DEDICATED TO 97th BG 414th BS
B-17 TAIL GUNNER
SSGT. LEO WOTANIS
Site Edited and Maintained
by Doug Cook
Material herein provided by
nephew Dave Wotanis
Last update February 25,
2024
12th AF 97th
BG 414th
BS
SSGT Leo Wotanis
My Uncle, SSGT Leo Wotanis, was a tail-gunner on
"Old Ironsides.” I believe the tail number is 42-5147, although it's not
visible in the pictures. He was the tail gunner when it collided, in
mid-air, with Yankee Doodle II 41-24415 .
He is kneeling, with flight helmet and SSGT insignia, on right in one photo,
and kneeling, second from left, with pith helmet in the other crew photo. Other
crewmembers are unknown. The third photo is "Old Ironsides" with
mid-air damage, individuals unknown. The fourth
picture appears to be 41-24345 taking off. I believe all photos were
taken in North Africa.
SSGT Leo Wotanis kneeing bottom
right.
B-17 42-5147 “Old Ironsides”
SSGT Leo Wotanis kneeing bottom
second from left.
B-17 42-5147 “Old Ironsides”
B-17 41-24345 taking off from an air field in N. Africa 1943.
He worked in the Scranton, PA coalmines and then finished
his working days as a painter. I remember him painting my house a couple times
after my father died. My uncle (born 1917)
was my father's (born 1924) older brother. My Dad was a WWII Marine
Raider who fought at Bougainville, Guam and Okinawa. I was born in 1964
and am the youngest of my generation. My Dad died in 1971 and Uncle Lee
kept an eye on me as best he could from over 100 miles away. When I would
see him I'd always ask him about the
"17s." Being young I had no idea most guys didn't want to talk
about their service. He told me a lot of stories and I wish I could
remember all of them.
His "ship", as he called it, was hit from below by
another B-17 (as I found out, "Yankee Doodle II 41-24415). He was in
the tail gunner position and was snapped backwards and also hit his head on the
top of the fuselage. ( As long as I remembered, he
walked hunched-over with a cane. Doctors told him it was MS or some other
similar condition. He always attributed it
to the mid-air. In 1987 he had back surgery and could stand straight and
walk without a cane. I said: "Uncle Lee, I never knew you were that
tall!" Unfortunately, he died shorty later in December 1987.) He
told me how flak just missed his head. He shot down a "109",
but it was never verified. He recalled seeing a ME262 for the first time
and was amazed by its speed. Some lighter stories: he was proud to often
be in "lead crews", meeting Eddie Rickenbacker and Clark
Gable. “I was just interested in the flying.”
Old Ironsides" 42-5147. His
"ship", as he called it, was hit from below by another
B-17 "Yankee Doodle II 41-24415.
According to the website b17flyingfortress.de,
"Old Ironsides" 42-5147, was repaired after the May 9, 1943 crash. It
was shot down on September 8, 1943. "Yankee Doodle" 41-24415 was
salvaged after crash-landing at the base.
My uncle finished his service with the 8th AF 303rd BG in
England. He flew 80 missions. He was with the 414th squadron in North
Africa.
My uncle finished his service with the 8th AF 303rd BG in England. http://www.303rdbg.com/
Leo Wotanis 1986
Brothers Eddie and Leo Wotanis 1970
Leo Wotanis wedding photo with his wife Gina,
her sister, and my father Eddie in 1949
Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S.
entered World War II, Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12,
1942, at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' Candidate School at Miami
Beach, Fla., and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then
attended aerial gunnery school, and in February 1943, on personal orders from
Gen. Hap Arnold, he went to England to make a motion picture of aerial gunners
in action.
He was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook
and although neither ordered nor expected to do so, flew operational missions
over Europe in B-17s to obtain the combat film footage he believed was required
for producing the movie, titled "Combat America."
Gable returned to the U.S. in October 1943 and was relieved from active duty as
a major on June 12, 1944, at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.
Because his motion picture production schedule made it impossible for him to
fulfill his AAF Reserve officer duties, he resigned his commission on Sept. 26,
1947. He passed away on Nov. 16, 1960.
A relaxing Maj. Clark Gable following his return from
a combat mission over Nazi Europe in 1943. On his left is Lt. Col. Robert W.
Burns (U.S. Air Force photo)