Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
Military
Photo posted in the American Legion Hall, Rayne, LA
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Radio Operatot. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France.
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Co-Pilot. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France.
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Navigator. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and the strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France.
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17 #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Pilot. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then was strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. TSgt Harris remained in his turret, continuously firing at the...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Right Waist Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Target was the U-Boat pens as St. Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Robert Ransom was shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/Bote ...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Bombardier. He was killed by a Flak burst over the target. The aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and the strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target...
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Left Waist Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Tail Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire,...
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24470, assigned 369BS/306BG [WW- ] Westover 22-Aug-42; damaged in taxi accident Westover Fd 26-Aug-42; Thurleigh 2-Oct-42; Missing in Action St Nazaire 3-Jan-43. Severely hit by enemy aircraft, ditched into the English Channel off Brest...
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
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 23 August 1919 | |
|
Rayne, Acadia County, Louisiana |
||
| Enlisted | 22 July 1941 | |
|
Camp Blanding, Florida |
||
| Lived in | October 1942 | |
|
Rayne, Louisiana |
||
| Killed in Action (KIA) | English Channel | 3 January 1943 |
|
Killed when aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. His remains have never been recovered. |
||
| Commemorated | Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | 1945 |
|
Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2020 10:25:48 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, events and person associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 16427 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 April 2020 21:18:02 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 January 2015 18:55:50 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to service number, role, biography, awards, events, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 16-Jan-2015. Added SN, crew position and KIA event per MACR 16427; Added decorations and Commemorate event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, AIrcraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited biography adding crew position and loss details per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:18:01 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, MACR 16427, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 61 |
||
