The first 'shuttle' mission to the USSR was flown on June 2, 1944 by the 15th Air Force with 130 B-17s and a Mustang escort. The target was the marshalling yards at Debrecen, and, after bombing, the Fortresses continued on to land at Poltava and Mirgorod in the Ukraine. Russian officers were present at Poltava as the 97th Bomb Group's contingent landed. The B-17G about to touch down is 2102918, "Idiot's Delight", of the 342nd Bomb Squadron. It fell to flak at Munich on July 19, 1944. (USAAF)
