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41-23717, 'Exterminator' of 330th BS, 93rd BG, 8th AF.
This plane and crew were flying as element lead when it collided with one of the other planes (121-J) in its element after entering a cloud bank over Bulgaria. Both planes went down in flames and crashed in the mountains
MACR 334
Capt. Hugh R. Roper - Pilot (KIA) ~ Oak City, UT,
1st Lt. Walter T Stewart
Capt. John B. White,Jr. - Navigator (KIA) ~ Hillsboro, IL
1st Lt. Ted Brannon - Bombardier (KIA) ~ Coatesville, PA,
T/Sgt. Henry C. Lloyd,Jr. - Radio Operator (KIA) ~ Flint,MI
T/Sgt Albert L Lee - Tail Gunner
T/Sgt Joseph L Craighead - Waist Gunner
Sgt. Earl P Lemoine - Gunner (KIA) ~ Moreauville, LA
S/Sgt. William A. Defreese - Waist Gunner (KIA) ~ Anniston, AL,
Walter Stewart was not on this plane when it crashed. He is my father's cousin (Col Robert W Stewart) Walter flew "Utah Man" during the raid and survived the war.

Connections

Units

  • 8th Air Force

    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. ...

  • 93rd Bomb Group

    93rd Bomb Group

    Group
    93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1-March-1942 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15-May-1942 the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to continue advanced flight training and also to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; they...

  • 330th Bomb Squadron

    330th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

People

  • Ted Brannon

    Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Exterminator' 41-23717

  • Joseph Craighead

    Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Gunner

  • William Defreese

    Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Exterminator' 41-23717

  • Earl Lemoine

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Exterminator' 41-23717

  • Henry Lloyd

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Exterminator' 41-23717

  • Hugh Roper

    Military | Lieutenant | Pilot
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 1 Aug 1943 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24D 'Exterminator' 41-23717

  • Walter Stewart

    Military | Colonel | Pilot
    In 1941, Stewart was a 24 year-old, U.S. Army Air Force cadet at the University of Utah. "We were pulling guns around with horses as a plane flew overhead. Jack Adamson, who had been my mission companion, said to me, `There's a war coming.' Later that...

  • John White

    Military | Captain | Navigator
    Killed in Action (KIA) on 1 August 1943 while on temporary duty with the 9th Air force for the Ploesti raid in B-24 'Exterminator' 41-23717.

Aircraft

  • 41-23717 Exterminator

    B-24 Liberator
    The B-24 Liberator "Exterminator" (serial number 41-23717, H) originally flew with the 329th Bomb Squadron of the 93rd Bomb Group and was later transferred to the 330th Bomb Squadron (93BG) in March 1943. The first mission with the 330th BS was on 1st...

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Object number
UPL 13845

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
27 November 2019 06:22:31 W J Stewart Changes to caption
Sources

Walter Stewart is my father's cousin. My source was him I knew him very well and talked with him many times. He made a documentary of his B24 called "Utah Man" which was the name of his plane. He was born 8 Nov 1917 and died 9 Jan 2016. My source is myself, him and familysearch.org website and his documentary which I have "Utah Man"
Date Contributor Update
09 October 2017 17:26:05 Lucy May Changes to caption and person associations
Sources

Corrected identification of airmen using Fold3 annotations: https://www.fold3.com/image/48253723
Date Contributor Update
18 March 2015 10:51:09 Al_Skiff Created entry with caption, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

USAAF Photo.

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