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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James J Gabler
Military
Pilot of Aphrodite 'Mother' ship B-24J #43-37793 on mission to Wizernes V1 missile site. 4-8-44.
Service
Units served with
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388th Bomb Group
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran... -
562nd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-107062 Worry Bird/Miss Bea Haven
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 9/2/44; Rapid City 2/3/44; Dow Fd 3/4/44; Assigned 398BG Nuthampstead 25/4/44; no ops, transferred 562BS/388BG Knettishall 29/4/44 WORRY BIRD; Returned to the USA Bradley 8/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 29/11/45;... -
43-37793
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 22/5/44; Hunter 1/6/44; Grenier 17/6/44; Assigned APH/388BG as Azon controlling mothership, Knettishall 6/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 5/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 10/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold...
Missions
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515
4 August 1944
Associated Place
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Fersfield
Military site : airfield
Originally named Winfarthing when the site was allocated to the Eighth Air Force in 1942, it was renamed Fersfield when built for the Eighth Air Force 1943-44. USAAF and US Navy projects 'Aphrodite' 'Batty' and 'Anvil' (attempts to develop and use... -
Knettishall
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Millvale, Pennsylvania | 2 January 1917 |
| Aphrodite mission | Wizernes, France | 4 August 1944 |
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Pilot of Aphrodite 'Mother' ship B-24J 43-37793 on mission to Wizernes V1 missile site. 4-8-44. |
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| Died | 1 January 1966 | |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 March 2020 21:08:11 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "#" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 December 2015 14:32:11 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM DB Entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:14:34 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.388bg.info/Personnel.html |
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