James Ervin Hughes
Military
USAAF Photo
Object Number - UPL 57718 - S/Sgt James E. Hughes, 306BG.
8th Air Force - USAAF
306th Bomber Group - Reich Wreckers
423rd Bomber Squadron - Grim Reapers
Flew on Marvin Freeman crew. Reported to ETO on 08 Aug 1944.
S-SGT/Waist Gunner & Asst A/C Engineer - Miss Ponca City B-17G-45-BO
42-97180
Mission #1: Sept 1, 1944 - Sub Pens, Kiel, Germany
Mission #2: Sept 3, 1944 - Oil Refinery, Ludwickshaven, Germany
Mission #3: Sept 5, 1944 - Oil Refinery, Ludwickshaven, Germany
Mission #4: Sept 8, 1944 - Mission Aborted
Mission #5: Sept 10, 1944 - Oil Refinery and Military Base, Magdeburg, Germany
Mission #6: Sept 12, 1944 - Oil Refinery, Ruhland, Germany
Shot down over Staaken, Germany 12 Sept 1944 at 11:33am by FW-190's enroute to oil refinery, Ruhland, Germany
One of three crew members to survive (FO - Curtis Barber and TG - Robert L Appell - Both POW's at Stalag 1, Barth, Germany)
POW at Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16.
Liberated - 26 April 1945
MACR - 8832
AM,PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-818138
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born Tom Bean, Grayson County, Texas |
23 August 1920 | ||
|
Prisoner of war POW - Stalag 4, Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) |
12 September 1944 - 26 April 1945 | ||
|
Died Tyler, Smith County, Texas |
22 February 2004 | ||
|
Buried Cathedral In The Pines Cemetery, Tyler, Texas |
28 February 2004 |
Revisions
Capitalized all the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.
Added a "-" to the A/C type in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
GENERAL ORDER # 483, 1 November 1944, from Headquarters 1 Bomb Division by Brigadier General Turner.
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition MACR 8832, First Over Germany pg. 277, 306th BGA Collection, Russell Strong Index Cards, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8832 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pi…
