8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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42-12981
F-5 Lightning
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Idyllic rural scene featuring Lockheed F-5 Lightning 42-12981 of the 14th PRS, 7th PRG, 8th AF at Mount Farm 1st July 1943. A/C Failed to Return (FTR) from photo reconnaissance mission to Germany 8 June 1944. Pilot Capt Robert R Nelson. KIA. See Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 5490 for details.
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Captain Robert R Nelson, Pilot Lockheed F-5 Lightning 42-12981 of the 14th PRS, 7th PRG, 8th AF.
Lockheed F-5 Lightning 42-12981 of the 14th PRS, 7th PRG, 8th AF. Departed Mount farm with pilot Capt Robert R Nelson and Capt Cassaday on a photo-recce operation of marshalling yards at Hasselt, Belgium. Nelson was shot down by the Flak placed on the Philipsworks (Buildings of Strijp-S), Eindhoven. They were flying so low that they had to pull up to avoid flying directly into the buildings. At that moment they were hit by the Flak placed on these buildings. A/C crashed 11:14 at Eindhoven-Gestel, Holland. 8 June 1944. Capt Robert R Nelson KIA. MACR 5490.
Service
Units
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7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
Group
Based for the majority of their service at Mount Farm, Oxfordshire, the 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) took over three million intelligence photos during the course of 4,251 sorties over occupied Europe. The Group was awarded a Distinguished... -
People
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Robert Nelson
Military | Captain | Pilot | 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group
Pilot Lockheed F-5 Lightning 42-12981 of the 14th PRS, 7th PRG, 8th AF. Departed Mount farm with Capt Cassaday on a photo-recce operation of marshalling yards at Hasselt, Belgium. Nelson was shot down by the Flak placed on the Philipsworks (Buildings...
Places
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Mount Farm
Military site : airfield
Originally a grass airfield satellite for the RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Unit at nearby RAF Benson, Mount Farm was built in 1940-1941. It had three concrete runways, 49 dispersals (24 concrete pan type plus 25 PSP squares), and eight blister...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Hasselt, Belgium | 8 June 1944 |
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Failed to Return from photo recon mission to marshalling yards at Hasselt, Belgium. 8 June 1944. Pilot Robert R Nelson KIA. MACR 5490. |
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| Crashed | Gestel, Netherlands | 8 June 1944 |
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Crashed 11:14 at Eindhoven-Gestel, Holland. |
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| Manufactured | Burbank, CA, USA | |
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Built at Lockheed Vega plant. |
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| Delivered | ||
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To USAAF. |
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| Assigned | RAF Mount Farm, Dorchester, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 7PG, UK | |
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14th PRS, 7th PRG, 8th AF, Mount Farm, England. |
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| Shipped Overseas | Speke, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK | |
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Dismantled and shipped overseas, rebuilt. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 25 June 2015 12:57:03 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, description, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-12981&Submit6=Go MACR bare bones. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:17 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 5490 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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