Carl Thomas Stibbens

Military

Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. Wheels-up landing at night during a training flight on 31-Mar-44 in B-17F 42-29624 'Pappy'. Returned to Duty (RTD). 32 x combat missions. 10 flown on 42-97170 'Julie Mae'. He was shot down twice over enemy lines.



Awards: DFC, WWII Victory, EAME, UN and Korean medal.



Post war: Retired from the US Air Force after 20 years of service.



From his daughter Linda:

"He never shared much about the war, other than being shot down twice behind enemy lines. He said on one occasion they were just hours from the border on another occasion he said it took them 3 days to get back."

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 379th Bomb Group.

379th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Ralph Hawkins Wells

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 15068797 / O-748485
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

42-102675

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron

42-29624

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Pappy
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 379th Bomb Group 92nd Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron 359th Bomb Squadron 527th Bomb Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortresses nicknamed "London Avenger", nicknamed "Bermondsley Battler", nicknamed "Rotherhithe's Revenge" and nicknamed "Bermondsley" of the 379th Bomb Group, 15 February 1944. Passed for publication 16 Feb 1944. Censor no: 305411. Handwritten caption on reverse: '16/2/44.' Printed caption on reverse: ' CHRISTENS U.S. FORTRESS BOMBER. Feb. 16th, 1944. As an appreciation of £800,000 raised during Bermondsey's Wings for Victory Week., the people of Bermondsey christened a U.S. Fortress bomber "

42-31228

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: London Avenger
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron

42-31592

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: No Body's Baby
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron

42-31915

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 527th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

15 November 1919 Son of John Thomas and Minnie Ola [Blakey] Stibbens.

Enlisted

19 August 1940 Bexar County, Texas

Died

25 July 2002

Buried

28 July 2002 Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas Plot: 21-2015

Based

Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Removed an empty event.

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

Removed # from A/C serial No. to aid clarity and consistency

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/629030634
https://www.fold3.com/record/78403657-carl-stibbens
https://www.fold3.com/record/83176411-carl-t-stibbens
http://8thairforce.com/members/missionsflownby.asp?perIdentification=39…
379th Bombardment Group (H) Anthology, November 1942-July 1945
379th Bombardment Group Anthology, Volume 2: November 1942-July 1945
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8615418/carl-thomas-stibbens

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Findagrave record: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8615418

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Correspondence with Carl Stibbens' daughter, Linda.

Enlistment record: https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&tf=F&q=sti…

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces