner). SSgt Casimer A. Nastal flew one mission aboard the Belle, which completed his 25, but was added to the crew for the war bond tour.

The crew that piloted Memphis Belle on its 25th mission was Lt Clayton L. Anderson (pilot), Lt David F. Gladhart (co-pilot), Lt Winfield S. Scovell (navigator), SSgt Eugene Adkins (bombardier), TSgt Ronald E. Current (radio operator), SSgt Amos B. Cornwell (first engineer), SSgt Robert W. Cole (ball turret gunner), SSgt Emerson S. Miller (tail gunner), SSgt Norval W. Kirkpatrick (right waist gunner) and SSgt John E. Carse (left waist gunner).

THE OTHER CANDIDATES

Several other 8th Air Force bombers reached the 25-mission milestone before Memphis Belle, but for various reasons were not considered as the symbolic first machine to complete a tour

Hot Stuff

On 7 February 1943, Hot Stuff (41-23728), a Consolidated B-24D-1-CO Liberator of the 330th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, became the first heavy bomber in the 8th Air Force to complete 25 missions. It did part of its 25 over Europe, the latter sorties taking place after the 93rd BG’s temporary relocation to North Africa. Hot Stuff flew 31 missions before being withdrawn from active service for a tour of the States. As with Memphis Belle, a crew consisting of men who had completed their 25 missions was due to take the aircraft back to America when it was ordered to Bovingdon to collect Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews, the commander of US Army forces in the European theatre. With Andrews were his chief of staff, Brig Gen Charles H. Barth, his public relations officer, two aides, his secretary, and three chaplains. This meant several crew members from Hot Stuff had to give up their seats on the aircraft, including the co-pilot, bombardier, engineer and two gunners. On 3 May 1943, Hot Stuff crashed into the Fagradalsfjall mountain in Iceland, where it was due to refuel, killing all but the tail gunner. Andrews was returning to the States for a meeting in which he was to be informed that he would lead the invasion of Europe.

Hell’s Angels

Hell’s Angels, B-17F-25-BO 41-24577 of the 358th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, flying out of Molesworth, completed its 25th mission on 13 May 1943, the day Memphis Belle flew its 21st. Its pilot, Capt Irl E. Baldwin, finished his 25th on 14 May 1943, three days before Capt Robert K. Morgan did likewise on the Belle. Following a reassignment, the aircraft was signed by hundreds of members of the 303rd BG before it returned in February 1944 to the USA, where it served until the war’s end as a training platform.

Delta Rebel 2

Delta Rebel 2, 42-5077, was a replacement ship when the original Delta Rebel (41-24571) was severely damaged in a taxiing accident in the USA. According to research by Mick Hanou of the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association and Jeff Duford at the National Museum of the USAF, Delta Rebel 2, belonging to the 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, completed its 25 missions on 1 May 1943. It was piloted on most of these by 1st Lt George P. Birdsong Jr, but had a mixed crew and continued to fly after that, eventually amassing 33. The B-17 was lost to enemy fighters on 12 August 1943 on a raid to a synthetic oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen. Hollywood actor Clark Gable flew two sorties aboard Delta Rebel 2, filming scenes for his Combat America documentary.