Kenneth Lynn Erhard

Military

As Ken was an independent and rather adventurous young man, he attempted several times to enlist in the military, but was always turned down because of his age. He was finally accepted in late November 1941 at the age of 19.   He wanted to be in the Corps of Engineers, but after a battery of tests, he was placed in the Army Air Corps and consequently was sent to Keesler Field, Biloxi, Mississippi.  He was there when the bombing of Pearl Harbor was announced on the radio. He became proficient in armament and was sent to Bendix School in Gary, Indiana. He came back as an instructor in 50 caliber machine guns (NOTE: it was said that he could put a gun back into place blindfolded). He was not a "regular" flyer; more or less an auxiliary when a crew was short-handed, and he was always a left waist-gunner.



From Keesler Field, he was sent to Barksdale Field in Bossier City, Louisiana with the newly formed 44th Bomb Group. While at Barksdale, Ken volunteered to go sub-hunting in the Gulf of Mexico, not only for the flying experience, but to use the machine guns. From Barksdale Field, the 44th Group was sent to Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Ken was only there a short while before leaving for Port of Embarkation in New York. The 44th Bomb Group boarded the Queen Mary and took a 5-day zig-zag course to avoid the U-boats, which were on the prowl, and were known as "The Wolf Pack."  The Queen Mary landed at Firth o' Clyde, Scotland1 and troops were sent overland to Shipdham, England.



Early in the morning of 8 March 1943, Ken was about to go on his 13th mission over enemy territory. He had had a premonition he would not come back and told several of his friends, "See ya at the end of the war." His buddies told him, "Hell, Kenny Boy, if you feel that way, report for sick call." Of course, he refused, and Miss Dianne was the lead plane of the 16 bombers (B-24s) set out to bomb the marshalling yards at Rouen, France. Enemy ME-109s came out of the sun's glare and met head-on with the B-24s.



Shot down 8 March 1943 in B-24D 41-23784 [NB:R] 'Miss Dianne', 44BG/67BS while serving as Right Waist Gunner. The aircraft was attacked and shot down by German fighters near Villers-Ecalles, France while on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France. Prisoner of War (POW). His account of the attack by FW 190's as well as flak amidship, crew injuries, deaths and the bailout is in Lundy's book p. 57. He was wounded and treated for his burns and taken to Stalag VII-A Mooseburg, then later to Stalag XVII-B where he remained until repatriated 8 February 1945.



POW

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 44th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
The 'semiofficial' insignia of the 44th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Miss Dianne
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group 67th Bomb Squadron 8th Air Force Finance

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Curwenville, Pennsylvania 21 December 1922

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Moosburg, Germany 8 March 1943 - 12 June 1945 Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Germany. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 12-Jun-45

Revisions

Date
ContributorEaglewolf
Changes
Sources

Ken Erhard's written memoirs.

Date
ContributorEaglewolf
Changes
Sources

Additional information by his daughter, Jacquelyn Erhard Bean.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 31-jul-2015. Correcting typo in Biorgraphy.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cuningham 31-Jul-2015. Added decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Mde connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Edited Summary Biography with A/C model letter, Radio Call Letters and Unit association, added loss detail and target based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE and MACR 15570.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15570 / MACR 15570, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop and Hey p.89, 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties pp. 56-7 by Lundy / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database