Kenneth Lloyd Spatz
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Uploaded
Object Number - UPL 26848 - Kenneth Lloyd Spatz
Assigned to 534BS, 381BG, 8AF USAAF. 26 x combat missions. Mechanical failure caused force landing in wheat field in B-17 44-6418 'Smashing Thru'. A/C nosed over into unseen railway cutting and fire caused bomb load to explode. Killed in Action (KIA)
Kenneth Spatz was from Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, US. He was the waist gunner on board the B-17 that crashed during take off on 13-Jul-44. 7 crew members, including Spatz, were killed as the plane skidded into an unseen railroad cut. Their mission was a bombing run on Munich, Germany. He was stationed at Ridgewell Airfield, Essex, England.
Awards: PH
Connections
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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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32073896 / O-757387
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35589038
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 19 June 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Birdsboro, PA | 23 May 1923 | Son of Lloyd J and Bertha M Spatz. |
|
Enlisted |
Allentown, PA | 5 March 1943 | Allentown, Pennsylvania |
|
Died |
Vicinity of Great Yeldham | 13 July 1944 | Mechanical failure caused force landing in wheat field in B-17 44-6418 'Smashing Thru'. A/C nosed over into unseen railway cutting and fire caused bomb load to explode. KIA No MACR |
|
Buried |
14 July 1944 | Interred Cambridge American Cemetery | |
|
Based |
Ridgewell | 13 July 1944 | Assigned 534BS, 381BG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Buried |
Saint Michaels Cemetery Birdsboro, Berks County, PA | Re-Interred Saint Michaels Cemetery Birdsboro, Berks County, PA |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.381st.org/UnitHistory/Data/Roster.aspx, 381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999, Roll of Honor
