Dad flew the B-17 “Hell’s Angels” in Training
In early 1945, because the USAAF didn’t need many more pilots, several instructors began Transition Training in four-engine planes. Dad (1st Lt. Warren Neal) had been an Advanced Instructor at Marfa AAF Base since earning his wings there two years earlier.
He was first ordered to Williams Field, AZ, in February, where he flew B-17 Fortresses while the AAF waited for enough B-29 Superforts to come off the production line. He flew the famous “Hell’s Angels” B-17 on April 7, 1945.
Dad sent a letter, dated April 8, 1945, to his sister, Nadine (Neal) Shepherd, whose husband was in the Coast Guard but she was in Iowa, expecting a baby during the summer. Toward the bottom of this section he wrote, “I flew ‘Hells Angels’ yesterday, still a pretty good airplane. In her first 8 missions over Germany, she had 26 different engines. Guess they burnt them up on some pretty fast trips back to England.”
On May 13th, 1942, the B-17F Hell’s Angels (#41-24577) became the first heavy bomber to complete 25 combat missions in the European Theater. This Flying Fortress was assigned to the 358th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bombardment Group (H) and flew from RAF Molesworth. After completing her 25th mission, “Hell’s Angels” remained in theater until 1944 and flew a total of 48 mission without any crewman injured or being forced to turn back. “Hell’s Angels” returned to the United States in January 1944, covered with written inscriptions by men of the 303rd BG. The bomber was featured on a war bond tour, then was used to train pilots in flying multiple engines. It’s too bad that after the war, “Hell’s Angels” was sold for scrap in August 1945.
The B-17 “Hell’s Angels,” with written inscriptions. USAAF photoDad eventually became the commander of a B-29. When the war ended, his crew had orders for Saipan that September. That fall, he had enough “points” to be discharged from the AAF.
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B-17 Fortress at War by Roger A. Freeman, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1977
