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Scott McElvain
8/25/2003 3:31:21 PM | I know of one B-17 named Heavenly Body that made it through the war and ended up at Kingman. According to the daughter of a crew chief in the 401st, there was another he worked on that was shot down. Does anyone know of this plane, or its serial number?
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Valerie Conley McAlister
8/25/2003 4:32:41 PM | I don't know of a B-17, but there was a B-25 named Heavenly Body: The original B-25 "Heavenly Body" of the 390th Squadron, 42nd Bomb Group "Crusaders", 13th Air Force in the South Pacific theater of World War II.
this aircraft was in the picture "Catch-22" and was used in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Jimmy Doolittle's flight.
Valerie
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Scott McElvain
8/25/2003 8:04:14 PM | Actually, there were two B-17s in the 401st Bomb Squadron, not Group, that were named "Heavenly Body". Could be the cause of the confusion.
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L.A.Mitchell
8/26/2003 8:34:32 PM | According to latest 401st Bomb History by Turner Publishing Co, Heavenly Body had Serial No.43-37628. It was delivered to Deenethorpe August 8,1944. Was returned to U.S.A.
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Scott McElvain
8/26/2003 11:45:34 PM | That's what I have, too.
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Jean Dawkins
8/30/2003 12:07:50 AM | It was my question to Scott that got this thread going. After carefully rechecking my Dad's info, he
was definately in the 401st Bomb Group, 612th Bomb Squad. He was ground crew chief of a B17 named the Heavenly Body that had more that 70 missions to her credit before being shot down on a mission to Berlin. After some time the pilot made it back to Deenthorpe. My Dad was assigned to another plane with we think the same pilot and ground crew; don't know about the flight crew. We think that the name of the second plane was either the Channel Express or the Duchess of Idaho. Dad came back to the US on his second plane after it was used to bring POWS out of Germany. I am interested in finding full-plane photos of the Heavenly Body, and also of the other plane if I can find out which one (if either) he worked on. Would also be interested in names of men who worked with my Dad. Thank each of you for your interest and help. Jean Dawkins
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Ed Logan
9/3/2003 6:34:59 AM | Hi Jean
What was your father's name when he worked on Heavenly
Body?
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Jean Dawkins
9/5/2003 8:04:51 AM | Hello Ed,
My Dad's name was Willis Vern Dawkins. He was in his mid-twenties and concidered the 'old man'. He was a West Texas farm boy who wasn't allowed to fly because of color blindness; so he became the best B17 mechanic that he could be. Thank you for any help that you can give me. I will be out of town for three weeks beginning Sunday the 7th, so if I don't answer it isn't because of lack of interest. Thanks again! Jean
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Jean Dawkins
11/6/2003 11:43:49 AM | First, I have a new email address if anyone wants to get in touch with me. It is: dapawkings@sbcglobal.net. I am still very much interested in finding out anything about my Dad. After looking at different messages throughout the forum I do have a question: were the flight crews always assigned to one particular plane, or did they float? I know that my Dad was assigned to 'his' plane but from reading some of his old letters to my Mother it seems that he was 'loaned out' to other planes a time or two.
He was msgt sergeant on the ground crew of the Heavenly Body, and then after that plane was shot down we believe that he was with either the Channel Express or the Duchess of Idaho. Thank you for any help that you can give me. Jean
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John Connor
12/23/2004 8:46:08 PM | The 384th BG had a B-17G #43-39053 another Heavenly Body. I flew this aircraft on a number of missions including it's and my crews last. On our 17 th mission to bomb rail yards at Gladbeck Germany flak disabled the plane.6-POW'S--4-killed in action 23 March 1945
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