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ERAU
Professor William Waldock spoke Wednesday on the strange
circumstance that caused history to celebrate the Memphis Belle
instead of Hot Stuff, the bomber that actually first flew 25
missions in World War II.
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A B-24
named "Hot Stuff" flew her 25th mission on 7 February
1943, three-and-a-half months before Memphis Belle. The bomber
crashed in Iceland
3 May 1943. Capt. Robert H. Shannon (pilot) had completed his tour
and was flying home. Lt. Gen. Frank Andrews had taken the place of
the co-pilot when it crashed in terrible weather conditions.
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Scott Orr
The Daily
Courier
PRESCOTT - If you've seen the 1990 film
"Memphis Belle," you know the story of the B-17 and her
trusty crew, the first heavy bomber of World War II to complete 25
missions and return home.
It's a stirring tale and the movie included an all-star cast.
Only problem is, it isn't true.
Memphis Belle was not the first to complete the required number of
missions. In fact, she may have been the third.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Professor William Waldock, an
accident investigator and "aviation archaeologist," has
studied the history and explained why that myth has persisted Wednesday
night at ERAU's Davis Learning Center as part of the school's Aviation
History series.
Once an aircrew wrapped up 25 missions, the War Department, predecessor
to the Department of Defense, would bring the bomber home and have the
plane and crew do a nationwide promotional tour to sell war bonds to
fund the war effort, Waldock said.
But Memphis Belle was beaten to the punch by another B-17, six days
earlier.
It was named "Hell's Angels," Waldock said, and "there
was a little bit of concern about promoting 'Hell's Angels' and trying
to promote war bonds with it."
That airplane is listed in some publications as the first to complete
25 missions.
"But that's not right, either," Waldock said.
The very first was a B-24 named "Hot Stuff," he said.
"Hot Stuff flew her 25th mission on the 7th of February, 1943.
It's well-documented. That was three-and-a-half months before Memphis
Belle," he said. "So how come we haven't heard of her? Why
isn't she in the movies? Why isn't the crew the famous folks?"
The answer, Waldock said, is because the B-24 crashed and was
destroyed, and this is where the story takes a strange turn.
Hot Stuff was set to return to the U.S. on May 3, 1943. But
first, the plane was set for an "inspection tour" of Iceland with a VIP aboard: Lt. Gen.
Frank Andrews, the commander of all U.S. forces in the European
Theatre.
Andrews, an experienced, instrument-rated pilot, bumped the normal
co-pilot off the plane and flew in his place.
Also aboard were Andrews' staff and four clergymen, who bumped five
other crewmen.
"There are plenty of anecdotal sources that say the real purpose
of General Andrews' travel was that he was going back to Washington,
D.C., to be blessed by Congress and the president, awarded his fourth
star, and formally named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe,"
Waldock said.
But he didn't make it. The plane skipped a scheduled stop at which the
crew would have learned the weather at their destination in Iceland
was miserable, with zero visibility. And the aircraft's radio was
apparently not working.
Because the B-24's commander was a captain and the co-pilot was a
three-star general, it's likely that Andrews was making the decisions,
Waldock said.
The plane made it to their destination airfield, but couldn't land, and
headed for another airfield. It, too, was socked in, so Andrews decided
to turn back to the original field.
The plane climbed to 900 feet, and, slightly off course, Hot Stuff
crashed into a 1,100-foot mountain. Fourteen of the 15 people aboard
were killed.
U.S.
officials, hoping to divert attention from the crash and death of a
high-ranking military official, decided to promote Memphis Belle as the
first airplane to complete 25 missions and sent the crew on the
promotional tour, Waldock said.
After Andrews' death, Dwight D. Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied
Commander, and went on to become president.
In 1948, the base for the president's airplane was named after Andrews.
Follow Scott Orr on Twitter @AZNewsguy.
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