The Roanoke Magician had a rough life. Flown originally by Henry St. Clair (835th), she was damaged repeatedly but always returned to duty. St. Clair and crew completed their tour and the Magician was given to LT Jarvis and crew.
The luck ran out when, on their 2nd mission with their new plane, the Magician was hit and damaged by flak over Mannheim. Jarvis attempted to get the plain over friendly territory. As he lost altitude he performed violent evasive manuevers to avoid flak. By the time they made the friendly lines they were too low to bail out, and Jarvis decided to put the Magician down on her belly. The aircraft spun around and collided with trees. Both the pilot and copilot were thrown clear of the wreckage, Jarvis was killed instantly. The remainder of the crew remained in the waist area with fire in the bomb bay. The crewman exited the aircraft with various wounds and burns, but all were safe.
| CREW INFO | |||||
| Name | Rank | Position | First Mission | Last Mission | Status |
| Robert F. Jarvis | F/O | Pilot | 01/21/45 | KIA | |
| Willis V. King | 2nd LT | Copilot | WIA | ||
| David D. Hill | 2nd LT | Navigator | |||
| Gerald J. Christ | CPL | ||||
| Leo V. Davis | CPL | ||||
| Charles R. Forrest | CPL | ||||
| William O. Roselle | |||||
| John W. Schimdt | WIA | ||||
| Clayton M. Walker | WIA | ||||
| MISSION INFO | |||||
| Mission | Date | Name | ID | S/N | Type |
| 129 | 01/08/45 | The Fertile Turtle | PG | 43-37943 | B17G |
| 136 | 01/21/45 | Roanoke Magician | NE | 42-97998 | B17G |
| Created 11/17/99 | Modified 09/02/05 |
© Copyright by the 486th Bomb Group Association