75th Anniversary 1st All American Bombing Mission in Europe

[RicFlack]

Subject: Upcoming 75th Anniversary of first All American Combat Bombing Mission in Europe … 17-Aug-42

For those who may be interested in honoring the 75th anniversary of the very first All American heavy bomber combat mission conducted over German occupied territory in Europe on August 17, 1942, please read on.

This historic mission was executed using twelve Boeing B 17E Heavy Bomber Flying Fortresses from the VIII Bomber Command’s 97th Bomb Group made up of four Bomb Squadrons (340th, 341st, 342nd and the 414th). These twelve Flying Fortresses were from the following Bomb Squadrons: one (1) from the 340th and five (5) from the 342nd, which were all in the first flight group, and six (6) from the 414th all in the second flight group. In addition, three (3) bombers from the 340th and three (3) bombers from the 341st flew diversionary missions.

Of historic note, General Ira C. Eaker, the commander of the VIII Bomber Command, flew as an observer in the led aircraft in the second flight group of six B 17’s piloted by Captain Rudolph “Rudy” Emil Flack, the Mission Commander. Captain Flack was also the Base Commander from where the twelve Flying Fortresses departed, which was the Grafton-Underwood RAF airfield located 4 miles northeast of Kettering, Northamptonshire, England. Captain Flack was also the 414th Bomb Squadron Commander. The B 17E Flying Fortress piloted by Captain Flack was the “Yankee Doodle” (41-9023). For an insight into Colonel Rudy Flack’s life story and his stellar military career, I have attached the books 2-page Preface to this email as two JPEG files (page-1 and page-2).

As a result of my being in the process of completing this book about my father’s life (Rudy Flack) primarily focused on his military flying career, I am able to provide never before seen photographs, military documents and a detailed accounting of this historic August 17, 1942 mission as well as many others. If you are interested in downloading a PDF draft copy of this book, please let me know and I will email you a Microsoft OneDrive invitation with a download link. My email address is RFlackAttack@hotmail.com