Robert Orval Davis
MilitaryRobert Davis was Navigator on B-17 “Sac Hound” 42-31467 when it was shot down by German Me109 fighters over Belgium on the 2 March 1944 mission to Frankfurt, Germany. MACR 2742. He managed to evade capture, helped by Belgian citizens and members of the Resistance. Sheltered in many places in Belgium, he was liberated by American troops at the beginning of September 1944, while hidden in Châtelineau, near Charleroi, Belgium. Escape & Evasion Report E&E 2116. See the story of his evasion at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fdavisro.html .
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: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17072159 at enlistment, then O-685775
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17037059
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15340143
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35348050
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15063833
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Sac Hound
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 2 March 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Benefield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
13 August 1920 | McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States | |
Enlisted |
12 May 1942 | Baltimore, Maryland, United States | |
Other Bailed out |
2 March 1944 | of B-17 42-31467 “Sac Hound” over Belgium | |
Other Landed in parachute |
2 March 1944 | in Falaën-Saint-Gérard, near Mettet, Belgium | |
Other Evaded capture |
2 March 1944 - 10 September 1944 | helped by Belgian citizens and members of the Resistance | |
Died |
2 May 2001 | Apex, Wake County, North Carolina, United States | |
Scottdale, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States |
Revisions
MACR 2742
NARA WWII Enlistment records
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 2116
Research for his page at www.evasioncomete.org
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2742 / MACR 2742, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=1212 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database