Lester Steves

Military

On Board 42-95024 Gypsy Queen when, On the 5th November 1944, she was one of 366 2nd Division Liberators that set out on a mission to Karlsruhe Railway Marshalling Yards in Germany, No B-24's were lost in the mission itself but four aircraft crashed on their return.



Gypsy Queen was reported to have one engine feather when it crashed, presumably having lost this due to flank damage. In 1973 a spokesman at the farm where she crashed at Church Farm described seeing her approach from the North with the crew baling out close to the river Waveney, some at extremely low altitude. He said the B-24 appeared to be attempting an emergency landing, but the nose of the aircraft dug into the ground and it broke up. He recalled the fuselage broke in half, the nose was wrecked and there was a fire with ammunition exploding.



32 combat missions, enlisted from 23 Feb 1943 to 18 Oct 1945; Caterpillar Club for bailing out once; European Theater of Operation



AM 4 Oak Leaf Cluster

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 93rd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 329th Bomb Squadron 409th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-718089
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier / Pathfinder Navigator

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Gypsy queen

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Alliance, Ohio 30 March 1923

Revisions

Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

Changes to Connections and Biography

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

8th AF News, December 2000 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia