Rollin P Ball
Military ROLL OF HONOURLess than three months later he would be declared MIA; returning from the 21 May trip to Wilhelmshaven aboard B-17F 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" with LT Phillip S. Fischer & crew, they would disappear over the North Sea; no trace was ever found.
Image taken from http://www.findagrave.com.
Photo:Footnote.com
Added by: Michel Beckers 2/27/2011
2LT Rollin P. Ball was Navigator on two differentt B-17s that were lost.
On 4-Mar-43 in B-17F #41-24464 "Exbalibur" 91BG/324BS while serving as Navigator the aircraft sustained damage from fighter attacks and was forced to ditch 40 miles west of Texel Island, Holland. He was rescued by a Royal Navy destroyer after spending seven hours in a life raft and Returned to Duty (RTD) He was incorrectly listed on the report as 'Roland P. Ball'
Killed in Action (KIA) on 21 May 1943 in B-17F #41-24515 'Marie Jane', 91BG/324BS while serving as Navigator. The aircraft sustained damage from AA fire and crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 3458
Air Medal, Purple Heart w/ OLC
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Missions
- Date: 21 May 1943
- Date: 4 March 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Talbot City, Maryland | 3 April 1905 | |
Other Rescued |
Texel, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 | Rescued from the North Sea by a Royal Navy destroyer when his aircraft B-17F 41-24464 was forced to ditch because of battle damage from fighter attacks. |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
North Sea | 21 May 1943 | Killed when his aircraft B-17F 41-24515 sustained damage from AA fire and crashed into the North Sea. |
Other Commemorated |
Netherlands American Cemetery, AM Begraafplaats 1, 6269 NA Margraten | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Netherlands American Cemetery. |
Revisions
Removed some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Lee Cunningham 23-Jun-2015. Added note to Summary Biography concerning service on two aricraft.
Lee Cunningham 23-Jun-2015. Added Decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monumnet Commission (ABMC) records; made connections to Place and both Aircraft and both Missions within existing website data and MACR 3458; Added Rescued event and edited Summary Biography based on "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 / MACR 3458 / MACR 3458, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I p.87, p. 128 by Bishop and Hey / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database