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Military
He flew on Clyde Cosper crew. Reported to group on 11 Sept 1943. He was shot down on his first mission. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29985 'Barrel House Bessie'. POW at Stalag 7A Moosburg Bavaria 48-12 (Work Camps 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse 48011, Work Camp 3368 Munich 48-11)
POW
Military | Major | Assistant Group Engineer Officer; Squadron Executive | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Captain Paul George was flying as an observer on B-17 #42-29985 'Barrel House Bessie' when it was shot down on the Bremen mission, 8 October 1943. He was the first to jump out of the plane. Prisoner of War (POW). His nickname in camp was 'Pap's' as he...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Thomas Ledgerwood was Pilot of B-17 #42-29985 'Barrel House Bessie' when it was shot down on return from the Bremen mission on 8 October 1943. Prisoner of War (POW). Thomas Ledgerwood stayed in the Air Force after the war. Serving in Korea, he ended...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Robert G. Van Dragt was Radio Operator and flew his first mission on 15 August 1943 with pilot Ferdinand Otten, the pilot he flew most of his missions with. He was on B-17 #42-29985 with the Ledgerwood crew when it was shot down over Germany on the...
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 22/3/43; Cheyenne 31/3/43; Smoky Hill 5/4/43; Dow Fd 15/4/43; with Rich Jerger force landed Meeks Fd, Iceland 17/4/43; Assigned 545BS/384BG [JD-Y] Grafton Underwood 28/6/43; transferred 367BS/306BG [GY-X] Thurleigh 22/8/43. Missing in...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | ||
| Prisoner of War (POW) | Germany | 8 October 1943 |
| Died | 29 February 1964 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 March 2020 18:49:46 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:16:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 868 / MACR 868, First Over Germany pg. 161, 306th BGA Collection, Russell Strong Index Cards, / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pic... |
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