Joseph Donald Weaver

Military

Joseph Weaver was on a local training flight on board B-26 #41-17961 on 27 December 1943. Flown by Lt Robert C. Fry, the plane was involved in a landing accident at Froome airfield - Station 236, near Antrim, Northern Ireland. Weaver and four others returned. Assigned to the 386th BG/554th BS (9th Air Force), Joseph was Radio Operator/Mechanical Gunner and had flown on 51 missions with the Lt Fry crew. He was on B-26 #42-96184 on the 6 August 1944 mission (his 52nd one and the first with the Payne crew, replacing the regular radio operator gunner who had completed his tour) to bomb fuel dumps in the Domfront region, Calvados, France. Hit by Flak, the plane crashed in the Channel, 1 mile off the coast at Trouville-sur-Mer. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 7875. Joseph Weaver was made prisoner (POW) and was interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow/Tychowo, Poland.

Connections

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Units served with

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18040560 and O-433892
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 16058767 / O-743997
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier / Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35771743
  • Highest Rank: Corporal (RAF)
  • Role/Job: Armorer Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 12139321
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Armorer Gunner

Aircraft

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

28 August 1923

Enlisted

8 October 1942 as a Private in the Air Corps

Other

made prisoner (POW)

6 August 1944 Bailed out of B-26 #42-96184, landed in parachute in the Calvados Department, France

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

6 August 1944 Interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow/Tychowo, Poland. Camp evacuated on 6 February 1945 and POWs force-marched to Fallingbostel (Stalag Luft XIB), Germany. Moved from there due to the advance of the Russian troops, Joseph Weaver and other POWs were liberated by British troops, probably in Gudow, Germany, 2 May 1945. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military control 12 June 1945."

Died

1 February 1996

Born

Buried

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.

 

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Added a connection to Stalag Luft 4 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Sources

Added a space to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
ContributorED-BB
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Additions to Biography (details from his daughter)

Date
ContributorED-BB
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Detail from Joseph Weaver's daughter (he was on his 52nd mission)

Date
ContributorED-BB
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Corrections to POW data.
Corrected middle initial of Captain Fry (C instead of G)

Date
ContributorED-BB
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Sources

MACR 7875
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces Vol. I, p. 442