B-17G "Skyway Chariot" 100thBG 351stBS

[oboe]

"Skyway Chariot", was assigned to the 351st Bomb Squadron of the 100th Bomb Group.   

Flying from Thorpe Abbots airfield in Norfolk, the “Bloody 100th,” so nicknamed because of the large number of losses it suffered, flew 306 missions during the war and lost 177 B-17 bombers to antiaircraft guns and Luftwaffe fighters; 765 airmen were killed while 903 were captured and interned at POW camps behind enemy lines or in neutral countries.

Skyway Chariot was lost on a mission to Berlin on 18 March 1945.   Flying that day in the dreaded "Tail End Charlie" slot of the formation, she came under attack from a number of Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters. On the first attack, a Luftwaffe jet took out the tail gunners position and shredded the vertical stabilizer – the next attack effectively knocked out all the bombers control lines, rendering the aircraft helpless.  Not long after the order was given to abandon the aircraft, it exploded in mid-air, with wreckage coming down near the German town of Tangermunde, west of Berlin. Three crewmen were killed in action, with the other six becoming prisoners of war.







Paint of "Skyway Chariot" in the thick of action by Adam Tooby:

[Vraciu]

Nice job, Oboe.  I love the in-action imagery. 

[Devil 505]

Excellent job

[whiteman]

2 bombers in about a week!

[Shuffler]

Very nice.

[lyric1]

 

[Greebo]

Beautiful job Oboe, looks really good.

[Hajo]

Oboe very nice work.

[Nefarious]

Excellent work!

[LCADolby]

Tragic tale of a very pretty aircraft. Nice metal work 

[Palace Cobra]

Very very nice.

[101AbnRam]

Thank you for this! My cousin shared this posting with me and thought we'd share that the "Skyway Chariot" was our grandfather Rollie Kings aircraft and was the Captain of her. I can tell you from the official VA Medical narrative records we have that the full accounting of what he and his crew went through that day and the days after in POW camp read nothing short of any Spielburg/Hanks series, Ambrose book, or related documentary. Having to bail out at high altitude after losing some of the crew and then free fall until he could pop his shoot. He suffered hyperthermia and frostbite on the way down. He landed in a wet area with a sprained ankle where he was quickly surrounded by local Germans and beaten before taken in to a firing line. A Luftewaffe Officer stopped the firing squad and then he and others were force marched several miles to the stalag. He was there 6 months before being liberated. He turned 21 while there. The Army reported to my Great grandparents that he was KIA originally. I have his ID card, his medals, and his aviator wings, old picture of him in uniform as well as my family's great memories of him and all loved him dearly. I was lucky enough to speak his eulogy at the national cemetery in Seattle when he passed and placed my highest medal I'd recieved while in the Service with his ashes.  My cousin named his son after him. I can't tell you if his remaining crew ever crossed paths again but hope to God that they all and their families who remain are well!   I've been meaning to get a B-17G model and always wondered what the tail insignia would look like to be authentic. Guess I have my answer! Thanks from our Family!

[lyric1]

Thank you for this! My cousin shared this posting with me and thought we'd share that the "Skyway Chariot" was our grandfather Rollie Kings aircraft and was the Captain of her. I can tell you from the official VA Medical narrative records we have that the full accounting of what he and his crew went through that day and the days after in POW camp read nothing short of any Spielburg/Hanks series, Ambrose book, or related documentary. Having to bail out at high altitude after losing some of the crew and then free fall until he could pop his shoot. He suffered hyperthermia and frostbite on the way down. He landed in a wet area with a sprained ankle where he was quickly surrounded by local Germans and beaten before taken in to a firing line. A Luftewaffe Officer stopped the firing squad and then he and others were force marched several miles to the stalag. He was there 6 months before being liberated. He turned 21 while there. The Army reported to my Great grandparents that he was KIA originally. I have his ID card, his medals, and his aviator wings, old picture of him in uniform as well as my family's great memories of him and all loved him dearly. I was lucky enough to speak his eulogy at the national cemetery in Seattle when he passed and placed my highest medal I'd recieved while in the Service with his ashes.  My cousin named his son after him. I can't tell you if his remaining crew ever crossed paths again but hope to God that they all and their families who remain are well!   I've been meaning to get a B-17G model and always wondered what the tail insignia would look like to be authentic. Guess I have my answer! Thanks from our Family!

 

[JimmyD3]

 

[Devil 505]