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Military
Kenneth B. Rongstad Crew - 334th Sqn 42-31123 BACK ROW S/Sgt Gordon V.Sorensen (radio), Sgt Julius W.Torok (right waist gunner), Sgt Charles E. Phinney (ball turret),Sgt Louis M. Mirabel (left waist gunner), Sgt Aloysious L. Godek, S/Sgt Agnew R. Eckert FRONT ROW 2nd Lt Kenneth B. Rongstadt (pilot), 2nd Lt Strawn (co-pilot), 2nd Lt Richard E. Diete (navigator), 2nd Lt Joseph M. Spicer (bombardier) NOTE This aircraft crashed shortly after take off from Horham, at Green Farm, Redlingfield on November 19th 1943. S/Sgt Kenneth Cosby and S/Sgt Gail A. Richmond were both killed in the crash, but are not in the photo. S/Sgt Eckert and Sgt Godek were not in the crew at the time of the crash
Redlingfield Memorial
Redlingfield Memorial
Redlingfield Memorial
42-311123 B17-G This aircraft was assigned to 334th BS 95th BG 14 October 1943 Piloted by Kenneth B. Rongstadt, it crashed shortly after taking off at Green Farm, Redlingfield, Suffolk, killing all ten crew members on 19 November 1943
Kenneth B Rongstad
* 20 October 1943 B17 42-30114 ditched in North Sea. All returned.
* 19 November 1943 - B17 42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 crew members killed.
Full details on the crash and crew at
http://redlingfield.onesuffolk.net/home/local-history/the-second-world-w...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
KOM. B17#42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk.
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
* 20 October 1943 : B17#42-30114 ditched in North Sea. All returned.
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Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
* 19 November 1943 : B17#42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 men on board killed. Full details on the crash and crew at
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Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
* 19 November 1943 : B17#42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 men on board killed. Full details on the crash and crew at
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Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
19 November 1943 - B17#42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 men on board killed.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 95th Bomb Group
* 19 November 1943 : B17#42-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 men on board killed. Full details on the crash and crew at
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 95th Bomb Group
* 20 October 1943 : B17#42-30114 ditched in North Sea. All returned.
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
* 19 November 1943 : B1742-31123 took off on mission to Germany. When it failed to gain flying speed and was banking to turn, it stalled and crashed at Redlingfield, Suffolk. All 10 men on board killed. Full details on the crash and crew at
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Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
* 20 October 1943 : B17#42-30114 ditched in North Sea. All returned.
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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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Group
The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 13/4/43; Smoky Hill 22/4/43; Presque Is 3/5/43; Assigned 381BG Ridgewell 8/5/43; transferred 95BG Alconbury, with Don Merten crash landed base 28/5/43; MU 19/8/43 for repair; transferred RCM 335BS/95BG [BG-L] Horham 13/9/43; 1m...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 22/9/43; Gr Island 7/10/43; Wilmington 10/10/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-J] Horham 14/10/43; [4m] crashed on take off for Gelsenkirchen 19/11/43 with Kenneth B. Rongstad, Co-pilot: Warren M. Strawn, Navigator: Richard E. Diete,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 2/8/43; Grand Island 12/8/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-A] Horham 9/43; with K. Rongstad force landed Sntterton Heath 10/10/43; with Andy Rozentinsky 20/12/43 Flight engineer/top turret gunner: T Whitman, Waist gunner: S. Eastling (both...
20 October 1943
The primary target for this mission is the industrial areas of Duren, Germany. The mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a combined formation of 103 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that includes: 91BG (3); 92BG (14); 303BG (19);...
19 November 1943
The primary target for this mission was Gelsenkirchen, Germany by adverse weather conditions and failure of the PFF equipment caused al formations to seek out targets of opportunity along the German-Dutch border. The force was composed of 168 B-17s...
Military site : airfield
Horham airfield was planned and built for RAF use, but handed over to the Eighth Air Force and used initially by the 47th Bomb Group. When they joined the Twelfth Air Force in January 1943, it became home to the B-26 Marauders of the 323rd Bomb Group....
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Montana, USA | 5 March 1922 |
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Son of Alfred Marcus and Grace [Mitchell] Rongstad. |
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| Enlisted | Missoula, Montana, United States | 28 December 1941 |
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Missoula, Montana |
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| Lived in | Flathead County, Montana, United States | 1942 |
| Based | Horham | 1943 – 19 November 1943 |
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Assigned to 334BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Redlingfield, Eye, Suffolk IP23, UK | 19 November 1943 |
| Buried | Conrad Memorial Cemetery Kalispell Flathead County, MT | September 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 January 2020 19:31:55 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, awards, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/321322391 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 May 2015 08:52:19 | ED-BB | Changes to service number, biography, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
NARA WWII Enlistment records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 April 2015 16:58:18 | usxpat | Changes to service number, highest rank, biography, events, place associations, aircraft associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
Find A Grave Memorial# 43299672 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:17:49 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
AccidentReports.com, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 377, 347 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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