Military
26-Jul-42 Assigned as Pilot of B-17F 41-24563 [PU-H] "Garbage", 303BG/360BS with crew at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. 16-Oct-42 Arrived at Molesworth, UK, aboard "Garbage".
11-Nov-42 as Pilot of B-17F 41-24563 'Garbage', the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with RAF Anson EF939, and made a forced "belly" landing at Luton, UK. There were no injuries but the aircraft was Damaged Beyond Repair and eventually salvaged for parts. Poor weather conditions contributed to accident on landing 'Garbage'.
Sometime between 18-Nov-42 and 30-Dec-42 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and held that rank when he flew the mission of 30-Dec-42 as Pilot of B-17F 42-1973 "Iza Vailable". Effective 1-Jan-43 he was promted to Captain.
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24620 'Snap! Crackle! Pop!' while serving as Pilot. Aircraft crashed into the Forest of Escoublac, France, west of St. Nazaire. Their target was the U/B (submarine base) at St. Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA). No burial record has been located.
Participated in 3 Operations (1 was aborted) See Biography events.
Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-H] Bangor 14/10/42; Molesworth 16/10/42; on training flight with Arthur Adams, Co-pilot: Gene Witterstetter, Navigator: Glen Herrington, Bombardier: Mike Libonatti, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Lew Hart, Radio Operator:...
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24602 was assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-A] Bangor 14-Oct-42; Molesworth 16-Oct-42; On the 29-May-43 mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France the aircraft was damaged by flak over the target and then attacked and shot down by fighters...
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24620 'Snap, Crackle, Pop' assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-D] Bangor 14-Sep-42; Molesworth 16-Oct-42; Missing in Action St Nazaire 3-Jan-43 shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed Escoublac Forest, West of St Nazaire, France. 7KIA 3POW MACR 15464....
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-G] Presque Is 27/11/42; Molesworth 13/12/42; Returned to the USA 2/7/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Arledge 22/11/44. IZA VAILABLE.
9 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are the target of this mission conducted by a combined force of 33 B-17s from 91BG and 306BG together with a combined force of 14 B-24s from 44BG and 93BG. The B-24 formation bombs from altitudes between 17,500 ft...
30 December 1942
The U-Boat pens at Lorient, France are the target for this mission. A combined force of 77 B-17s are despatched by 91BG (19); 303BG (16); 305BG (13) and 306BG (18). Only 40 are effective on the target. All but 1 B-17 from the 18 despatched by 306BG is...
3 January 1943
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are once again the target for this mission. This is proving to be a particularly difficult target to destroy due to its massive, reinforced concrete design. It consists of 14 individual pens connected together in...
Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Assigned to Aircraft | Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 26 July 1942 |
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Assigned as Pilot of B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
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| Arrived in UK | Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 16 October 1942 |
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Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Pilot aboard B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS. |
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| Aircraft Accident | Luton, Luton, UK | 11 November 1942 |
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While flying serving a Pilot of B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS on a training mission, the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with an RAF aircraft. He was forced to make a belly landing at Luton, UK. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. |
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| Promotion in Rank | Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 18 November 1942 – 30 December 1942 |
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Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. |
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| Mission #1, 2LT Arthur I. Adams, w/B-17F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS - Aborted | Saint-Nazaire, France | 18 November 1942 |
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Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird II" on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
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| Mission #2, 2LT Arthur I. Adams, w/B-17F 42-2973, 303BG/360BS | Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 |
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Served as Pilot of B-17F 42-2973 "Iza Vailable", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
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| Promoted in Rank | Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 1 January 1943 |
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Promoted to the rank of Captain. |
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| Killed in Action (KIA) | Bois d'Escoublac, 44500 La Baule-Escoublac, France | 3 January 1943 |
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Killed when aircraft sustained damage from AA fire and fighter attacks and crashed into the Forest of Escoublac, France. His remains were never recovered. |
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| Mission #3, 2LT Arthur I. Adams, w/B-17F 41-24620, 303BG/360BS - KIA | Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 |
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Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24620 "Snap! Crackle! Pop!, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. The aircraft was shot down and he was Killed in Action (KIA). |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 25 January 2016 00:11:07 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Correcting date error. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 23:58:20 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Correcting typos in Aircraft Accident note. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:56:58 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:50:29 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Arthur I. Adams crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:44:21 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:38:15 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Promoted in Rank event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Arthur I. Adams crw page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:35:45 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Aircraft Accident event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Arthur I. Adams crw page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:30:29 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Arthur I. Adams crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:27:41 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Arthur I Adams crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 January 2016 22:25:14 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to highest rank, biography, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2016. Added iniial assignment and promotion info to Summary Biography; made connections to AIrcraft and Missions per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Arthur I Adams crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 January 2015 20:30:17 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to service number, biography, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 15464; made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; edited description to include crash location per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:04:06 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 61, WWII Memorial web site, MACR 15464 / MACR 15464 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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