B-17G-95-BO 43-38719
709th SQ — A
Pilot Ralph Minker in the Blue Hen Chick. Being from Delaware, Lt. Ralph Minker dubbed his Flying Fortress the Blue Hen Chick, the nickname for the Delaware soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The Blue Hen Chicken was a domestic bird, bred for its fighting abilities.
B-17G-95-BO 43-38719 was completed in the Seattle plant on September 9, 1944. It was delivered to the Air Force at Great Falls Montana, then to Lincoln, Nebraska and finally Dow Field, Maine, before being ferried to England on September 27. It was immediately assigned to the 709th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bomb Group, and reached Rattlesden during the first week of October.
Blue Hen Chick flew 67 combat missions, and in spite of damage from two accidents, returned to the reclamation center in Kingman, Arizona.
Flight listings for 43-38719
These lists are NOT limited to officially credited Combat missions, and may include Aborts, returns and non-takeoff occurrences as well.
Blue Hen Chick in formation between October 44 and February 45
Photo after February 1945.
The Minker crew
| Lt Ralph L. Minker |
| Lt Gordon B. Dodge |
| Lt Wesley Pitts |
| Lt John Rosiala Jr. |
| Sgt James Shannon |
| Sgt Olaf Larsen |
| Sgt Max Shephard |
| Sgt Joe Trambley |
| Sgt Harold McKay |
On October 30, No. 719 ran off the runway.
On May 19, while returning to Rattlesden from a routine training flight, Blue Hen Chick suffered a landing gear collapse. The damage was repaired and she flew home to the U.S. in July, 1945.
on the May 12 flyover, photographed by Charles Brown
Home Again
| 7/2/1945 | Returned to U.S. at Bradely Field, CN and assigned to storage at South Plains, AAF, TX. |
| 7/5/1945 | Departed Bradley Field, CN and arrived at Syracuse AAB, NY. |
| 7/6/1945 | Departed Syracuse AAB NY and arrived at Cleveland, OH. |
| 7/8/1945 | Arrived at South Plains AAF, TX. |
| 7/26/1945 | Declared surplus. |
| 12/17/1945 | Assigned Reconstruction Finance at Kingman, AZ. |
Photo with the signature of Pilot Ralph Minker.
In 2003, the 709 Airlift Squadron named one of its C-5s Spirit of the Blue Hen
Combat Missions (previously compiled)
| DATE | TARGET | PILOT |
| 10/7/1944 | Merseburg | Otto |
| 10/15/1944 | Cologne | Westrope |
| 10/17/1944 | Cologne | Cohen |
| 10/19/1944 | Mannheim | Johnson, D.C. |
| 10/22/1944 | Marshalling yards at Munster | Johnson, D.C. |
| 10/25/1944 | Oil plant at Hamburg | Gilbert |
| 10/26/1944 | Industrial plant at Hannover | Horton |
| 11/11/1944 | Marshalling yards at Oberlahnstein | Horton |
| 11/16/1944 | Duren area | Minker |
| 11/30/1944 | Lutzkendorf | Olson |
| 12/4/1944 | Marshalling yards at Mainz | Minker |
| 12/6/1944 | Merseburg | Minker |
| 12/11/1944 | Marshalling yards at Giessen | Minker |
| 12/12/1944 | Marshalling yards at Darmstadt | Minker |
| 12/18/1944 | Marshalling yards at Mainz | Beighley |
| 12/24/1944 | Airfields at Babenhausen | Minker |
| 12/28/1944 | Marshalling yards at Koblenz | Minker |
| 12/30/1944 | Marshalling yards at Mannheim | Minker |
| 1/6/1945 | Marshalling yards at Worms | Minker |
| 1/7/1945 | Miscellaneous targets in Western Germany | Minker |
| 1/8/1945 | Marshalling yards at Frankfurt | Minker |
| 1/10/1945 | Marshalling yards at Karlsruhe | Minker |
| 1/13/1945 | Rail bridge at Mainz | Minker |
| 1/14/1945 | Oil refinery at Madgeburg | Minker |
| 1/15/1945 | Messerschmitt aircraft plant at Augsburg | Minker |
| 1/20/1944 | Marshalling yards at Heilbronn | Minker |
| 1/21/1945 | Mannheim | Minker |
| 1/29/1945 | Henschel aircraft plant at Kassel | Minker |
| 2/1/1945 | Rail bridge at Wesel | Minker |
| 2/6/1945 | Oil refinery at Bohlen | Minker |
| 2/9/1945 | Munitions plant at Weimar | Summers |
| 2/14/1945 | Highway bridge across the Rhine river at Wesel | Minker |
| 2/16/1945 | Railroad bridge at Wesel | Minker |
| 2/19/1945 | Railroad bridge at Wesel | Schwab |
| 2/20/1945 | Marshalling yards at Nurnbereg | Minker |
| 2/23/1945 | Marshalling yards at Crailsheim | Coleman |
| 2/25/1945 | Rail line at Neuberg | Minker |
| 2/26/1945 | Berlin/Alexanderplatz railway station | Minker |
| 2/27/1945 | Communication center in Liepzip | Minker |
| 3/1/1945 | Marshalling yards at Ulm | Mustaleski |
| 3/2/1945 | Oil refinery at Dresden | Mustaleski |
| 3/7/1945 | Oil plants at Datteln-Emscher Lippe | Mustaleski |
| 3/8/1945 | Marshalling yards at Frankfurt | Mustaleski |
| 3/10/1945 | Marshalling yards at Dortman (2) | Mustaleski |
| 3/14/1945 | Munitions plant at Hannover | Bricker |
| 3/15/1945 | Marshalling yards at Oranienburg | Mustaleski |
| 3/17/1945 | Oil target at Ruhland | Dewey |
| 3/18/1945 | Berlin | Summers |
| 3/19/1945 | Motor transport Industries at Zwickau | Summers |
| 3/20/1945 | U-Boat yards at Hamburg | Summers |
| 3/21/1945 | Wittmundhafen Air field | Bates |
| 3/24/1945 | Airfield at Varrelbusch | Mustaleski |
| 3/28/1945 | Hanomag Armored fighting vehicle plant at Hannover | Mustaleski |
| 3/30/1945 | Communications target at Hamburg | Mustaleski |
| 3/31/1945 | Airfield at Brandenburg | Mustaleski |
| 4/3/1945 | Submarine yards at Keil | Dreyer |
| 4/7/1945 | Marshalling yards at Schwerin | Lehner |
| 4/8/1945 | Marshalling yards at Plauen | Mustaleski |
| 4/9/1945 | Airfield at Neuberg | Dreyer |
| 4/10/1945 | Airfield at Brandenburg/Briest | Van Etten |
| 4/11/1945 | Airfield at Ingolstadt | Broughton |
| 4/14/1945 | Bordeaux/Royan area-destroying coastal defenses | Mustaleski |
| 4/15/1945 | Bordeaux/Royan area-destroying coastal defenses | Mustaleski |
| 4/16/1945 | Bordeaux/Royan area-destroying coastal defenses | Mustaleski |
| 4/19/1945 | Rail target in the Dresden area | Mustaleski |
| 4/20/1945 | Marshalling yards at Neuruppin | Coleman |
| 4/21/1945 | Airfield at Ingolstadt | Golden |
Some photos/information provided by: