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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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 15 September 1942, arrived in Bangor, Northern Ireland 11 October 1942; Assigned to the 323 Bomb Squadron/ 91st Bomb Group [coded OR-T] at Bassingbourn on 15 October 1942. On 1 May 1943, Delta Rebel No. 2 became the first B-17 Flying Fortress of the 8th Air Force to complete 25 missions.
Missing in Action over Gelsenkirchen on 12 August 1943 with Bob Thompson (Thomson per POW records), Co-pilot: Serge Klinkow (Klimkow per POW records), Navigator: George Lausted, Bombardier: Mike Couzzi, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Carroll Goodwin, Radio Operator: Bob Brooks (6 Prisoner of War); Ball turret gunner: Wayne Kienberger, Waist gunner: Bob Ziernicki, Tail gunner: Chas Blonstein, Waist gunner: Micky Lengyel (4 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft set ship ablaze, crashed Brunninghausen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 261. DELTA REBEL No. 2.
Baugher: damaged by Hptm Naumann of JG 26/6, then shot down by Obfw Adolf Glunz in Fw 190A-5 of JG 26/4 at Brunninghausen, Germany
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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Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
Squadron
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Military | Colonel | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions as pilot on 'Delta Rebel No2'.
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2', Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Master Sergeant | Radio Operator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 323BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Flew 25 missions on B-17 42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2'
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Robert Card was Tail Gunner on 'Delta Rebel No 2' and based at Bassingbourn with the 91st BG.
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Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Flew 25 missions on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Crew Chief | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
crew chief on 'Delta Rebel #2'
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5077 'Delta Rebel No. 2', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
8 November 1942
Two Primary (P) targets are the objects of this mission: the German airfield of Drucat at Abbeville, France and the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille, France. 91BG despatches 15 B-17s to Abbeville and 301BG and 306BG despatch a combined...
1 May 1943
The U-boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are the primary target. 78 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (20); 303BG (19); 305BG (21); 306BG (18). Poor weather frustrates the bombing effort and only 29 of the 78 despatched are effective on the target. The ordnance...
12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb...
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
Event | Location | Date |
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Completed 25 Missions | Bassingbourn | 1 May 1943 |
Operational Status Charts and Bombardier Robert Abb in his logbook list this date was the aircraft's 25th mission |
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Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 12 August 1943 |
Date | Contributor | Update |
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15 February 2021 11:13:42 | Snautzer | Changes to description |
Sources | ||
http://cgibin.rcn.com/jeremy.k/cgi-bin/gzUsafSearch.pl?target=42-5077&co... |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
29 October 2020 15:24:37 | Emily | Changes to description and events |
Sources | ||
Research presentation by Mick Hanou, President of 91st Bomb Group association, to the 8th Air Force Historical society on 24 October 2020, confirmed that Delta Rebel No 2 was the first B-17 of the 8th Air Force to complete 25 missions, Hanou's research crossed referenced the original Log book of Robert Abb with an original Operational Status Chart for Delta Rebel No 2 to confirm this fact. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
21 August 2020 18:24:21 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
Sources | ||
Added comments to the "Description" indicating a spelling difference in the surname per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA). |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
21 August 2020 17:48:25 | jmoore43 | Changes to mission associations |
Sources | ||
Added a connection to Mission #25 for the A/C Delta Rebel No. 2 per data from the logbook of bombardier Robert Abb. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
21 August 2020 17:15:16 | jmoore43 | Changes to mission associations |
Sources | ||
Added a connection to Mission #1 for the A/C Delta Rebel No. 2 per data from diary of bombardier Robert Abb. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
20 August 2020 20:30:57 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
Sources | ||
Added a unit connection to the 8th AF per MACR 261 at fold3.com. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
03 January 2020 15:59:54 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
Sources | ||
Added a space in the description for readability. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:40:53 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 261 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |