The Eager Beavers

29/08/2022 19 min
The Eager Beavers

Listen "The Eager Beavers"

Episode Synopsis

It was an unpopular aircraft because, well… a lot of aircrew were superstitious. They were renown for carrying lucky charms, doing things a certain way and never daring to change the habit because it worked for them last time. Their machine was a B17 nicknamed Old 666 taken from the last 3 digits of its tail number 41-2666 and they were the Eager Beavers!
 
Old 666
 
The Martin B-26 Marauder
 
The B-17 bombing Japanese shipping North of Australia
 
The B-17’s waist guns
 
The route for their recce sortie over Bougainville
 
The Japanese Zero
 
A Zero passes close aboard
 
The damage to Old 666
 
The brave crew fight the Zeros off
 
Jay Zeamer receives his Medal of Honor
 
 
Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the USAAF, Mark Wagner, USAF, USAAC, Gary Fortington, US National Archives and Records Administration, SDASM, Steve Jurvetson and those in the Public Domain or orphaned.