My uncle, James W. Sandiford was a left waistgunner on a B-17, number 42-30705 amd was shot down very close to Apecchio, Italy on 11/27/43.  During my yearlong investigation, the crash site is known and hopefully will be searched, weather pending.  His bomber along with other bombers were enroute to bomb a Marshalling Yard in Rimini, Italy when they were attacked by German fighters.  His B-17 alongwith another B-17 on MACR 1304 were shot down.  I would like to know if anyone can find out what his B-17 had painted on the nose for a name, and if anyone else is searching for answers on the same plane such as former spouses and/or relatives of the dead crewmembers.  I have all the Government reports and the complete list of the crewmembers. My uncle was a member of the 414th. Bomb Squadron, 97th. Bomb group. My e-mail address is Glock57@bellsouth.net

 
42-30705 was assigned to the 414th BS of the 97th BG....according to Dick Drain's 5th Wing History of Aircraft Assigned, the aicraft was not named.
 
42-30705   NO NAME    414th BS   assigned to 99th BG Aug 43. Transfer to 97th BG 14 November  1943. MIA Rimini 27 Nov 43. Attacked by fighters,crashed near Rimini. Pilot Oscar Stedman (MACR 1303)
 
Not all aircraft were named....this is a common assumption that is false. If a bomb group moved en masse, then the aircraft were named....some replacement aircraft were named, but not all. 
 
Jim :-)

James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt
B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions
99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF
Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy
My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45
M/Sgt USAF (Retired)

Thanks Mr. Peters.  Hopefully the search for my uncles B-17 will be soon as the crash site is known by the older residents of Apecchio, Italy as is the crash site of the other B-17 on MACR 1304.  It has taken me a year to do this research and it wasn't easy.  My uncle has a daughter who is NOT INTERESTED in this in any shape or form.  My uncles wife remarried shortly after his death and his daughter was raised and BRAINWASHED by her mother and step-dad.  What a shame right?  I really want this story to be done by the Associated Press once it all comes together and hopefully some relative or relatives of the deceased crew will contact me.  If any personal effects are found at the crash site, they will be photographed along with the crash site and sent to me via mail.

I do not wish to contradict James, but even he may find this interesting.  I searched for about 8 years for my grandfather's B-17 name and found nothing.  All the sites had it listed as NO NAME and they still do. The only photo of it I can find is of it crashed on ground in France with the nose all burnt up.  But -  just last week I saw a posting from a friend of one of the crewmen from that plane and he called it 'The Bad Penny' (a very popular name it turns out since a bed penny always comes back).  They never had it painted or anything but they did have a name for her.  If you can find and talk to the other crewmen you may yet find out if she had a name.  My grandfather never spoke 2 words about the war so we never knew.  Good luck.
 
This story relates to:
William Aguiar T/Sgt
384th 544BS
B-17  42-30031
shot down on June 26, 1943
 

William....This calls for an explanation...the only way a name/ nose art is officially recognized is for the nose art or name to be visible in a photo which also includes either the data information under the LEFT pilot's sliding window or a photo of the nose art/name where the TAIL NUMBER is also visible.
 
Most of the nose art/name photos are from the RIGHT side of the aircraft and so do not have the data information available.  In addition there were quite a few aircraft that had one name on one side and another name on the other side.  ONLY the nose art/name with the data information included will be recognized.
 
A  friend has over 200 nose art/names that cannot be tied to one particuar aircraft, due to the lack of a positive identifiation.
 
Jim  :-)

James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt
B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions
99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF
Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy
My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45
M/Sgt USAF (Retired)

I'm not sure if it was ever officially recognized or recorded as 'The Bad Penny' - probably not since no records list it as such.  But if James is just interested in what his dad and his crew called the plane then I think it's worthwhile to talk to the other airmen.  Some planes didn't have much time to get painted before they were shot down after all!  I just thought it was great after all this time to hear the name of my grandfather's plane.  I told my dad just yesterday about the news and he almost started to cry because he had always wanted to know things like that but his father just didn't talk about it.  He used to say the only time Grandpa would talk about the war is if you didn't eat your supper: "I can't believe I walked over the Pyrenees with no shoes and nothing to eat but a potatoe and you (his 4 children) are letting this food go to waste."

Just to let everyone know, my name is James Upton, a WW2 researcher belonging to an Italian group called "AREA" doing research on downed B-17,s in Italy.  One of the B-17,s was my uncles plane, number 42-30705 crashed on 11/27/43 near Apecchio, Italy.  The crash site is known and will be searched in about two weeks, weather permitting.  All were killed with the exception of the right waistgunner, S/sgt. Joseph S. Christie and the co-pilot who managed to parachute out and taken POW.  They were assigned to the 414th./97th.
Another B-17 was shot down at the same time and it was assigned to the 342nd.Bomb Squadron, 97th. Bomb group and is listed on MACR1304.  Based on my research, this plane, or what is left of it, has been located and the area searched and the following has been found so far.
1.  Metal fragments of the aircraft.
2.  One instrument resembling some type of a clock.
3.  A black plastic button with some marks and the inscription "Chicago."
4.  50 caliber shell casings.
Almost all of the plane was taken apart after the fire was put out by the Italian civilians and sold the metal or traded it for goods they needed.
The crash site (ground) is still blackened from the fire, and more searching will be done.  I wonder what the black plastic button with the name "Chicago" is?? Just wonder if any relatives of the crew are still alive as I have the crew list.

My name is James Upton, a member of the Italian research group called "AREA" doing research on downed American aircraft and the search for MIA'S in Italy.
My uncles plane, number 42-30705 listed on MACR1303 was shot down close to Apecchio, Italy on 11/27/43, and my uncle and the rest of the crew with the exception of the right waistgunner and the co-pilot were KIA.  During my year long search, the crash site is known, and another crash site on B-17 42-5875 listed on MACR1304 shot down the same day has just been searched at "Sant Angelo in Vado" and the following was found.
1.  .50cal. shell casings
2.  An instrument resembling some type of clock.
3.  A black plastic button with some marks and the inscription "Chicago" on it.
4.  Small pieces of metal that is unidentified as this point.  After the crash and the fire was put out, the Italian civilians took all the metal and either sold or traded it for goods they needed.  Would this plastic button be a part of the plane or someones personal property?  I have the entire crew list, but have no hometown listing for them.  Anyone got any iteas?  Photos of the crash site are forthcoming to me from Italy, and more searching will be done shortly.  Sure would like to be able to get in touch with any of the family members of the dead crew, and to see if any of them might have come from Chicago.

The MACR SHOULD list the hometowns of the next of kin...and....in those days people did not move as they do today.
 
Does your list of the crewmembers names come from a copy of the MACR?

You will have to use the White Pages Directory to try to locate relatives in thier respective hometown.

Jim :-)

James S. Peters Sr. T/Sgt
B-17 Flt Engr, 27 missions
99 BG, 348BS, 5th Wing, 15th AAF
Tortorella, (Foggia#2), Italy
My Tour was from 12/03/44-06/19/45
M/Sgt USAF (Retired)