Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
B-17 Flying Fortress
![Bowers Crew - Due Back
Back Row - (L - R) James P Doster (Co-Pilot)- Larry J Moore (Bombadier) - Hugh Bowers (Pilot) - George A Pasvanis (Navigator)
Front Row -(L - R) William Purcell - Edward Noga - [Verne Hiskey *] - George Miller - Edward Bennett - Nathan Stark
[ * = B-17 Crews were reduced from 10 to 9 men and S/SGT Hiskey was not on the final mission with this crew]](http://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/media/media-16695.jpeg?itok=PuRxYggA)
Bowers Crew - Due Back Back Row - (L - R) James P Doster (Co-Pilot)- Larry J Moore (Bombadier) - Hugh Bowers (Pilot) - George A Pasvanis (Navigator) Front Row -(L - R) William Purcell - Edward Noga - [Verne Hiskey *] - George Miller - Edward Bennett - Nathan Stark [ * = B-17 Crews were reduced from 10 to 9 men and S/SGT Hiskey was not on the final mission with this crew]
Edward W Bennett - 708th BS, 447th BG, 8th AF - Rattlesden UK
Map for 8th Air Force mission #556 to Rositz on August 16, 1944. From the estate of Harold Motz, navigator in the Westrope crew, 708th squadron, 447th bomb group. Harold's notes on the back of the map lists the target as Leipzig. Original map now in the collection of the Museum of the US Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.
1st Lt. Hugh C. Bowers Crew 1944, 42-102632, 708th BG
Delivered Cheyenne 19/3/44; Hunter 1/4/44; Dow Fd 18/4/44; Assigned 708BS/447BG [CQ-B] Rattlesden 22/4/44; Missing in Action Ausum A/Fd, Ger 27/8/44 with Hugh Bowers, Co-pilot: Jim Doster, Navigator: George Pasvanis, Bombardier: Leonard Moore, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: George Miller, Radio Operator: Bill Purcell, Ball turret gunner: Ed Noga, Waist gunner: Nathan Stark,Tail gunner: Ed Bennett (9KIA-bodies washed up later); flak, crashed off Sylt, Ger.; Missing Air Crew Report 8458. DUE BACK.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 19/3/44; Hunter 1/4/44; Dow Fd 18/4/44; Assigned 708BS/447BG [CQ-B] Rattlesden 22/4/44; Missing in Action Ausum A/Fd, Ger 27/8/44 with Hugh Bowers, Co-pilot: Jim Doster, Navigator: George Pasvanis, Bombardier: Leonard Moore, Flight...
Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed into North Sea in B-17 Due Back #42102632
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Crashed into North Sea in B-17 'Due Back' #42-102632, Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Warran Callahan served as a co-pilot with the 708th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bomb Group, flying bombing missions out of Rattlesden, England.
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Top Turret Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Thomas Diamond served as a top turret gunner in the Westrope crew with the 708th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bomb Group, flying bombing missions out of Rattlesden, England.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed into North Sea in B-17 Due Back #42102632
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Right Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Oscar Flores served as a waist gunner with the 708th Bomb Squadron of the 447th Bomb Group, flying bombing missions out of Rattlesden, England.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down at Ohlum on 6/18/44 in B-17 #4337714 Killed in Action (KIA)
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
Willard Lawrence was born on Jul. 12, 1921 in Jamestown, North Dakota, USA. His career included thirty years active duty in the United States Air Force, serving in three wars (WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War) as a pilot and later as a comptroller, he...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
Lt. James A. McColgan was the third of 9 siblings: Joseph, Mary, August, Andrew, John, Patrick, Patricia, and Timothy. Jimmy went to Mount Saint Josephs School then the City College of Baltimore, joining the Maryland National Guard in 1935 while in HS...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed into North Sea in B-17 Due Back #42102632
16 August 1944
Aircraft factories and oil refineries are the primary targets for this mission. A total of 1090 heavy bombers are despatched. See Mission Details for particulars.
...
27 August 1944
Military site : airfield
Built for the Eighth Air Force in 1942, Rattlesden had three concrete runways, 50 hardstandings and two dispersed T2 hangars. Intended to be a twin-engine B-26 bomber base, it was originally a satellite for nearby Rougham, and first occupied from...
Other location
Other location
Other location
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) Over Water (OW) | North Sea | 27 August 1944 |
|
Due Back was part of a mission (583) to Attack Berlin but RTB due to WX. On return - Crew attempted to attack Husum Airfield in NW Germany near the coast of the North Sea and Danish Border (Airfield is incorrectly ID'd as Ausum in MACR 8458). Lt. Hugh Bowers' Crew were all lost (KIA). Conflicting reports of loss due to Flak (from MACR) and a Collision from a post mission report which Mentions Lt. Bowers on his 35th mission (Damn it) may have collided with a B-24 and crashed into the Sea. All bodies were later recovered on the German Island of Sylt on the Danish/German Coast of the North Sea. God rest the souls of these brave men! |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 February 2017 23:23:00 | timothymotz | Changes to person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Timothy Motz; from mission list kept by Harold Motz, compared with Doyle Shields, "History of the 447th Bomb Group" |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 May 2016 23:59:12 | Pilotson2 | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
The crew of the Due Back 42-102632 was possibly on their 25th mission (not 35th). The mission target was Berlin. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 March 2015 02:10:22 | Pilotson2 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Son of pilot is source of information. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2015 00:34:51 | noelark | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
noelark |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2015 00:23:54 | noelark | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2015 00:21:12 | noelark | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2015 00:16:17 | noelark | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 8458 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 February 2015 00:13:25 | noelark | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 February 2015 19:35:35 | Pilotson2 | Changes to nicknames and markings |
| Sources | ||
Source: Picture of aircraft and crew, Christopher Bowers (son of pilot) |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:11 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 8458 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
