B17 Aircraft, Known As “Denny Boy”

Authors

Yvon Bordet, Université de Franche-Comté

Keywords

B17 Denny Boy mission, BMW factories Munich bombing, Féternes France emergency landing, Hotel Victoria Glion sur Montreux

Abstract

The B17 “Denny Boy” took off from the British base at Thurleigh (England) on the night of Saturday, July 15 to Sunday, July 16, 1944. Objective: To bomb the BMW factories in Munich (Germany).

The aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire near its target, then again on the return to Mulhouse. Smoke filled the cockpit, an engine failed and the plane lost altitude. The captain decided to attempt a landing in neutral Switzerland. But it was in a small field, near a chapel, that he miraculously managed to land the bomber, in the commune of Féternes... in France, just a few miles from the Swiss border.

Recommended Citation

Bordet, Yvon (2025) "B17 Aircraft, Known As “Denny Boy”," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 61: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol61/iss2/6