Donald Aagesen
Military | Captain | Pilot/Co-Pilot | 303rd Bomb Group
Donald C Aageson served as a pilot with the 303rd Bomb Group. He flew 29 missions.
...
The American Air Museum is Closed
Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
Robert W Sheets
Military
-
Captain John E Fletcher and lead crew on bombing mission to Ludwigshafen, Germany, in front of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 44-8137. 427th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group. England, 5 September 1944.
-
"Major Snyder and lead crew on bombing mission to Orleans-Bricy, France, in front of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 303rd Bomb Group, England. 5 February 1944." Rear L-R: Capt Robert W Sheets, 1Lt George T Orvis, 2Lt Dallas E Kendall, 1Lt Ingvald Magnus Iverson, Maj Edgar E. Snyder Front L-R: S/Sgt Leonard C Smith, S/Sgt James F. Donnelly, S/Sgt Francis Xavier Neuner, T/Sgt Fred T Kuehl, S/Sgt Earl J King, Sgt Joseph R Gervais
-
"Major Snyder and lead crew on bombing mission to Landsburg, Germany, beside a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 427th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group. England, 24 April 1944." Rear L-R: Unk, Unk, Ukn, Capt Robert W Sheets Front L-R: S/Sgt James F Donnelly, S/Sgt Earl J. King, S/Sgt Leonard C Smith, T/Sgt Francis Xavier Neuner, t/Sgt Fred T Kuehl
-
"Lead crew on bombing mission to Hertogenbosch, Holland, beside the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Queenie'. England, 17 Sept. 44. 303rd Bomb Group." Rear L-R: 1Lt Howard V Tollack, 2Lt John E Morrow, Capt Robert W Sheets, 1Lt F.E. Umphress Jr, 1Lt Robert P Bliss Front L-R: T/Sgt James A Ellis, Sgt Charles A Eakins Jr, Sgt Donald E Skinner, Sgt Carl K Shumar, Sgt Richard L Curry
Major Sheets joined the 427th Squadron in October, 1943, as a 2nd Lt. Because of his flying ability he soon became outstanding and it wasn't long before he was leading the squadron and then the group formations on missions. When Lt. Col. Edgar E. Snyder was relieved of his command of the squadron to become deputy group commander in November, 1944, Captain Sheets took over, receiving his promotion to major shortly thereafter. He has done a superior job in keeping the squadron's excellent record intact.
After attending the University of Oregon, Major Sheets worked in the Philippine Islands for some time. He entered the services as a private in the armed forces and later transferred to the Air Corps as an aviation cadet. He graduated and received his pilot's wings in April, 1943.
Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Service
People
-
-
Howard Bridge
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio operator | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x missions. Ended Tour Duty (ETD). Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME. -
James Clark
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 303rd Bomb Group
-
Walter Cronkite
Civilian | War Correspondent United Press | 303rd Bomb Group
War Correspondent with United Press, Cronkite was the most famous of the eight reporters sent to the European Theatre to fly with the Eighth Air Force who made up The Writing 69th. On 26 February 1943 he flew with the 303rd Bomb Group from Molesworth... -
James Donnelly
Military | Staff Sergeant | Engineer | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 31 x combat missions. Awards: WWII Victory, EAME. -
Joseph Gervais
Military | Sergeant | Photographic | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. Awards: WWII Victory, EAME -
Lon Jackman
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 20 December 1943 in B-17 #42-39764 'Santa Anna'. Killed in Action (KIA). -
Earl King
Military | Technical Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner; Radio Operator | 303rd Bomb Group
Was a member of Sheets Crew for 22 missions and also flew 7 other missions with different pilots Air Medal w/Oak Leaf Clusters/DFC/EAME Ribbon -
Charles Kopriva
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x missions. Ended Tour Duty (ETD). Awards: WWII Victory, EAME. -
Harold Mulberry
Military | Sergeant | Photographic | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. ETD Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
Units served with
-
8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. ... -
303rd Bomb Group
Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New... -
427th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
-
41-24619 S-for-Sugar
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 427BS/303BG [GN-S] Bangor 5-Oct-42; Molesworth 25-Oct-42; 52m Missing in Action Oschersleben 11-Jan- 44 with Tom Simmons, Co-pilot: Fred Reichel, Navigator: Bill Clyatt, Bombardier: Dick Vaughan, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Wallace... -
44-8137
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 18/6/44; Langley 23/7/44; Grenier 11/8/44; Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-Z] Molesworth 26/8/44; Missing in Action Aschaffenburg 21/1/45 with Dick Duffield, Dick Cambron, Gene Shipp, Tom Wilson, Ray Levine, Don Christ, Phil Hensel, John...
Missions
-
605
5 September 1944
Associated Place
-
Molesworth
Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 17 November 1918 | |
| Based | Molesworth | 1943 – 1944 |
|
Assigned to 427BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Died | Salem, OR | 21 December 2000 |
| Buried | Willamette National Cemetery Portland, Multnomah County, OR | 24 December 2000 |
|
Willamette National Cemetery |
||
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 04 March 2021 12:59:10 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, awards and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/73348833/robert-w-sheets-social-security-de... |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 October 2019 11:57:47 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to highest rank, role and biography |
| Sources | ||
Information taken from the 303rd Bomb Group Unit History. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 August 2019 23:07:45 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Added birth, death & burial info per Find-a-grave MEMORIAL #36367500. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 August 2019 11:16:56 | Dr Daniel | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
People linked to this individual added, see the official 303rd website for details: http://www.303rdbg.com/427sheets.html |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 August 2019 11:04:58 | Dr Daniel | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Aircraft added, see 303rd official website for details: http://www.303rdbg.com/427sheets.html |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 March 2017 11:17:09 | Al_Skiff | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Key image ID. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 March 2017 10:57:47 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Key image ID. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:24:18 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.303rdbg.com/427sheets.html |
||
