Kenneth J Kurtenbach
MilitaryAssigned as a Tail Gunner to B-17F 41-24602 [PU-A], "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS at Pendleton Field, Oregon. Arrived with that aircraft at Molesworth, UK on 16-Oct-42 and participated in 2 operations (1 of which aborted) with that aircraft. (See Biography events).
Shot down 12 December 1942 in B-17 41-24585 'Wulfe Hund' while serving as Tail Gunner. He evaded the Germans for 13 days then arrested on Christmas Day at the train station of Dijon, France. Prisoner of War (POW). He was affectionately known by his fellow Prisoner of War (POW)s as 'Kurt' He was named as Enlisted Camp Leader and served the interest of his fellow prisoners at Stalag III-B, VII-A and XVII-B For his work he was awarded the U S War Dept's Legion of Merit. He participate in 3 Opertions (1 Abort) with the 303BG.
POW/Air Medal/Legion of Merit
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 18 November 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 17 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Group |
Pendleton, OR 97801, USA | 3 February 1942 | Assigned as a Tail Gunner with B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS at Pendleton Field, Oregon. |
|
Other Arrived at Station |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 16 October 1942 | Arrived with B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. |
|
Other Mission #1 SSGT Kenneth J. Kurtenbach w/B17-F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 17 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2 SSGT Kenneth J. Kurtenbach w/B17-F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 18 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. |
|
Other Mission #3 SSGT Kenneth J. Kurtenbach w/B17-F 41-246585, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Assigned as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24585 "Wulfe Hund", 303BG/360BS as a substitute for SGT Lincoln T. O'Connell on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France. The battle damage aircraft was crashlanded in a field in France. |
|
Other Attempted Evasion |
Dijon, France | 12 December 1942 - 25 December 1942 | SSGT Kurtenbach managed to evade capture for 13 days but was finally arrested by the Gestapo at the train station in Dijon, France and held as a Prisoner of War. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 25 December 1942 - 12 June 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf, near Krems, Austria. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 12-Jun-45 |
|
Died |
9 April 1999 | ||
|
Buried |
Waterloo, Iowa | ||
|
Born |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 8-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Dec-2015. Added Arrived at Station event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, John W. Farrar crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-farrar.html
Lee Cunningham 8-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Group event per 303Bg website, Gary Moncur, Historian, John W. Farrar crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-farrar.html
Lee Cunningham 8-Dec-2015. Added early assigment with 303BG to Summary Biography, made connections to B-17F 41-24602 and all mission pariticipation per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, John W. Farrar crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-farrar.html
Lee Cunningham 10-Nov-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Hey and Bishop p.53