Please click here for more information, there is also 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
Assigned 367BS/306BG Westover 16-Aug-42; Thurleigh 2-Oct-42; on return from St Nazaire 3-Jan-43 landed RAF St Eval, Cornwall. Next day on t/o for Thurleigh, Bed. in poor weather crashed into the Celtic Sea near RAF St. Eval 7-Jan-43. 10KIS No MACR issued.
P 1Lt Robert E. Brandon (KIS); CP 1Lt Henry G. Murrel (KIS)
N 1Lt Lemuel B. Smith (KIS) B 2Lt James C. Murphy (KIS)
E/TTG SSgt Carlton F. Porter (KIS); RO SSgt Judson W. Elliott (KIS)
BTG SSgt Joseph S. Barnes (KIS) WG SSgt Jerrald M. Hopkins(KIS)
WG 1Lt James O. Jones, Jr. (KIS); TG SSgt Earl K. Owen (KIS)
NOTE: Bishop & Hey "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" say this loss was documented on MACR 16102, but that is an error. No MACR was located for this loss.
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
KIA in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Missing in Action (MIA) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Pilot. Participated in mission on 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Missing in Action (MIA) in B17 41-24469 while serving as Radio Operator. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St....
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Missing in Action (MIA) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Co-Pilot. Participated in Mission on 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval,...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
KIA in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Waist Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall. ...
Military | First Lieutenant | Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
KIA in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Waist Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall. ...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Killed on Mission (KOM) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Bombardier. Participated on mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St....
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
KIA in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Tail Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall. ...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Killed on Mission (KOM) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Missing in Action (MIA) in B17 41-24469 while serving as Navigator. Participated in mission on 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval...
Military site : airfield
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Crashed | Saint Eval, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27, UK | 7 January 1943 |
|
This aircraft participated in the raid on St. Nazaire on 3-Jan-43, but upon return to England, landed at St. Eval, Cornwall where it was weathered in until 7-Jan-43. The aircraft and crew were lost in the Celtic Sea near RAF St. Eval en-route to Thurleigh. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 January 2015 22:12:43 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 18-Jan-2015. Changed crash location per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 January 2015 21:41:30 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 18-Jan-2014. Correction to MACR citation. NO MACR was located for this loss. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 January 2015 21:44:00 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, description, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 17-Jan-2015. Added block number & manufacturer per "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" Roger A Freeman with David Osborne; made connections to Place and Aircraft within existing website data; Added crew position, rank, full proper name and dispositions per MACR 16103, formatted crew display |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:02 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
||
