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Contact Info
Home Town Omaha, NE
Last Address Omaha, Nebraska
Date of Passing Oct 23, 2007
Location of Interment Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Omaha, Nebraska
ARTHUR C. JETTER, Sr.
WWII B-17 Pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force
Born
April 21, 1921: Omaha, Nebraska.
Enlisted:
April 21, 1942
Commissioned Officer:
August 30, 1943
Honorable discharge:
November 18, 1945
Place of Separation:
Lincoln Army Air Field, Lincoln, Nebraska
After enlisting in the Air Corp on my 21st birthday, in the spring of 1942, I received orders to report, about six months later, to Santa Ana, California, for preflight training. After the preflight training I learned to fly a number of different aircraft. The training sites for each plane were different.
The next step after preflight training was to primary training where we trained in flying Stearman airplanes at Thunderbird air base near Phoenix, Arizona. We next trained on BT-15?s at Taft, California, near Bakersfield. The BT-15 had twice the horsepower of the Stearman. Following the BT-15 training, we were then sent to learn to fly twin engine aircraft at Stockton, CA. There we flew the Cessna AT-17 and on completion received our wings and our second lieutenant commission.
After a short leave at home (Omaha, Nebraska) I entered B-17 training at Hobbs, New Mexico. Upon its completion we were sent to Salt Lake City, Utah, where we were assigned crews. From Salt Lake City we took a train to Avon Park, Florida, where we trained for 6 weeks in preparation for overseas duty.
Our navigator, John Sampson, was selected for radar training at Langley Field, Virginia. As a result my crew and I were at Langley for 6 weeks then given orders to fly to England. We flew by way of Bangor, Maine; Goose Bay Labrador; Iceland; Scotland and on to England. They reassigned our navigator and then temporarily assigned a navigator just for the trip to England. Once in England we did not have a navigator, the bombardier acted as the de facto navigator. Unfortunately John Sampson was killed in his first mission. We were also on the same mission but with a different bomb group.
Our crew was assigned to the 401St Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force in Deenethrope, England. Our tour of duty when we started flying our mission was to be at total of 25 missions but after D-Day this was changed to 30 and then 35 in short order. We were given credit for one extra mission so in effect our required total became 34. Our second mission was to bomb Le Bourget Air Field near Paris for which our group was awarded a Presidential Citation.
The Crew of:
1st Lt. A.C. Jetter
Unit:
613th Bomb Squadron
Crew Members
Pilot
1St Lt A.C. Jetter
Copilot
1st Lt R.W. Cain
Bombardier
2nd Lt H.B. Hirsch
Radio Operator
T/Sgt L. Sherman
Engineer/Top Turret
T/Sgt R.D. Nelson
Ball Turret Gunner
S/Sgt M.F. Knapp
Tail Gunner
S/Sgt J.J. Baier
Waist Gunner
S/Sgt W.J. Fetters
Waist Gunner
S/Sgt R.S. Robertson
Missions we completed:
1.
Bernay/St Martin (88)
11 Jun 1944
2.
Le Bourget (90)
14 Jun 1944
3.
Bordeaux (93)
19 Jun 1944
4.
Hamburg (94)
20 Jun 1944
5.
Fienvilliers (98)
23 Jun 1944
6.
Belloy-Sur-Somme (99)
24 Jun 1944
7.
Montbartier (100)
25 Jun 1944
8.
Laon/Couvron (101)
28 Jun 1944
9.
Saumur (102)
4 Jul 1944
10.
Rely (103)
6 Jul 1944
11.
Renescure (104)
6 Jul 1944
12.
Munich (108)
12 Jul 1944
13.
Munich (109)
13 Jul 1944
14.
Munich (110)
16 Jul 1944
15.
Augsburg (112)
19 Jul 1944
16.
Strasbourg (121)
3 Aug 1944
17.
Anklam (122)
4 Aug 1944
18.
Hautmensil (125)
8 Aug 1944
19.
Luxembourg (126)
9 Aug 1944
20.
Elbeuf (128)
13 Aug 1944
21.
Haggenau (129)
14 Aug 1944
22.
Yvoir (131)
18 Aug 1944
23.
Berlin (Recall) (136)
27 Aug 1944
24.
Mannheim (140)
9 Sep 1944
25.
Merseburg (142)
11 Sep 1944
26.
Merseburg (143)
13 Sep 1944
27.
Groesbeck (144)
17 Sep 1944
28.
Hamm (145)
19 Sep 1944
29.
Cologne (149)
27 Sep 1944
30.
Munster (151)
30 Sep 1944
31.
Stargard (153)
6 Oct 1944
32.
Cologne (157)
17 Oct 1944
33.
Mannheim (158)
19 Oct 1944
34.
Hanover (159)
22 Oct 1944
35.
Hamburg (160)
25 Oct 1944
After completing my assigned missions in Europe, I returned to the States on board of the Queen Elizabeth. The ship docked in New York City. After a short leave in Omaha I was ordered to Santa Ana California and then to Hobbs, New Mexico. From there it was on to Ohio to an air field near Columbus. In Ohio I completed training as a B-17 flight instructor and then went back to Hobbs, New Mexico.
After a short time in Hobbs and no new orders forthcoming, another pilot and I decided to agree to a second tour of duty, this time to be in the South Pacific. We were to train in PBY?s. PB stands for Patrol Bomber, with Y being Consolidated Aircraft?s manufacturer identification. It could be equipped with depth charges, bombs, torpedoes, and .50 caliber machine guns and was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. The Air Force was taking the PBY?s from the Navy for duty in the South Pacific. For this training we went to Corpus Christi Texas. After a couple months of training on the PBY?s we were sent to Biloxi, Mississippi, for an eight week course in preparation to go to the South Pacific. Fortunately the war ended in the seventh week and shortly thereafter I was sent to Lincoln, Nebraska, to be discharged.
Other Comments:
This is his Veterans History Project interview: https://youtu.be/vYTvKuH5jM0
1942-1945, B-17 Flying Fortress
From Year 1942
To Year 1945
Personal Memories
Not Specified
Image
B-17 Flying Fortress Details
Aircraft/Missile Information
Specifications
Model Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Length 74.74 ft | 22.78 m Width 103.74 ft | 31.62 m Height 19.09 ft | 5.82 m Engine(s) 4 x Wright Cyclone R-1820-97 radial piston engines generating 1,200 hp each. Empty Weight 36,136 lbs | 16,391 kg MTOW 72,003 lbs | 32,660 kg Max Speed 287 mph | 462 km/h | 249 kts Max Range 2,001 miles | 3,220 km Ceiling 35,597 ft | 10,850 m | 6.7 miles Climb Rate 540.5 ft/min (164.7 m/min) Hardpoints 0 Armament 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in powered dorsal turret 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in powered "belly" turret 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in tail gun position 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in left front "cheek" position 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in right front "cheek" position 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in left waist position 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in right waist position 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in radio operator's midship position (removed on later models) 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in powered chin turret (later models)
Maximum internal bombload of 7,983 kg (17,600 lbs). Accommodations 10 Operators United Kingdom and the United States of America.
