USAAF Station 126 - Rattlesden
42-31145, Hi Jinx
| 447th Bomb Group USAAF Station 126 - Rattlesden 42-31145, Hi Jinx |
| Hi Jinx No. 42-31145, "Hi-Jinx," a B-17G-5-BO, built by Boeing at the Seattle plant and delivered to the Army Air Force on September 25, 1943. Hi-Jinx is now known to have been assigned to the 708th Squadron before its departure for England. |
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 Gilleran crew with 42-31145 Hi-Jinx Photo taken at Harvard AAB, probably early Nov. 1943 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hi-Jinx was flown to England in late November by the Gilleran crew, who named the aircraft. On board were:
The transit is fully described in Harley Tuck's Wartime Diary. The origin and attribution of the name "Old Man," given for this aircraft by Roger Freeman in B-17 Flying Fortress Story, and Wallace Forman in B-17 Nose Art Name Directory are unknown. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| On the way to a supply depot target in France on February 6, 1944, Hi-Jinx was hit by flak, killing or gravely wounding its pilot, Lt. Allen Reed, and navigator, Lt. James Campbell.
Co-pilot Lt. Arthur L. Clark gave the order for the rest of the crew to bail out, but remained, fighting the controls to prevent the aircraft from crashing into the town of Wissous. Lt. Clark died when Hi-Jinx crashed into an empty field outside of town. Bombardier Lt. Thomas Wilkins was shot by German soldiers, either while parachuting or immediately after landing. The rest of the crewmen were captured. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Memorial to Lts. Campbell, Clark, Reed and Wilkins in the public park "L'Espace Arthur Clark" at the crash site of 42-31145 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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