45th Combat Bomb Wing
Wing
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 9/2/44; Kearney 27/2/44; Grenier 13/3/44; Assigned 729th BS / 452nd BG ( H ) RAF Deopham Green 16/3/44; Missing in Action Brux 12/5/44 with Walt Naylor, Navigator: Austin Casselberry, Bombardier: Mike Veselich, Radio Operator: Durwood Mitchell, Ball turret gunner: John Ahern (5 Killed in Action); Co-pilot: Winecke Carpenter, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Roger Mullenmeister, Waist gunner: Tom Garten, Waist gunner: Dick Berkoben,Tail gunner: Ralph Bates Wounded in Action (5 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft caused ship to explode, crashed near Merzhausen Afd, near Usingen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 4778.
Group
The 452nd Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deopham Green, Norfolk, from January 1944. The air crews hit strategic sites in Germany but also supported the movement of ground forces across Europe after D-Day. On 6 June 1944 itself, the Group...
Squadron
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM/ PH
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM/ PH
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner; Flight Engineer | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Prisoner of War (POW). This was my 8th mission. Spent 1 year as Prisoner of War (POW) and was on 600 mile Death March
POW/Purple Heart, AF Medal ETC
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #4297235. Killed in Action (KIA).
PH
Military site : airfield
Deopham Green was another air base constructed after America's entry into the war to Class A standards for use by the B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber. When the 452nd Bomb Group arrived in January 1943 they found a main runway of 2,000 yards, two...
Event | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 12 May 1944 |
Date | Contributor | Update |
---|---|---|
02 April 2017 15:48:02 | terveurn | Changes to markings, description and unit associations |
Sources | ||
Added basic information |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:41:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 4778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |