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BUNKY
42-31542
B-17G-20-BO
91/323 OR-T
 The
457th Bomb Group was the original recipient of this aircraft
at Wendover, Utah, in December 1943. Deploying to the
UK with that group early in the new year, it was based
at Glatton until the middle of March and then reassigned
to the 91st. at Bassingboum. Its first sortie with the
91st. was to Lechfeld airfield on 16th March 1944 and
it ended with an abort and no mission credit. Two days
later it successfully bombed Oberpfaffen- hofen and two
days beyond that hit Frankfurt. Captain Robert Ranzoni
then took over the plane to begin a run of 14 missions
in Bunky including a strike at the German capital on 19th
May.
Ranzoni's last mission in the ship was to Ludwigshaven
in late May and then a series of other crews took the
plane. Arnold O'Toole's crew flew six of their missions
in Bunky, including three attacks on Munich in as many
days during July.
Forty-five sorties would be completed bearing a cartoon
creation by Tony Starcer before tragedy, and the overwhelming
power of natural forces, struck Bunky and her crew on
19th July, Ironically, it was over the same target as
the plane's first aborted sortie - Lechfeld airfield.
Barely seven minutes before the release on the bomb run,
she was struck by Champagne Girl, another 91st. Fortress,
which had been caught by the prop wash of a preceding
aircraft. Invisible forces of turbulence threw Champagne
Girl suddenly to the left and her left wing struck Bunky
on the right horizontal stablizer. Propellers whirled
like massive band saws into the fuselage and as 2/Lt.
Norman Burwick pulled Bunky away the entire tail section
of his plane broke off at the main entrance door and rocketed
about 200ft upwards before spinning down. The aircraft,
with its occupants still trapped inside survived and the
squadron records noted later "this was an experienced
crew and Lt Steelhammer (bombardier) was on the last mission
of his tour of 31." and robbed of its vital tail,
spiralled down in a diving spin until lost from the sight
of observers. No chutes were seen as other massive and
unseen forces pinned the crew in what had become in an
instant, a tumbling aluminium coffin. No one
"Story taken from Plane Names & Fancy Noses,by
Ray Bowden”
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