Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Good evening Gentlemen,

can anybody tell me who the pilot of B-17 gunner ace Michael Arooth was ?

Cheers,

Michael

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Aircraft 42-29896 379th BG, 527th SQ. (FO-V) "Tondelayo" ditched on the Stuttgart (ball bearings) missions, September 6, 1943 but all 10 men returned.

Fawkes Bohn E. Jr, 2nd Lt, P
Mauldin, Charles A, 2nd Lt, CP
Bendiner, Elmer S, 2nd Lt, N
Hejny, Robert L, 2nd Lt, B
Reinhard, Frederick J, T/SGT, RO
Reedman, Lawrence H, T/SGT, TT
Gray, Walter J, T/SGT, BT
Edwards, Harry L, S/SGT, RW
Leary, John A, S/SGT, LW
Arooth, Michael (NMI), T/SGT, TG

A little on Arooth here:
https://lflank.wordpress.com/2015/03...forgotten-ace/

Note: this link gives a little different crew list (perhaps the original Brink's crew):


https://airforce.togetherweserved.co...rson&ID=140452



2 Lt Carl W, Brink, Jr p
2 Lt Bohn E. Fawkes. Jr c-p
2 Lt Elmer S. Bendiner nav
2 Lt Robert L. Hejuy bomb
TSgt Lawrence H. Redmann eng/tt gun
Sgt Herbert J. ??
Sgt Frederic W. ??
Sgt John A. Leary
SSgt Elvin E. Doll
SSgt Michael L. Arooth tail gun

Brink was flying as co-pilot on 42-5810 on 29 July 43. The plane was shot down and Brink became a POW. Brink notes in the MACR that he was just checking out the pilot's (Richard F Johnson's) formation flying and this was not his regular crew. I think Fawkes then "inherited" the Brink's crew.


This photo of the crew: https://www.fold3.com/image/48252845

Has this crew list:

This is Fawkes' crew : 2Lt Bohn E Fawkes Jr (pilot) 2Lt Charles A Mauldin (co-pilot) born on sept 2nd, 1919 - passed away on feb 17th, 2007 2Lt Elmer S Bendiner (navigator) 2Lt Robert L Hejny (bombardier) born on jan 5th, 1920 - passed away on aug 5th, 1985 T/Sgt Frederick J Reinhard (radio operator) T/Sgt Lawrence H Reedman (engineer) T/Sgt Walter J Gray (ball turret gunner) S/Sgt Harry L Edwards (right waist gunner) S/Sgt John A Leary (left waist gunner) T/Sgt Michael Arooth (tail gunner)

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Good morning RSwank,

thanks for your answer.
I cannot open the crew photo. Does the nose art on the plane reveal how many planes its crewmen shot down ?

Michael

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

The fold3 photos are free to view, but you may have to register.

The photo shows two bomb markings and no planes shot down (correction 1 plane shot down see posts 6 & 7), so it was taken soon after they started to fly missions. That makes me think that Brink may be in the photo also. Hmmm.... Something else to look into.

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Hello,

And Elmer Bendiner's character assessment (assassination?) of Michael Arooth:

"Our tail gunner was a saw-toothed, swarthy little man, a street-wise Ulysses, cunning and winning. Mike could have been a trader in a Moroccan bazaar or a taxi driver with a detailed guide to the whims of every passenger's flickering heart and mind. He was a superb gunner, but if he had not been he would have made me think he was."

Bendiner also has a few "pen-portraits" of the other members of his crew/commanders.

See:
The Fall Of Fortresses A Personal Account of one of the Most Daring - and Deadly - Air Battles of the Second World War.
Bendiner,Elmer
London:Souvenir Press,1981.
pp.43-53

Col.

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Just looking at the photo, and there is a swastika painted below the two bomb markings, so at that time one aircraft shot down.

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Wayne, you are correct on the swastika. I missed it. The 379th BG started flying missions on 29 May 1943. The next four missions were 11 June, 13 June, 22 June and 25 June. So that gives a rough time frame for the photo. The man standing 2nd from the right (back row) may be Carl W Brink, Jr. I found an obit for Carl which included a photo of him as an old man and there are some similarities.

The plane in the background may be 42-29796. The numbers are fuzzy and hard to make out so this is just a guess. However, 42-29796 was also in the 537th BS and was lost 28 July 1943.

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

Good afternoon Gentlemen,

is it possible to estimate who was the pilot for the majority of Arooth's kills ?

Cheers,

Michael

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

...or is it known which B-17 was the one whose gunner scored the most aerial kills ?

Michael

Re: Michael Arooth, B-17 gunner ace
 

...I opened a separate thread about that:
http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=50301