Robert L Boynton
Military
Crew #542
466th BG - 785th BS
Freddie Littleton was KIA on 28 July 1944 on his first mission, flying with the Vogel Crew to gain experience before he took his crew into combat. Talmadge C. Slaughter then took over and led this crew on it's first 5 missions to finish his combat tour. After that F.E. Wolf took over as Pilot and the crew number changed to #548
Standing Left to Right: George Bowens (WG), Warner Uphoff (R/O), Edwin Knippenberg (FE), Wayne Herndon (NG), Robert Boynton (TG), Dale Peterson (WG)
Kneeling Left to Right: Ralph Lagenfeld (B), Richard A. Gray (CP), Freddie H. Littleton (P), Al Mauzy (N)
Attlebridge Arsenal - Brassfield & Wassom
Object Number - UPL 6593 - Fred Littleton/Talmadge Slaughter Crew Crew #542 466th BG - 785th BS Freddie Littleton was KIA on 28 July 1944 on his first mission, flying with...
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: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-702297
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot/Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot/Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Splash
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Finished Combat Gunnery School |
Kilkeel, Newry BT34, UK | 18 July 1944 | "Today, 18 July, we finished school here in (Northern) Ireland. We are "sweating out" a plane to take us back to England. I wonder which bomb group we will be assigned to? All we know so far is that it will be near Norwich. That, I understand, is about 100 miles north of London. "Uppie" and the officers may already be there now. According to the reports we have received on these "rocket bombs" the Jerries are sending over, it should be a rather "hot" place. I guess a lot of personnel are "getting it" when they least expect it. - Robert Boynton A few days later he wrote that "we left Kilkeel on the 20th and flew to Attlebridge, where our new base is located. I was right, it is only about 12 miles from Norwich." |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Mourmelon-le-Grand, France | 12 August 1944 | Well we "dood" it again. I mean made a forced landing at another field. This time at Framlingham, home of the 390th BG. Out of gas again. Today we saw what the battle looked like as we went over the Cherbourg peninsula and over the front lines at Reims. Our target today was a Jerry field at Mourmelon. There didn't seem to be much of field that wasn't smoke when we finished. I guess I had the biggest scare so farwhen I found out how close I came to "getting it." It seems that a little electric junction box was all that saved me from getting a jagged piece of flak in the back. I think from now on I'll start wearing a flak suit in those areas no matter how much it weighs. Six ships didn't come back, including ours from our group. As it stands now with our return to base later, we are still missing five ships. Upon returning to the base we learned that Lt. Kinsey had returned minus four gunners who had hit the silk over enemy territory. |
|
Other Leave |
London, UK | 22 August 1944 | I have been on pass to London. Didn't do much but sure cost a helluva lot of money! Dodged a lot of buzz bombs and saw what Picadilly Commandos look like. The same as any American street walker. |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Karlsruhe, Germany | 4 September 1944 | "Well we did fly another one today, which makes an even dozen. We were going to Karlsruhe, Germany to knock out a railway marshaling yard. It's a junction point for supplies going to the Siegfried Line. It was a damn important mission, for the line is the next big stumbling block for our advancing troops, and we had to screw it up! Just before we got on the bomb run on this nine hour mission, our #2 engine blew a cylinder head and went out. Then #4 engine started smoking and #3 and a runaway supercharger, so we had to turn around and come home. It hurt to drop our bomb load into the channel instead of on Jerry. I'm pretty sure we got credit for the mission though. Kinsey is down again. Oh yeah, we got our first cluster to the Air Medal!" |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Koblenz, Germany | 9 October 1944 | Saw jet propelled fighters for the first time today. Our escort scared them off. - Lucky. |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Gelsenkirchen, Germany | 25 October 1944 | Just came back from a 3 day pass, which Dick and I spent at the "flak farm." Today we flew a mission to Gelsenkirchen, Germany to bomb an oil refinery. Saw heavier and more intense flak than we have seen for quite a while. Everyone was lucky We got a few holes in our bomb bay, but that was all. We are alerted again for tomorrow. Just waiting and sweating out "Big B." I wonder if we will hit it before we are through? Oh, yes, we got our 2nd cluster for our Air Medal today. That makes three times we have received the Air Medal. Just one to go! |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Zuiderzee, Huizen, Netherlands | 26 October 1944 | "Everything started out too well, so I knew something would happen. Our target was Bottrop, Germany but we had to abort over the Zuider Zee in Holland due to engine trouble. We had to bring our bombs back, but we got credit for the mission anyhow. The Ruhr Valley is no joke." |
|
Other Combat Mission |
Gelsenkirchen, Germany | 1 November 1944 | This guy has seen all the combat he wants to see - as of now! Too bad that doesn't mean a thing. Today we went back to Gelsenkirchen and damned if Jerry didn't jump us with fighters. Me109's, FW190's and jet propelled Me262's. Thank the good Lord for good fighter cover. Saw my first real "dog fight" of the war today. Those buzz boys of our are plenty good. Sure saved our bacon. Funny how many thoughts can pass through your head at a time like this. Some of the boys got it because I saw American 'chutes floating down over the target. Wish I had more insurance. It's getting a little rougher every trip. Some day... |
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Other Combat Mission |
Bielefeld, Germany | 6 December 1944 | "Boy was I surprised today. We went back to Bielefeld after that same damn bridge. It seems this is the 3rd time this group has been after the same target, and it has been PFF every time. Of course today was no exception, and we don't know whether we got the job done or not. No flak over the target, but we had to fly a channel between heavily protected cities going in, and they peppered us from both sides. Thank the good Lord that I haven't been flying with the "Fort" boys the last few days. Yesterday they went to Mersburg and lost 56 bombers and 30 fighters just from flak. Those are some pretty bad odds." |
Revisions
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Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL by Wassom & Brassfield, p 343