Old Six Sixty-Six and the Buka mission, two Medals of Honor in a single airplane

On June 16, 1943, a lone, heavily modified B-17E bomber nicknamed Old 666 flew an unescorted photo-reconnaissance mission over Bougainville and Buka in the Solomon Islands. When jumped by roughly 17 to 20 Japanese fighters, her crew fought a 40-minute running battle that earned two Medals of Honor awarded for a single mission in a single airplane — the only time that has happened in United States Army Air Forces history.

What Was the Buka Mission?

In the spring of 1943, the Allies were pushing north through the Solomon island chain after the Guadalcanal campaign. Fifth Air Force planners needed detailed photographic coverage of Bougainville — a heavily defended Japanese stronghold — before an invasion could be planned. The airfield on nearby Buka Island had to be surveyed too.

The assignment went to the 43rd Bomb Group, the “Ken’s Men,” flying out of Port Moresby, New Guinea. It called for a single B-17 to fly solo, in broad daylight, over a fighter base, and photograph every inch of the coastline, then continue another 200 miles to map Bougainville itself. The round trip was roughly 1,200 miles over open water with no escort.

Nobody volunteered — except Captain Jay Zeamer and his crew.

Who Was Jay Zeamer?

Jay Zeamer was a Cornell-educated mechanical engineer and a tall, quiet officer who had initially struggled as a pilot. Flying B-26 Marauders early in the war, he had trouble with the Marauder’s high wing loading and was pulled from first-pilot duties for a period.

Zeamer transferred to B-17s and began picking up missions wherever he could, often as a co-pilot on other crews’ aircraft. Alongside his bombardier, 2nd Lieutenant Joseph Sarnoski — a Polish American from the coal country of Pennsylvania — he began rebuilding a derelict B-17 in his off hours.

How Old 666 Became a Flying Porcupine

Old 666 was B-17E tail number 41-2666, an aircraft that had been beaten up, written off as not combat-worthy, and parked at Port Moresby to be cannibalized for parts. Zeamer’s crew restored her — then transformed her.

They bolted on extra guns until she carried nineteen .50-caliber machine guns. A standard B-17 carried thirteen. Modifications included:

A forward-firing fixed .50-caliber the pilot could fire from a button on the yoke, like a fighter
An additional fixed gun in the nose
Twin .50s at each waist position

The crew that flew her was built the same way — volunteers that other squadrons hadn’t wanted, welded into what many considered the best B-17 crew in the Southwest Pacific.

How the Mission Unfolded

The crew took off from Port Moresby at 4:00 a.m. and crossed the Owen Stanley Mountains northbound. They made landfall on Bougainville at sunrise, right on schedule, and began running three photo lines north-to-south at 25,000 feet — 40 minutes of straight, level flight with no evasive maneuvering. You cannot photograph while dodging.

On the third pass, the tail gunner called out fighters coming up from Buka.

The 40-Minute Fight

An estimated 17 to 20 Japanese fighters — a mix of Mitsubishi A6M Zeros and Kawasaki Ki-61 “Tony” fighters — attacked in waves from every quarter. The first pass nearly destroyed the bomber:

A 20mm cannon shell burst through the nose Plexiglas, blowing Sarnoski back into the navigator’s well
Another shell exploded in the cockpit. Zeamer took fragments in both legs and both arms; his left wrist was nearly severed, and he had a wound in his side
The right rudder pedal was shot away, hydraulic lines were leaking, and the oxygen system was on fire
Co-pilot John Britton and navigator Ruby Johnston were also wounded

Despite mortal wounds, Joe Sarnoski crawled back to his .50-caliber in the shattered nose — at 25,000 feet with the temperature around 20 degrees below zero — and shot down the next Zero as it came in head-on. He downed a second fighter before collapsing across his gun. He died at his post.

In the cockpit, Zeamer flew the B-17 like a fighter, skidding with rudder, diving away from passes, and climbing back up to give his gunners firing positions. The crew was credited with five fighters destroyed and five damaged.

The engagement ended when Zeamer dove to 10,000 feet and the Zeros, low on fuel, broke off.

The Five-Hour Flight Home

Now they had to cover nearly 600 miles of open ocean in a crippled airplane:

The #2 engine was running rough
Hydraulics were gone — no flaps, no brakes
The oxygen system was destroyed, forcing them to fly low and burn more fuel
A hole “the size of a kitchen table” gaped in the nose

Zeamer drifted in and out of consciousness from blood loss. Britton did most of the flying, but every time a decision had to be made, the crew shook Zeamer awake long enough for an answer. They flew that way for almost five hours.

Weather had closed in at Dobodura, so they pressed on to a fighter strip called Wards, where Britton put the bomber down with no flaps and no brakes. When medics climbed aboard, they thought Zeamer was dead until someone noticed his eyes were open.

The Aftermath

Joe Sarnoski was 28 years old when he died. His Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously, and an airfield in Pennsylvania bears his name.

Jay Zeamer spent 15 months in hospitals with more than 120 pieces of metal in his body. Doctors did not believe he would walk again. He did. He never flew combat again, but he remained in the Air Force Reserves, retired as a lieutenant colonel, and worked as an aerospace engineer on the Apollo program. He died in 2007 at age 88.

Every frame of film that photographer William Kendrick had been ordered to shoot came home. The mission was a complete success.

Old 666 was patched up once more, flew a handful of additional missions, and was scrapped at the end of the war. No known piece of her survives.

Why This Mission Still Matters

The Buka mission remains the only single combat mission in U.S. Army Air Forces history to produce two Medals of Honor from the same aircraft’s crew. It is a durable reminder that a “hangar queen” airplane and a crew of castoffs, given purpose and skill, can accomplish what better-resourced outfits cannot.

Key Takeaways

Old 666 was B-17E serial 41-2666, a condemned hangar queen restored and up-gunned to 19 .50-caliber machine guns by Zeamer’s crew
On June 16, 1943, the crew flew a solo 1,200-mile photo-reconnaissance of Bougainville and Buka with no escort
A running fight against 17-20 Japanese fighters lasted about 40 minutes at 25,000 feet
Joseph Sarnoski shot down two Zeros after being mortally wounded and died at his gun; Jay Zeamer flew the crippled bomber home despite losing his left wrist’s function and suffering multiple fragment wounds
Both received the Medal of Honor — the only time two have been awarded for a single USAAF mission in a single aircraft
The photographs the crew brought back supported Allied planning for the Bougainville campaign