Freeman Worth Plyler
Military
Family photo
Object Number - UPL 33978 - Freeman Worth "Billy" Plyler
Crashed on T/O due to superchargers on two engines running away and 2 500lb bombs exploded on impact on an operational mission on 6 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-52178 'Little Agnes'. Killed in Action (KIA)
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Montgomery County, North Carolina, USA | 30 June 1924 | Parents: John Freeman Plyler and Kathleen (Brewer) Plyler |
|
Enlisted |
Ft Bragg, North Carolina, USA | 13 December 1942 | Enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Serial Number: 14196484. Grade: Private. |
|
Died |
Old Buckenham | 7 February 1944 | Grade: S SG (Staff Sergeant). Type of Casualty: DOI (Died of Injuries). B-24 Liberator, Serial Number 42-52178, Crashed 6 Feb 1944 at Abbey Farm, Old Buckenham, on take-off. Flew into the ground on take off due to mechanical failure of #1 and #4 engines and struck a ditch. Two 500 lb bombs exploded as the plane crashed resulting in its complete destruction. Salvaged 6 & 7 Feb 1944. |
| Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina | Per 1930 United States Federal Census | ||
|
Based |
Old Buckenham | 6 February 1944 | RAF Old Buckenham - USAAF Station 144. 735th Bombardment Squadron. Old Buckenham aerodrome was built during 1942/43 for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force and given the designation USAAF Air Station 144. It was designed as a Class A bomber base and the main contractors were Taylor Woodrow Ltd. The airfield had three concrete runways (the main runway being 1,800 metres/6,000 feet long), 50 aircraft dispersal loops and two T2 hangars. The dispersed campsites provided accommodation for 2,894 personnel. The 453rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), flying B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft, arrived in December 1943 and entered combat in February 1944, their main task being the bombing of strategic targets. Together with Station 114 (RAF Hethel) and Station 124 (RAF Tibenham) they formed the 2nd Combat Bomb Wing, one of five wings assigned to the 2nd Bomb Division. The 453rd Bomb Group flew missions against marshalling yards, aircraft assembly plants, a fuel depot, railway centres, an ordnance depot and oil refineries in Germany and also participated in a concentrated attack against the German aircraft industry in February 1944. |
|
Buried |
Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina |
Revisions
ContributorPip
Changes
Sources
Family history, The National Archives, www.oldbuck.com, www.geograph.org.uk...
ContributorPip
Changes
Sources
The National Archives Access to Archival Databases (AAD). https://aad.archives.gov
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of th 8th & 9th Air Forces
