Bruce K Bockstanz
Military
Personal Estate of Norman F. Christian
Object Number - UPL 37882 - Left - T/Sgt. Joseph K. Duplechain (Engineer), Center - 2nd Lt. Joseph Bernstein (Bombardier), Right - 2nd Lt. Bruce K. Bockstanz (Navigator)
Prisoner of War (POW) Shot down by flak and crashed at Koblenz in B-17 Silver Slipper #4232045 This plane was the first B-17 without camuflage paint in the European Theater. The pilot kept the plane in the air for 40 minutes by 'burning altitude'and running remaining engines 'on red' then held the fortress steady until all tin crewmen were able to bail out. b
POW/Air Medal/ETO
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Silver Slipper
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
|||
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
19 July 1944 |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7411 / Mighty Eighth Air Force Heritage Museum Membership List, July 2000; MACR 8411; self; Snetterton Falcons, pg 169, 178, 318 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
