Ralph Lee Dean
Military ROLL OF HONOURKilled on Mission (KOM) on 4-Oct-43 in P-47D 42-74667, 355FG/358FS. His aircraft sustained heavy damage from German fighters while on a mission to escort bombers attacking at Frankfurt, Germany. 1LT Dean managed to fly the crippled aircraft back to England and crashlanded at Monkton, Kent, UK. He was severely injured in the crash and died in hospital a few hours later.
Awards: PH.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 358th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 4 October 1943
Places
![P-51 Mustangs of the 355th Fighter Group break formation, ready for landing, over the ground support vehicles and control tower of Steeple Morden Airfield. Image signed on reverse with the approval of station censor. Handwritten caption on reverse: '355 FG Steeple Morden, Control Tower, read crew + P41 [sic] group peeling off for landing.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377141.jpg.webp?itok=zxxvSLfB)
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
21 August 1920 | ||
|
Enlisted |
6 January 1942 | ||
|
Died Killed on Mission (KOM) |
10 April 1943 | Died in hospital a few hours after crashlanding his aircraft that had been damaged on a bomber escort mission. No burial information was located. | |
|
Based |
10 April 1943 | Assigned to 358FS, 355FG, 8AF USAAF. | |
|
Buried |
Berea Cemetery Berea, Madison County, KY |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 2-Jul-2015. Added all information to this record per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Combat Chronology / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia