ORIGINAL WWII 730th Bomb Squadron B-17 “Lady Gay” Tail Gunner Grouping- Distinguished Flying Cross

Original Items: One-of-a-kind set. Staff sergeant John A Fincke ASN 38352171 from New Mexico was a Tail Gunner aboard the B-17 bomber LADY GAY and was a member of the 8th Air Force, 452nd Bombardment Group, 730th Bomb Squadron. Sergeant Fincke flew an astounding 36 combat missions between February 6th, 1945 and April 16th, 1945. He was awarded the Air Medal with 5 oak clusters as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Constituted as 452d Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 14 May 1943. Activated on 1 Jin 1943. Trained with B-17’s . Moved to England, Dec 1943-Jan 1944, and assigned to Eighth AF. Entered combat on 5 Feb 1944 with an attack against aircraft assembly plants at Brunswick. Throughout combat,engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets, including marshaling yards at Frankfurt, aircraft assembly plants at Regensburg, aircraft component works at Kassel, the ball-bearing industry at Schweinfurt, a synthetic rubber plant at Hannover, and oil installations at Bohlen. 1st Lt Donald Gott and 2nd Lt William E. Metzger Jr were each awarded the Medal of Honor for remaining with their aircraft (crippled during a mission over Germany on Nov 9 1944) in an attempt to save a wounded crew member who was unable to bail out; the men were killed when the B-17 exploded in midair. In addition to strategic missions, the 452d supported ground forces and carried out interdictory operations, helped prepare for the invasion of Normandy by hitting airfields, V-weapon sites, bridges, and other objectives in France; stuck coastal defenses on D Day, 6 Jun 1944. Bombed enemy positions in support of the breakthrough at St. Lo in Jul and the offensive against Brest in Aug and Sep. Later in Sep, assisted the airborne attack on Holland. Hit enemy communications in and near the combat zone during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Bombed an airfield in support of the airborne assault across the Rhine in Mar 1945. Received a DUC for action on 7 April 1945 when, despite vigorous fighter attacks and heavy flak, it accurately bombed a jet fighter base at Kaltenkirchen. Flew last combat mission o WW2 on 21 April, striking marshaling yards at Ingolstadt. Returned to the US in August. Inactivated on 28 August 1945.

Research reveals that Fincke flew his first mission on a B-17 Flying Fortress #44-6165 “LADY GAY” was assigned to the 730BS/452BG at Deopham Green , England on June 11th ,1944; on return from Chemnitz February 6th, 1945 with pilot: Don Hamaker, Co-pilot: Tony Hudson, Navigator: Dave Frerman, T/Sgt Dan Winters, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Tony Capaci, Radio Operator: Richard Ladd, Ball turret gunner: Rich Nixon, Waist gunner: Bob Osborn and Tail gunner: John Fincke, they sustained a flak hit and due to damaged instruments were forced to land in a field outside Ghent, Belgium. After repairs, they flew back to UK.

Included in this wonderful grouping are the following items:

- Class A uniform jacket with Staff Sergeant bars, Allied Air Force patch, sterling silver wings, Medal Ribbons: Air Medal with 5oak leaf Clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern with 3 battle stars, name tag on internal lining that reads Fincke.

- Fantastic NCO “Crush cap”. Worn and soft/just perfect!

-Distinguished Flying Cross in original case. The medal is engraved JOHN. A. FINCKE S/SGT A.C.

-Air Medal in original case. The medal is also engraved on the reverse JOHN. A. FINCkE S/SGT A.C.

-Air Corp U.S. Army Identification Card signed by Fincke.

-USAAF type A-8B oxygen mask.

-U.S. WWII Army Air Force A-9 Leather Flying Mittens-Size Large

-U.S. Musette Bag

-Pilot s log book, navigational instruments(it appears Fincke trained as a pilot as well).

-7 excellent original wartime photographs of Fincke, his crew and his B-17.

-DUZ-ALL Flight Wrench.

-Leather holster.

-U.S.Army Match book.

- USAAF sewing kit

-Sterling Aerial Gunner wings, patches etc…

-U.S. Army Certificate of Appreciation named to Fincke.

-U.S. Air Forces WW2 Pen Flashlight Type A-6B by Justrite Manufacturing Company. The Air Corps started producing flashlights of their own design in 1941. The early types were for inspection and maintenance and were rather large. With the A-6 series, the AAF desired to have a handy pen light flashlight for illumination of maps and airplane equipment in flight. The A-6B was standardized on March 8th, 1944, then changed to limited standard in July 18th, 1945. It was made of plastic material called “Tenute II”, used- 2-“AA” batteries, had a selectable red filter for night use, and an attached combination switch and pocket clip and lanyard.

-Various manuals, and more!

All in all this is an exceptional rare grouping, do to the number of missions he flew and the awards he was given. An incredible piece of U.S. WWII 8th Air Force history.

This grouping was purchased by me years ago from International Military Antiques. It is their description of this grouping I am using since they so elegantly have described everything.

One heck of a Christmas gift for your deserving spouse, he deserves it or for you for that matter.

Guaranteed you’ll love it or return it for a full refund, you just pay shipping. Check my Feedback-100 percent!!