Michael Clarence Hoover

Military
media-13320.jpeg UPL 13320 LT Michael Clarence Hoover
Pilot - Crew #505
466th BG - 785th BS 466th Bomb Group collection

466th BG Historian

Object Number - UPL 13320 - LT Michael Clarence Hoover Pilot - Crew #505 466th BG - 785th BS

Flew 30 missions, many on 'The Lemon'



DFC/ Air Medal w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster/ American Campaign Medal/ WW II Victory Medal/ Armed Forces Reserve Medal/ 2 Battle Stars

Connections

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Units served with

Three little girls hold up a balloon celebrating the 100th mission of the 466th Bomb Group in front of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-95592) nicknamed "Black Cat". Handwritten caption on reverse: 'On our 100 Mission party Day- 18 Aug 1944, Attlebridge, 466th- wouldn't it be something if we could identify these girls? How could I do it?'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35497757
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32624374
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade)
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 31051813
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
  • Role/Job: Flight Engineer - Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Mister Chance
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Belle
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: The Lemon
  • Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Aerial photograph of Attlebridge airfield, looking north, the fuel store and a T2 hangar are in the upper centre, 31 January 1946. Photograph taken by No. 90 Squadron, sortie number RAF/3G/TUD/UK/51. English Heritage (RAF Photography).
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Keene Township, Michigan 26 January 1919

Enlisted

Battle Creek, MI, USA 21 March 1941 Fort Custer

Other

Graduated Pilot Training/Commissioned

Pampa, TX 79065, USA 26 June 1943 Pilot Class 43F

Other

4th Combat Mission

Attlebridge, Norwich, UK 9 April 1944 While flying just above a cloud formation in "The Lemon" the formation was going so slow that our aircraft started to stall. To gain formation flying speed I lowered the nose. When I did that we lost contact with the formation and there was no way to rejoin it. We jettisoned our bombs in the North Sea and returned to base. The base was now socked in and we could not land, so the navigator suggested that we fly south. There we found sunshine and an airfield, so we landed. We had lunch and by the time we were finished our airfield had cleared and the rest of the group had returned from the mission and landed. When we did not return with the other crews we were told that our ground crew cried. Since no one had reported any enemy action, they may well have thought some mechanical error had caused the loss of our aircraft and ten men. The ground crew took there jobs very seriously. - Michael Hoover

Died

Jacksonville, FL, USA 27 September 2012 Michael C. Hoover, 93, passed peacefully on September 27, 2012 in Jacksonville, FL. Mike was born January 26, 1919 at the family farm-home in Keene Township, Ionia County, Michigan. His parents were John Henry Hoover and Elizabeth Anna Feuerstein. The family consisted of ten boys and one girl. Jacob Vincent, the youngest, is the only surviving sibling. Mike was married to Pauline (Appleby) Hoover for 65 years. She passed away on April 1, 2010. Mike served in World War II as a pilot of a B-24 heavy duty bomber aircraft. A B-24 crew consisted of ten personnel. he crew flew 32 combat missions over France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. Mike acknowledged his bomber crew at the 8th Air Force Museum at Savannah, Georgia by donating a plaque. For combat duty Mike was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Mike remained in the reserves where he retired as a Major in the year 1964 after 23 years. Mike attended Michigan State College after serving in the military and graduated in June 1950 with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering. Mike worked for the Electric Sorting Machine Co. or their various divisions for the next thirty years. From 1971-1979 he was the Chief Engineering Manager of the Electric Sorting Machine Division. During his thirty years with the company various patents were obtained under his name but all were assigned to the company. The patents included those for sorting lemons, rice, the “Hydrosort,” which sorted tomatoes, slide sorting and other equipment. Mike retired in 1980. He remained a life long member of the 2nd Air Division. Mike had many hobbies too numerous to mention but over the past several years enjoyed collecting and organizing genealogical information on the Hoover-Feuerstein family which he published. He paid homage to past generations by ensuring their graves were appropriately marked. Mike was a devoted member of San Juan del Rio Church and resided in Westminster Woods.

Buried

Orange Park, FL, USA 30 September 2012 Jacksonville Memory Gardens Orange Park Clay County Florida, USA
Lowell, MI 49331, USA Rural Route #3

Other

Graduated

East Lansing, MI, USA B.S. - Electrical Engineering Michigan State University

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

466th BG Archives - Michael Hoover letter to Graham Dove dated 28 August 2004

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

Military biography written by Michael C. Hoover - 466th BG Archives

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

Attlebridge Arsenal - Brassfield & Wassom

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

466th BG Historian

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self & Page 300 in the book THE SECOND AIR DIVISION by Turner Publishing Company, 1998 edition, D790.A2S45

Michael Clarence Hoover: Gallery (3 items)