Leo Canelake
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Chip Roberts
Object Number - UPL 12873 - 2LT. Leo Canelake of Hibbing, MN. Pilot on the final mission of the Whale Tail II. Bremen raid 20/12/43.
Pilot, Canelake crew. 381st BG, 534th BS. Shot down 20 December 1943 in B-17 #42-5845 'Whale Tail II'. Mission #51 to the submarine pens at Bremen, Germany. MACR 1724. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge AMC.
Born in Hibbing, MN. to parents who had immigrated from Greece, Leo was one of four first generation Americans that comprised the Canelake Crew. He was a college graduate and a memory of his family was that he ate a good deal of carrots because he was afraid that his eyesight might prevent him from becoming a pilot.
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: 34449699
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13045574
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-685380
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37009828
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-679365
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Whale Tail II
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 20 December 1943
- Date: 13 December 1943
![Personnel of the 94th Bomb Group at a mission briefing. A censor has obscured the maps and charts in the background. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press'[stamp],'Passed for publication 14 December 1943.'[stamp] '296691.'[Censor no] Printed caption on reverse: 'Operations Room at US Air Base. Preparing for take off. Associated Press photo shows: Col.F. W. Castle, Group Commanding Officer, gives the massed crews of the base the last part of the briefing, and a personal 'Godspeed' and 'Good Luck' in](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-408449.jpg.webp?itok=nKEJNh_9)
- Date: 11 December 1943
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Died |
20 December 1943 | ||
|
Born |
Minnesota, USA | ||
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
North Sea | 20 December 1943 | |
|
Buried |
Tablets of the Missing |
Revisions
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Chip Roberts from interviews with family members conducted by Patricia Canelake.
381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999; MACR 1724 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1724 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
