Samuel L Edwards
Military
L-R: S/Sgt Edwards, Swanson, Capt Griffin, 1Lt Effinger, Lt Taylor.
L-R: T/Sgt Eason, S/Sgt Henderson, T/Sgt Schwartz, S/Sgt Wiegand, S/Sgt Plummer.
Object Number - UPL 31586 - Captain Griffin and lead crew on bombing mission to Villa Coublay, France, beside Boeing B-17, "Flying Fortress" "Lady Luck". 303rd Bomb Group....
13-Jun-42 Assigned as an Aerial Gunner on B-17 42-5434 [PU-J] "Lady Luck" 360BS, 303BG at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. The date of his arrival at Molesworth, UK nor the aircraft on which he arrived there could not be determined from 303BG records. His first combat mission was as Right Waist Gunner of B-17 41-24559 "Ooold Soljer", 360BS, 303BG on 14-Feb-43 but severe cold and terrible weather forces Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation.
18-Marc-43, went on mission to Vegesack, Germany, a strongly fortified shipbuilding region. B-17 42-5723, 360BS, 303BG piloted by 1st Lt Loyd D. Griffin returned from mission with an excellent wheels up landing in a field about 4 miles from Molesworth. Crew suffered no injuries.
Mission Participations (UNDER CONSTRUCTION) See Biography events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ooold Soljer
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Bobs Boudoir : Lady Luck
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 31 March 1943
- Date: 28 March 1943
- Date: 22 March 1943
- Date: 18 March 1943
- Date: 13 March 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 13 June 1942 | Assigned as an Aerial Gunner on B-17 42-5432 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
|
Other Mission #1, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 41-24559, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 41-24559 "Ooold Sojer", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. Severe cold and weather forced Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 41-24559, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 16 February 1943 | Served as Left Waist Gunner on B-17 41-24559 "Ooold Sojer", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #7, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Rouen, France | 28 February 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5434, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 | Served as Left Waist Gunner on B-17 52-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rotterdam, Holland. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #4, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Rennes, France | 8 March 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rennes, France, RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #5, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Amiens, France | 13 March 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Amiens, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #6, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Bremen-Vegesack, Bremen, Germany | 18 March 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat construction yards at Vegesack, Germany. The aircraft sustained battle damage but the pilot managed to fly the damaged aircraft back to England and made a wheels-up landing in a field. He was not injured and he Returned to Duty RTD) OK. |
|
Other Mission #7, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 22 March 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17 42-5434, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #8, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Rouen, France | 28 March 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5434, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen. France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #8, SSGT Samuel L. Edwards, W/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 31 March 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner on B-17 42-5434, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the shipyards at Rotterdam, Holland. RTB OK. |
Revisions
http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/027.pdf
ASN (33190106) attributes to Bernard Littman ??
Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography" - "combat" was misspelled.
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #9 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 31-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/027.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #8 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 28-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/026.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/026.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #8 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 28-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/026.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/025.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/024.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 13-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/022.pdf
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Made connectiond to Aircraft 42-5434 and Missions of 13-Mar-43, 18-Mar-43, 22-Mar-43, 28-Mar-43 and 31-Mar-43 per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Mission Reports for dates stated: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 8-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/021.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 4-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/019.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 16-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/016.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 14-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added inital assignment info to Summary Biography; Made connections to Place, Aircraft (through 12-Mar-43) and Missions (through 12-Mar-43) per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey, pp. 91-92, 303rd web site
