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Military
Personnel of the 44th Bomb Group unload bags from the back of a crew truck. Image via Colonel William R Cameron. The crew man in foreground carrying bags is Staff Sergeant LeRoy R. Winter.
On January 3, 1943 while serving as Radio Operator on B-24D 41-23808 'Texan' the aircraft made a crash-landing in a field near Aberporth airfield, Cardiganshire, returning from target U/B yards (submarine) at St. Nazaire, France. Fuel shortage caused the crash. 11RTD No MACR issued
On 16 August 1943 the 44BG/67BS was serving a Temporary Duty (TDY) assignment with the 12th Air Force in Bernina Main, Libya. B-24D 41-24229 'Buzzin Bear' 44BG/67BS was despatched to bomb the Foggia North German airfield in Italy. Shortly after leaving the target area the aircraft was down to 8,000 feet altitude when it broke in half.
4KIA 6POW MACR 15858
Winter was taken Prisoner of War (POW) by Italian troops and held at a Camp Sulmona but escaped shortly after Italy surrendered. He returned to England on 4-Nov-43. The account of his capture and escape is documented on Escape & Evasion Report #177-178 and may be viewed at: www.media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-177-178
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, # 41-24229, named 'Seeds of Satan and 'Buzzin Bear' was assigned to the 8th Air Force, the 44BG, and the 67th Bomb Squadron in North Africa based at Benghazi Libya. 'Buzzin Bear' was flown by William Roderick Cameron on "Operation Tidal Wave...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Orland, California | |
| Returned to Duty (RTD) | Aberporth, Ceredigion, UK | 3 January 1943 |
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On January 3, 1943 while serving as Radio Operator on B-24D 41-23808 'Texan' the aircraft made a crash-landing in a field near Aberporth airfield, Cardiganshire, returning from target U/B yards (submarine) at St. Nazaire, France. Fuel shortage caused the crash. He was uninjured and Returned to Duty (RTD) |
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| Prisoner of War (POW) | Foggia FG, Italy | 16 August 1943 – 11 September 1943 |
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On 16-Aug-43 he was captured by Italian forces when his aircraft sustained a structural failure and broke in half near the target at Foggia, Italy. He was held at Camp Sulmona in Italy by the Italians until the Italian troops surrendered. He escaped 11-Sep-43 and returned to England on 4-Nov-43. |
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| Returned to Duty (RTD) | 11 September 1943 – 4 November 1943 | |
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Returned to England (Southampton?) on 4-Nov-43 following his escape from Italian forces. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January 2015 22:32:29 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 31-Jan-2015. Added Decorations, verified SN, added POW event and 2nd RTD event per Escape per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) Escape & Evasion Report 177-178. Made connections to Place, Aircraft 41-23808 and Mission 28 within existing website data; Added first RTD event, edited Biography for chronological order and added target and loss details per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:18:42 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15858, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 61-62, 235 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties by Lundy pp. 41, 109-1112, The 44th BG in WWII by MacKay and Adams pp.27. |
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