AA33322 B-17F Flying Fortress 'Royal Flush' - 8th Air Force - Lt Robert "Rosie" Rosenthal

Although the men of the 100th Bomb Group had already suffered losses since arriving in England at the end of May 1943, the mission which defined this unit and created the legend of the ‘Bloody Hundredth’ took place on 10th October that same year. Sent to target the homes of railway workers at Munster, 13 of the 100th Bomb Group’s Fortresses were committed to the raid. 

On the way into the target, the formation was repeatedly attacked by a huge force of enemy fighters, only abating when the intense and deadly flak barrage took over. On the way home, the fighters returned, and American bombers continued to fall from the skies, as it seemed the Luftwaffe were determined to make a statement defence that day. 

As the Commanders waited at Thorpe Abbotts for the return of their aircraft, they must have been horrified to see just a single B-17 aircraft approaching the airfield. Piloting Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress 42-6087 ‘Royal Flush’, Lt Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal had only managed to nurse his aircraft home after flying such aggressive defensive manoeuvres over Europe that the attacking fighters couldn’t get his aircraft in their sights. 

She had two engines out, a huge hole in her wing and several injured crew members, but Royal Flush was the only one of the 13 100th Bomb Group B-17s to make it home from that disastrous mission.