December 7th Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 311:
Description
This museum-grade United States Army Air Forces grouping is centered around a remarkable painted Type A-2 flight jacket associated with the B-17G Lady Jeanette tail number 42-97904 an aircraft forever etched in aviation history for the singular heroism of its crew. The archive is attributed to Staff Sergeant Richard W. Potts a Radio Operator Gunner with the 729th Bomb Squadron 452nd Bomb Group the exact unit that operated the Lady Jeanette. The centerpiece A-2 jacket features a stunning hand-painted depiction of the Flying Fortress on the reverse titled LADY JEANETTE in bold yellow script above 28 mission bomb markers. While the jacket bears the leather-tooled rank insignia of a Lieutenant it has been preserved as an integral part of the S Sgt Potts grouping since the war. It is widely believed that Potts acquired this jacket likely belonging to one of the officers from the aircraft as a memorial keepsake following the tragic loss of the plane and its crew in November 1944. The Lady Jeanette remains one of the most storied aircraft of the conflict during a mission over Saarbrcken Pilot 1st Lt Donald J. Gott and Co-Pilot 2nd Lt William E. Metzger Jr. sacrificed their lives attempting to crash-land their burning bomber to save a severely wounded radio operator knowing they could not bail out. Both officers were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor making this the only B-17 in history to have two Medal of Honor recipients on a single mission.
Offered from a private collection where it has been carefully preserved this extensive archive paints a vivid picture of the air war through the eyes of a 729th Bomb Squadron veteran. The collection includes the complete four-pocket enlisted service uniform of S Sgt Potts with 8th Air Force insignia and ribbon bars his enlisted visor cap and his original dog tags. The documentary evidence is equally impressive featuring personal letters a Secret silk escape map and a handwritten mission log detailing operations over D-Day targets such as Boulogne and Pas De Calais deep strikes into Germany including Munich and the Berlin Tank Factory and supply drops to Southern France. Visual history is preserved through a collection of aerial bomb target photographs taken during his specific missions. The group also features poignant physical relics including jagged pieces of fuselage or shrapnel recovered from his B-17 and his officially engraved Air Medal inscribed S Sgt R.W. Potts June 18 1944. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a fully documented archive that physically links a surviving 8th Air Force airman to one of the most heroic and tragic episodes of World War II. The jacket shows two name strips have been removed. No other insignia appears to have been on the jacket besides the Lt. s bars which remain.
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