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Military
DONALD W. STOULIL CREW - 359th BS B-17F Knockout Dropper #41-24605 (BN-R) (crew assigned 359BS: 17 Nov 1943 - photo: 28 Nov 1943) (Back L-R) 2Lt Harold A. Susskind (N), 2Lt George J. Trawicki (B), 2Lt Donald W. Stoulil (P), 2Lt Edward F. Callahan (CP), Sgt William F. Brown, Jr. (WG) (Front L-R) S/Sgt Kenneth L. Holder (BT), S/Sgt George P. Greene, Jr, (WG), T/Sgt James C. Owen (R), T/Sgt Eugene A. Romer (E), S/Sgt Calvin G. Turkington (TG)
SSgt Calvin G Turkington, On his 15th mission on 4-24-44 he was wounded in action. His crew finished their missions in June but he still had to fly. He shot down a JU-88 on his 4th mission on Jan. 11, 1944. On his 22nd mission, to Magdeberg, Germany on Sept. 28, 1944, his crew was shot down by FW-190's. Cal was killed during the first attack on their B-17. Six of the crew bailed out but only 4 made it to POW camps. Calvin was buried in Margraten Holland
alvin G. Turkington was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1914. His parents were David G. and Vernetta Z. Turkington. The Us Census 1930 shows the family in Chadron, Nebraska while the US Census 1940 has them living in Chicago. Turkington's next of kin is registered as Marie K. Jacob Turkington (wife) of Chicago.
Turkington was inducted into the military service in 1942, and was trained as an aerial gunner. He was sent overseas, and assigned to a combat crew known as the Stoulil crew in England. He flew his first combat mission on December 24, 1943.
He flew a total of 18 missions with the Stoulil crew, and 6 more with the Parker crew, but was severely wounded on April 21, 1944. While in the hospital, the mission quota was raised from 25 to 35, so his combat tour continued.
On September 28, 1944, a bomber force set out to bomb the Krupp Grunsonwerke A.G. plant at Magdeburg, Germany. Turkington was a substitute gunner on this mission. As the bomb run started, the formation was attacked by a large number of German fighters.
The aircraft was one of nine out of eleven that was shot down. Both left engines were out, gas was streaming from a ruptured wing tank, and German fighters continued to rake the B-17 with machine gun and cannon fire. Turkington was shot in the chest while in position, and crawled into the waist section where he died. The ball turret assembly was demolished, killing that gunner. An internal explosion blew the radio operator from the plane and killed him.
Six men managed to bail out and reach the ground. They were immediately captured, and one was murdered by civilians while another was murdered by German troops. As a surviving crew man attempted to aid an injured fellow crew man, he was taken away by German guards and murdered. Three managed to survive and become POWs.
The dead were buried in local cemeteries, and retrieved later by Allied troops. They were moved to other cemeteries. Sgt Turkington was moved to the American Cemetery at Margraten, Holland where he lies in Plot K, Row 8, Grave 10.
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...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 25/8/43; Scott 19/9/43; Assigned 359BS/303BG [BN-P] Molesworth 13/10/43; crash landed at base on practice flight when u/c collapsed, with Don Stoulil, Co-pilot: Ed Callahan, Navigator: Harry Susskind, Bombardier: George Trewicki,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 8/2/44; Gr Island 23/2/44; Presque Is 11/3/44; to Prestwick, UK, slated 447BG, Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-I] Molesworth 26/3/44; Missing in Action Magdeburg 28/9/44 with Bill Miller, Co-pilot: John Hill, Waist gunner: Tony Zelnio(wia) ...
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 1914 |
| Enlisted | usa | 1942 – 28 September 1944 |
| Died | Wittwar, Wolfenbuttel Germany | 28 September 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 December 2019 08:14:59 | Michelbe | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards and events |
| Sources | ||
Michel Beckers WW2CRASHSITERESEARCH |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:05:00 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 9410 / MACR 9410, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I, p. 425 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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