Original Item: One-of-a-Kind. This is an exceptionally evocative relic from a specifically identified U.S. Eighth Air Force B-17G Flying Fortress and from a crash that claimed eight of its nine crewmen. The bomb switch was reportedly recovered from B-17G serial number 42-3544, “Stars and Stripes,” of the 550th Bomb Squadron, 385th Bomb Group, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Great Ashfield, England, on January 5, 1944. Rather than being an anonymous piece of aircraft wreckage, this switch survives mounted on a period wooden display board with an old handwritten provenance note identifying the aircraft, crash date, unit, and location. That direct connection to a named B-17 and a documented wartime loss gives the piece exceptional appeal to serious Eighth Air Force and bomber collectors.

“Stars and Stripes” was based at Great Ashfield in Suffolk with the 385th Bomb Group, part of the U.S. Eighth Air Force’s heavy bomber force operating from England. The aircraft was named in honor of the famous U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes. The 385th Bomb Group Association records serial number 42-3544 as the original B-17 to carry the name, and photographs of the aircraft survive in the association’s historical archive.

On January 5, 1944, the 385th Bomb Group was preparing for Mission 49 against Kiel, Germany. “Stars and Stripes” took off from Great Ashfield during bitterly cold winter conditions. Historical accounts indicate that icing may have contributed to the accident, while the official investigation apparently also considered pilot error a contributing factor. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft came down at Brook Farm near Badwell Ash, northwest of the village and near Langham Road.

The aircraft was carrying 16 M31 300lb bombs. During the crash, one of the bombs reportedly exploded. The combination of the impact and explosion destroyed the aircraft and scattered debris across a wide area of farmland.

There were only nine men aboard “Stars and Stripes” that morning. According to the official crash report, one regular crew member had become suddenly ill shortly before takeoff and therefore did not fly.

The nine crewmen aboard were:

Pilot – Flying Officer William H Morris
Co-Pilot – 2nd Lt. Dennis J. Ziebarth
Navigator – 2nd Lt. Richard S Proctor
Bombardier – 2nd Lt Robert M Totaro
Top Turret Gunner – T/Sgt Russell A Stevens
Radio Operator/Gunner – Sgt. Chester A Rober, Jr
Ball Turret Gunner – S/Sgt Walter A Stuebgen
Waist Gunner – Sgt. Stanley Lowitz
Tail Gunner – S/Sgt Burnell W Hamilton

Of the nine men aboard, only S/Sgt Burnell W Hamilton, the tail gunner, survived. The other eight members of the crew were killed in the crash. A memorial near Badwell Ash commemorates the aircraft and the men lost there.

The crash occurred during one of the most intense periods of the American daylight strategic bombing campaign over Europe. From bases scattered across East Anglia, B-17 groups of the Eighth Air Force launched repeated missions against German industrial centers, transportation networks, aircraft production facilities, submarine installations, and other strategic targets. Every mission began with the dangerous process of assembling heavily loaded bombers in frequently poor English weather, and losses could occur before an aircraft ever reached enemy territory.

The B-17’s bombardment system was central to its role as a heavy bomber. The bombardier and other crew members used a network of electrical controls, switches, arming circuits, and bomb release equipment to manage the aircraft’s ordnance. A surviving bomb switch therefore represents a very specific part of the machinery that allowed the Flying Fortress to perform the mission for which it became famous.

This particular switch was recovered from the wreckage of 42-3544 according to the accompanying period provenance note. It was subsequently mounted on a wooden board measuring approximately 11 ¼ x 7 ¾”, apparently as a memorial or souvenir of the crash rather than simply retained as loose aircraft debris.

Attached to the board is an old note reading:

B17 USAAF FORTRESS
BOMB SWITCH FROM B-17, 42-3544 WHICH CRASHED
JUST AFTER TAKEN OFF ON JANUARY 5TH, 1944.
THE BOMBER NAMED “STARS AND STRIPES OF THE
385TH B.G. CAME DOWN ON BROOK HOUSE FARM,
BALDWELL ASH. STATION WAS GREAT ASHFIELD.

The spelling and wording of the note have been preserved exactly as written. “Baldwell Ash” appears to be a period misspelling of Badwell Ash, while “Brook House Farm” appears to refer to the Brook Farm crash site recorded in local historical accounts.

The survival of the note is particularly important. Aircraft wreckage recovered from wartime crash sites is often separated from its history over the decades, leaving later collectors unable to establish exactly which aircraft a component came from. Here, the old display mount and identification note preserve a specific attribution to the aircraft by serial number, name, unit, crash date, and location.

The story of 42-3544 also extends beyond the crash itself. The aircraft had been named “Stars and Stripes” in honor of the U.S. servicemen’s newspaper, and the 385th Bomb Group Association records that after its loss another B-17, serial number 42-31349, was subsequently named “Stars and Stripes, 2nd Edition” in its honor. That continuation of the name reflects the place the original aircraft had already earned within the group.

This is far more than an isolated B-17 component. It is a tangible relic from a named Flying Fortress, preserved with an old attribution to a precisely documented wartime loss and the deaths of eight American airmen. The combination of identifiable aircraft provenance, 385th Bomb Group history, the dramatic January 5, 1944 crash, period display mounting, and surviving handwritten identification makes this an especially powerful artifact for an advanced B-17, Eighth Air Force, USAAF, 385th Bomb Group, aviation archaeology, or WWII memorial collection.

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).