Robert A Coltrane
Military ROLL OF HONOUR1LT Robert A. Coltrane was assigned as a Bombardier with 1LT Charles N. Austin's crew with the 92BG (aircraft assignment has not been determined). He arrived with the crew aborad a B-17 aircraft at Bovington, UK on 18-Aug-42. On 11-Jan-43 his aircraft, crew and the entire Group was moved to the station at Alconbury, UK. On 10-Feb-43 the crew was transferred to 303BG/358BS as a replacement crew and assigned to B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga". He participated in 9 Operations - 2 Aborted with 303BG. (See Biography events)
18-Mar-43 Shot down in B-17F 41-24558 [VK:F] 'Hunga Dunga', 303BG/358BS while serving as Bombardier. Target was submarine constructions yards at Vegesack, Germany. Killed in Action (KIA).
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: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 18 March 1943
- Date: 13 March 1943
- Date: 8 March 1943
- Date: 6 March 1943
- Date: 4 March 1943
Places
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
South Carolina | 20 April 1920 | |
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Other Arrived at Station |
Bovington, Dorset, UK | 18 August 1942 - 11 January 1943 | Arrived with Austin crew 92BG at Bovington, UK. |
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Other Transferred with Group |
Alconbury, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 11 January 1943 | Transferred with aircraft, crew and Group to the station at Alconbury, UK |
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Other Transferred |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 10 February 1943 | Transferred with the Austin crew to 303BG/358BS and assigned to B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga". |
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Other Mission #1 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the industrial areas NW of Hamm, Germany, but weather forced the recall of all the 303BG aircraft despatched. |
|
Other Mission #2 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 16 February 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France (RTB OK). |
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Other Mission #3 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany but he had a faulty oxygen mask and developed altitude sickness and the Pilot was forced to abort the mission (RTB OK) |
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Other Mission #4 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS |
Brest, France | 27 February 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Brest, France (RTB OK). |
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Other Mission #5 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rotterdam, Holland (RTB OK). |
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Other Mission #6 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 42-5432, 303BG/358BS |
Lorient, France | 6 March 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 425432 "The Hunting Club", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the power station and adjacent bridge at Lorient, France (RTB OK). |
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Other Mission #7 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS |
Rennes, France | 8 March 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rennes, France (RTB OK) |
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Other Mission #8 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS |
Amiens, France | 13 March 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Ameins/Longeau, France (RTB OK). |
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Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Jade Bight, Germany | 18 March 1943 | Killed when aircraft was shot down by flak and German fighters and crashed on the sand flats of Jadebusen (Jade Bight) south of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. |
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Other Mission #9 1LT Robert A. Coltrane w/B-17F 41-24558, 303BG/358BS KIA |
Bremen-Vegesack, Bremen, Germany | 18 March 1943 | Served as Bombardier on B-17F 41-24558 "Hunga Dunga", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the submarine construction yards at Vegesack/Bremen, Germany. The aircraftr was shot down by fighters and flak. He was Killed in Action (KIA) |
|
Buried |
Geestemünde, Bremerhaven, Germany | 19 March 1943 | Buried by the Germans in the Cemetery of Wesermunde-Geestermunde, Germany. Exact loction in cemetery not determined. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #9 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 18-Mar-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/024.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #8 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 13-Mar-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/023.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 8-Mar-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/021.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 6-Mar-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/020.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 4Mar-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/019.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 27-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/018.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303Bg website Mission Report of 26-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303Bg website Mission Report of 16-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/016.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303Bg website Mission Report of 14-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added Arrived at Station event and Transferred with Group based on 92BG Station assignments "USAAF Combat Chronology", Jack McKillop;
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Maded connections to Places based on BG assigned stations; Made Connections to ALL 303
Lee Cunningham 19-Aug-2015. Added 92BG details and assigment to 303BG based on 92BG station records, "USAAF Combat Chronology", Jack Mc Killop.
Lee Cunningham 4-Aug-2015. Added Decoration and Burial event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) database; Made connection to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited Summary Biography with A/C model letter, Radio Call Letters, Unit association and crew position, per MACR 15149. Added Burial event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey, p. 91, 303rd web site