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Posted by Alan Morton Now, if you go to the Home Page and click on the button "Aircraft Database" ... you'll see a list of all of the B-17 Bombers assigned to the 457th Bomb Group, but not totally. Many of the Bombers were transfered "into and out of" the various Bomb Groups or returned to the States. If an aircraft had been given a pet name, that name is list along side the A/C serial number. The only way to find the Cheryl Ann pet name is to know the A/C serial number. You'd have to go through ALL the Loading List missions that your Grandfather flew on and pick up the A/C last three numbers of the A/C serial number shown on the Loading List near the Pilot's name.
on 5/5/2007, 8:56 pm, in reply to "750th Cheryl Ann"
75.83.113.51
First of all Jason, Fighter Pilots (often) had their own P-38, P-40; P-51 and P-47's (with their own pet names attached thereto) as the fighters came off the production line and assigned to fighter combat stations. In most cases there were more fighter aircraft produced than bombers. Secondly, B-17, B-24 and B-26 bomber crews had a set number of combat missions to fly before returning to the States. So if a bomber crew arrived at the 457th BG station, from arrival to return to the states was approximately a period of six (6) month. Thirdly, bomber crews did not fly the same bomber aircraft on every mission 24-7 month after month, and every bomber had it's own down-time for repair. Fourthly, the individual aircraft crew-chief might have personally given HIS bomber it's name. And lastly, the initial Flight Crew that named THEIR bomber ... completed their missions and had returned to the States. So, the odds are the bomber your Grandfather flew in periodically named Cheryl Ann was not his plane.
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