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Robert Charles Birney

Military

Bob Birney was assigned to the 547th Bomb Squadron on 5 February 1945 and completed 26 missions between 19 February 1945 and 20 April 1945.

Service

People

  • Charles Abbott

    Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 547th Bomb Squadron on AAF Station 106 Special Orders #29 dated 5 February 1945, Charles Bernard Shuff Crew. 22 combat missions.

  • Joseph Britton

    Military | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 547BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • George Cramer

    Military | Major | Ball turret gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 547BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Chas Shuff crew. 23 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Erwin Harrison

    Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 547BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Chas Shuff crew. 22 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM (2OLC), GC, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • Bernard Henricks

    Military | Staff Sergeant | Flight engineer / Top turret | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned 547BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Chas Shuff crew. 23 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.

  • George Lesko

    Military | Sergeant | Waist gunner | 384th Bomb Group
    Assigned to 547BS, 384BG, 8AF USAAF. Chas Shuff crew. 19 x combat missions. Severely wounded by flak on 22-Mar-45 returning from a mission to Westerholt, Germany in B-17 43-38630. Despite the pilot electing to land in Belgium to get assistance for...

  • Charles Shuff

    Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot, Commanding Officer | 384th Bomb Group

  • William White

    Military | 384th Bomb Group

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Units served with

  • 384th Bomb Group

    384th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 384th Bomb Group flew B-17s from Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, between May 1943 and June 1945. They were engaged in daylight bombing missions over Germany as part of the Allies' efforts to destroy the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe by...

  • 547th Bomb Squadron

    547th Bomb Squadron

    Squadron

Aircraft

  • 42-37788 HELL'S MESSENGER

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Denver 28/8/43; Scott 16/9/43; Assigned 544BS/384BG Grafton Underwood 7/11/43; transferred 547BS [SO-N]; transferred to 364FG Leiston, Sfk, UK. 11/43; Returned to the USA Bradley 14/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 17/7/45; Reconstruction Finance...

  • 42-38013 "NEVADA AVENGER"

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 26/11/43; New Castle 10/12/43; Presque Is 15/12/43; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-C] Grafton Underwood 21/1/44; sal battle damaged 27/4/44. NEVADA AVENGER. ...

  • 43-38208

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 7/7/44; Kearney 18/7/44; Grenier 4/8/44; Assigned 333BS/94BG Rougham 5/8/44; Missing in Action Merseburg 7/10/44 with George Davies, Pete Matturo, Whitman Singletary, Fred Menefree, Mark Cordell, Henry Cawood, Lt Jack Lancaster tg (7...

  • 43-38548

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 16/8/44; Lincoln 25/8/44; Grenier 12/9/44; Assigned 385BG Gt Ashfield 18/9/44; transferred to the 546th Bombardment Squadron, 384 Bombardment Group, squadron code BK-M, Grafton Underwood, Station 106 on 27 September 1944; transferred...

  • 43-38630

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 27/8/44; Hunter 17/9/44; Grenier 27/8/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-G] Grafton Underwood 7/10/44; Salvaged 13/6/45.(22/3/45?)

  • 43-38647

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Cheyenne 29/8/44; Patterson 7/9/44; Hunter 27/9/44; Grenier 8/10/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-D] Grafton Underwood 19/1/45; transferred with group to Istres on mapping duties, Salvaged 9AF Germany 10/12/45.

  • 43-38752 Little Cinder

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Lincoln 16/9/44; Grenier 30/9/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-O] Grafton Underwood 16/10/44; transferred with group to Istres for mapping duties, Salvaged 9AF Germany 10/12/45. LITTLE CINDER.

  • 43-38757 Peaslee's Payoff

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Lincoln 16/9/44; Grenier 30/9/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-L] Grafton Underwood 6/10/44; crash landed Troston AD, Sfk, UK with Wallace Davidson 8/5/45, repaired; Returned to the USA Bradley 11/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 12/7/45; 4136 BU...

  • 43-38800 BUSY BUZZARD

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Hunter 24/9/44; Grenier 2/10/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-K] Grafton Underwood 6/10/44; battle damaged Zeitz 30/11/44 with ? ; abandoned over continent; transferred with group to Istres on mapping duties, Salvaged 9AF Germany 31/10/45....

  • 43-39035

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered Lincoln 11/11/44; Dow Fd 3/12/44; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-F] Grafton Underwood 1/1/45; battle damaged Plauen, Ger 19/3/45 with Bob Griffin, crashed Reigate, Sry, UK; 9 KIA; Salvaged. ...

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Missions

  • 835

    19 February 1945
    1,100 Heavies Hit Nazi Rails ...

  • 836

    20 February 1945
    "Continuing their offensive against the Nazi communications, 900 Fortresses of the 8th Air Force, attacking in two giant waves, thundered over Nuremberg yesterday to shower the cities huge railway yards and locomotive repair shops with more than 11,000...

  • 839

    21 February 1945

  • 841

    22 February 1945

  • 843

    23 February 1945

  • 847

    25 February 1945
    "The Aerial Sledgehammer fashioned by bombers of the 8th and 15th Air Forces and the RAF fell on German communications and fuel supplies for the forth day in a row yesterday as 1,150 Fortresses and Liberators of the 8th hit railyards, airfields, an oil...

  • 851

    27 February 1945

  • 854

    28 February 1945

  • 857

    1 March 1945

  • 861

    3 March 1945

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Associated Place

  • Grafton Underwood

    Military site : airfield
    Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for...

  • Toome

    Military site : airfield
    Built during 1942-43 as a bomber OTU satellite, first to RAF Cluntoe and then to RAF Nutt’s Corner, Toome had three concrete runways, 30 pan type hardstandings, and two pairs of T2 hangars. 50 concrete 'fingers’ were added for aircraft storage during...

Events

Event Location Date
Born Westmont, New Jersey 2 May 1925
School Haddonfield Memorial High School, New Jersey 1942

Class president of 1942
Enlisted Greensboro, North Carolina 2 August 1943
Lived in Camden, New Jersey
Nationality
American
Nickname
Bob
Service numbers
O-2073028
Highest rank
First Lieutenant
Role/job
Navigator, Commanding Officer
Awards
  • Air Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
17 January 2020 15:11:01 Emily Changes to events
Sources

https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1265/43134_b182646-00017?pid=318888...
Date Contributor Update
17 January 2020 14:44:07 Emily Changes to service number, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

384th Bomb Group
Date Contributor Update
15 January 2015 23:51:24 bombercommand Changes to nickname, awards, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations
Sources

384thbombgroup.com
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:23:06 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self

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