B-17 Gremlin Delight Photo & Pilot Search

Does anyone know if any of the pilots below are still alive and if so, their addresses? 
 
I have an 8 x 11 unpublished photo of "Gremlin's Delight", A/C Tail No. 42-3120, taken in formation flight with my father, LtCol Henry Morris and possibly his B-17, "My Devotion", on one of the group's bombing missions.   They might wish to see the plane they flew since one of them was at the flight controls at the time my father snapped the photo.  
 
I plan to research my dad's flight records to see if any of the dates below coincide with his missions to determine who the pilot was at the time the photo was taken. 

Sep. 15 1943 landed Ridgewell, fuel shortage. Pilot Lt. Douglas L. Harris.
Oct. 14 1943 landed Bassingbourne, battle damage. Pilot Lt. Eugene P. Harris.
Dec. 31 1943 landed Henstridge, battle damage. Pilot Lt. Clifford T. Pryor.
Mar. 6 1944 landed Lydd, fuel shortage. Pilot Cap. Robert B. Clay.
June 18 1944 returned to ZOI.
 
Appreciate the help anyone can offer. 
 
Brent Morris
Las Vegas, NV

Does the photo have a date? My uncle's crew flew Gremlin's Delight 42-3120 on 26 June 1943. I have a photo of it on the ground after returning; the caption at the bottom indicated "damage landing." The right tire had a .30 cal hole; there was other battle damage.  The tail only had a number - no triangle J had been painted on the right side.  On this date Gremlin was just ahead and probably to the right of Harry B. Morse in 42-3046.

My uncle's crew usually flew Screw Ball (511th).  The navigator likes to point out that "the crew only had problems when they flew in other airplanes."

Hi Brent,
 
Eugene P.Harris died in the English channel in December 1943 after ditching "Patty Ann II". Only three of the crew survived.
 
Matt.

Hey Guys - " Gremlins Delight " had a History of Misadventures. In the Repair Depot 5 times , Landed at Raf bases twice for repairs. The photo Randy mentions from June,43 was taken at RAF Base Davidstowe Moor.
AAF had to send a Mobile Repair Unit.
On September 28 , 44 arrived Phillips Field , Maryland
No photos listed so you guys probably have only ones.
Mike 

I don't recall any information in the mission file that said Gremlin's Delight landed at any field other than Polebrook on 26 June 1943; in fact, the J Form has it back at 20:57, about 20 minutes behind most of the group.
 
Battle damage was: .30 cal. bullet through leading edge of right wing, damaging spar. .30 cal. in #3 nacelle, .30 cal. hole in #4 nacelle, .30 cal. hole in tire. .30 cal. nose section one foot below co-pilot's window. .30 cal. hole through base of rudder. .30 cal. hole near waist window emerging from under left horizontal stabilizer.
 
Just so everyone knows what photo we are talking about, I'm attaching a copy. (Also, the plane was in Gable's film "Combat America" - you can see the nose art for a few seconds.)

[image]local://upfiles/1599/9E67371C76C4450BB182EB78D3369400.jpg[/image]

Attached Image(s)

Randy - you are right. being a Geezer with bad eyesight , I read from the wrong line , Bits and Pieces.
# 23120 landed at the RAF field  May 29 , 43 and was repaired.
June 28 Mobile Repair Unit , June 30 back to Flying status. Is this correct?
Sorry for wrong info,
Mike 

Mat Rimmer, Randy Burton & Shoo Shoo Baby (Mike),
Checked into Army Air Forces. com website after a lengthy break and read your replies.  
 
Just returned to the States from two weeks vacation in England with family & friends in Portsmouth, Birmingham, & Nottingham.   My wife is British so we go to England whenever we can afford too.    Occassionally we discuss WW2 with her friends & relatives and they usually recall the saying at the time that: "The Yanks are overpaid, oversexed and over here."   So we all have a good laugh or two.
 
The British have never forgotten what the Americans did for them.  They remain eternally grateful which is nice to know when you spend time with them and they recall stories of the war.  
 
However, once in a while when my wife gets a little haughty and starts telling me how great England is and how America can't hold a candle to it ,  I have to bring her down a notch or two by reminding her that she would be speaking German right now if it weren't for the lowly GI.   She's a good sport about it though and gives more than she gets.        
 
Thanks for the latest information on Pilot Harris and the Gremlin.  Interesting but sad to hear that Harris died in the Channel during the war.  Probably the result of hypothermia.   Many lost their lives from exposure to cold water after they ditched in the North Sea or the Channel.   When the water is cold, you lose use of your limbs quickly as the body shuts down the blood flow to the extremities to conserve heat around your chest, head and vital organ area.   Sometimes its only a matter of minutes before you lose conciousness.  
 
If only the helicopter had been in large use then, many of those AAC crewmen might have survived the war.  
 
Well do you know the names of any of the crewmembers with Harris like his copilot or navigator that might have survived the war?  Perhaps they would enjoy seeing the photo of the Gremlin.    
 
I will do what I can to post the photo on this site so you can view the plane in flight.   I had the 3" x 3" snap shot enlarged so the plane's tail numbers were visible and to identify it.  
 
Fortunately, the photo & others from the war my father had taken survived when our house caught fire & burned to the ground when I was only a youngster in the early 1950s and my father was flying B-29's & B-47's at Hunter AFB in Savannah, GA.   They didn't make house heaters as safe then as they do now. 
 
Will write again soon.
 
Brent Morris
North Las Vegas, NV 

Hi Brent,
 
I have a lot of details of the ditching of Patty Ann II on December 1st 1943 which I will post as soon as I have a minute. I have corresponded with the only living member of the crew,of the three who survived the ditching and the following 72 hours in a life raft only two survived the war,T/Sgt Paul Lucyk died on his way home on June 8th 1945 in the crash of B17G 44-8639. The crash happened only a couple of miles from my home.
 
Best Regards,
 
Matt. 

Hi Mat,
Sorry to take so long to get back to you.  My work as a civil engineer seldom provides free time to brouse the Internet so I don't visit this website as often as I would like. 
 
Thanks for the information about the Patty Ann II & the crew.   Yes, I would enjoy seeing your photos if you can get around to post them.
 
You mentioned the B-17 crash that TSgt Paul Lucyk perished on was near your residence.  Where do you live?   In the states or in England? 
 
I recall reading about a B-17 that was returning to the states from Polebrook England at the end of the war when the 351st BG was winding up ops there and sending numerous enlisted men back by aircraft, when the plane entered fog & clouds & crashed into a hill in Wales (if I recall correctly).  All on board were killed.   Is this the crash you are referring too? 
 
Everytime I try to use my computer at night to scan in & upload an aviation photo or two from WW2 for your viewing pleasure, our ISP (telephone modum) is so slow that I just have to forget it.   So it looks like I shall have to try to do so in the mornings instead when I get a chance.
 
By the way, I have been collecting numerous 8th AF Bomb Group unit history books & WW2 aircraft so if you are searching for information or photos on a particular group, or B-17 or individual, perhaps I can help you.  It's facinating to research the stories of the WW1 & WW2 airmen, their unit's past and what became of them & their flying machines.  I enjoy stories of recent discoveries of aircraft that have turned up in the jungles of the Pacific islands or in the English Channel, North Sea, Greenland or elsewhere in Europe.   Often there is little left of the airframes.    Perhaps someone will locate a B-17, a B-24 or some other veteran aircraft that is reasonably intact.   
 
If only I were as rich as Bill Gates, I would replicate a vast number of WW2 aircraft for the publics', pilots and veterans airshow viewing pleasure.  Sort of like the Old Rhinebeck Airfield in upstate NY,  only I would purchase a WW2 airfield in either the US or England,  rebuild the base & its hangars and house the replicated aircraft there.  Too bad, Bill Gates isn't an aviation enthusiast or aviation history bug.   He alone of all folks, could afford to make the past become the present. 
 
Well, just musing.  Gotta run.         
 
Brent Morris
Las Vegas, Nevada

Hi Brent,
 
My apologies for the slow responce. The crash I refered to is indeed the one near Dolgellau,Wales. T/Sgt Paul Lucyk was one of the passengers.
 
Best Regards,
 
Matt. 

Brent, I realize you posted this nearly a year ago, and I wish I had seen it back then, but my father is Capt. Robert B. Clay.  He passed away last Friday.  Did you ever find out who was piloting Gremlin's Delight in that photo?
Thanks,
Tom Clay

 they usually recall the saying at the time that: "The Yanks are overpaid, oversexed and over here."   So we all have a good laugh or two.

Brent,  next time, remind them of the Yank's response :  " And you Brits are underpaid, undersexed, and under Eisenhower. "  

I would love to see that photo as my Great Uncle flew on it once as a crew member before becoming a pilot for Minor Ball... want to put it in the photo gallery on this site. The only other photo I've seen is the one Randy Burton is refering to...

Brent
We have been trying to find information re this crash of 8 June 1945 in which 20 American Airmen tragically lost their lives on the northern flank of the Cadair Idris range by Craig Cwm Llwyd, and from which you have a view of Barmouth Bay.
The reason for this is that we went off walking in this area and came across a Memorial to the 20 Airmen, who were listed as
 
CAPT. JOSEPH C. ROBINSON               S/SGT. SANTO A. CARUSO                  SGT. JOHN D. LEASURE
CAPT. JOSEPH A. GLOVER                    S/SGT. ROBERT E. SMITH                 T/SGT. PAUL LUCYK
1st LT. HOWARD R. HIBBARD               M/SGT. JOHN Q. MONTGOMERY        T/SGT. MORRIS LEMEWSKI
T/SGT. KENNETH W. CRAUMER            1st LT. RICHARD E. HIGLEY                 SGT. EDWIN R. BIRTWELL
T/SGT. LESTER A. F. RHEIN                  S/SGT. TEED O. SMITH                        SGT. SHELDON R. COONS
   SGT. DAVID I. RAPOPORT                    SGT. CAMILLE F. DEVANEY               SGT. BOYD P. DOBBS
T/SGT. MAX MARKSHEID                         CPL. CALVERT G. POOL
 
We had not heard about this tragedy and were quite moved to see this Memorial and that someone had gone to the trouble of seeing their deaths were marked in that place, therefore, not to be forgotten here in the UK, and there for anyone to see and visit when in that area.  We felt compelled to find out more.
I believe having just registered on this site, that families have managed to visit the area, and we are very glad of that.  There were some flowers that had previously been placed there and also a Remembrance Ceremony Cross with a red poppy which I assume would have been from the Remembrance day of 11/11/2007 in UK. 
We shall place flowers there when we go again and feel it was very sad that they never made it home as it was the end of WWII.
We have been in touch with Mat Rimmer who placed this plaque there.
We have some photos, but will get better ones soon and of the area.
Greta and Robert
I have contacted DJ (on this site) who's great-uncle was T/SGT. PAUL LUCYK as listed above, and told him it was unusually beautiful weather and very clear and actually sunny with wonderful views to Barmouth Bay.  but also very sad that they were on their way home at the end of WWII.     

hello

here i have a photo of gremlin's delight

from right to left t/Sgt frany Lt werth and don

Tom,
Sorry to hear about your father's passing. 
 
Wished I had received your reply sooner as I could have asked your dad if he'd known mine.  Had my father not passed away in 1989, he would most certainly would have liked to have met and talked with your dad.   If your father was with the 351st when my father snapped the photo of the Gremlin's Delight, chances are they knew one another and were flying a mission together.  My father was assigned to the 351st from Sep 43 to May 44.   Perhaps your dad's assignment with the 351st overlaps?  My dad was with the 510th BS.   
 
We have no ISP for Internet service on our home computer at this time so I have been unable to post a copy of the Gremlin's Delight photo my father took to date.  Will eventually though.   As I said earlier, your father may have been at the controls at the time the photo was taken. 
 
Well got to run. 
 
Brent Morris
North Las Vegas, NV     

Greta,
Just read your e-mail. 
 
I will gather what info I can about the crash & post it on this 351st forum website.   Or send me your fax or mailing address and I will send to you.  
 
Brent Morris
North Las Vegas, NV
 
  

Brent:
My father is the first one listed in your question; Lt Douglas L Harris.  He passed away in 1999
but I would like to see any photos of his plane.  I was fortunate enough to see the movie
Combat America and to see him and his plane for a quick couple of seconds.  He flew 35 missions
in the B-17s and then went to fly British Mosquito's, which he said were the best flying machines
he ever flew.
I miss hearing his tales of the war and miss seeing the members of his crew that have survived
til now.
 
Michael Harris
Millsboro, DE

       Michael,    My Stepfather, Bill Holloway, was a Lieutenant, and navigator aboard Gremlins Delight. Bill passed away in 1998. I remember his close friend, Doug Harris, would occasionally come to Florida and visit. There was a third pilot from Virginia that was among their close knit group. I also have a 8x11 photo of Gremlins Delight. My photo has the three officers squatting down with the 6 enlisted crew members standing behind them. The picture seems to have been taken the same day as the one posted on the internet.I also have Bills brown leather Gremlins   Delight jacket , and a few other items of memorabilia.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Scott Bryant         Scottbryant2302@gmail.com                                                                

Scott
Glad to hear from you.  It's been a long time since I've seen Bill or heard my mother speak of him.
I know my dad and Bill were very close and I recall going to Wash D.C. once a long time ago to visit.
I never had a chance to see him again once they went to Florida, but I know Pop would speak about
seeing him often.  The other pilot was Fred Werth, who I did get to meet at a reunion for the crew
at Fred's house in Virginia about a year before Pop's death.  I certainly miss the stories of WWII and
we are still in touch with Pieck who was the Bombadier and has his diary of that era posted on the
internet site of Hofstra Univ. Thanks for the info and I will get in touch with you by E-mail.
Mike