Please click here for more information, there is also plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
Military
Caption : “Lt. Thornton and crew of the 92nd Bomb Group beside a Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress”. England, 15 November 1943.” (Official USAAF photo). Note : Lt Thornton was shot down with his crew on the following day’s mission to Knaben, Norway on board B-17 “Flagship” # 42-29996 - Lt Thornton is standing, 5th from left top row and the only other identifiable man is Right Waist Gunner S/Sgt Otto F. Trammer, 2nd from left top row. The others are most probably Co-Pilot 2nd Lt Whitney M. Bray; Navigator 2nd Lt David C. Besbris; Bombardier 2nd Lt Arthur A. Carmell; Top Turret Gunner S/Sgt John Geegee; Radio Operator T/Sgt Laurence E. Dennis; Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt Dean M. Sommers; Left Waist Gunner S/Sgt Charles H. Hartnett; Tail Gunner S/Sgt Rolland A. Galloway. Four others are members of the ground crew. S/Sgt Dean Sommers 1st from left top row. T/Sgt Laurence Dennis 1st on right, top row
Whitney Bray enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in Canada before the United States' entry into the conflict. He trained as a Pilot at No.4 Service Flying Training School in Saskatoon, Canada before being sent to England. After a number of operations, he was transferred to the USAAF and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb Squadron. He was Co-Pilot of B-17 # 42-29996 "Flagship" when it was shot down on the 16 November 1943 mission to Knaben, Norway. Captured by the Germans, he was a Prisoner of War (POW) and was liberated at Stalag Luft 1 after 18 months in captivity.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
David Bresbis was a Navigator in the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb Squadron. He was serving in that function on B-17 #42-29965 when it ditched for lack of fuel in the English Channel on return from the 6 September 1943 to Stuttgart, Germany. All ten men...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Arthur Carmell enlisted in the Air Corps and followed Bombardier training as a Bombardier Cadet at the San Angelo Army Air Field, Texas, Class of 1942. After completing his training, he was sent overseas and assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Laurence Dennis graduated from Farmington Community High School in the class of 1938. After his enlistment in the Air Corps in September 1941, he trained as a Radio Operator at Scott Field. Sent overseas, he was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group/407th...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
After his enlistment in August 1942, Rolland Galloway followed gunnery training. Promoted to Staff Sergent, he was sent overseas and assigned as a Tail Gunner in the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb Squadron in England. He was Tail Gunner on B-17 #42-29965...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
John Geegee enlisted in the Air Corps in July 1942 and trained first at Miami Beach, and Fort Myers, Florida. He followed gunnery courses in Goldsboro and Johnson Field, South Carolina, receiving his gunner's wings at Fort Myers, Florida. He was then...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
After 4 years of High School, Charles Hartnett started working as a mail clerk in 1940. He enlisted in July 1942 and trained as an aerial gunner. Sent overseas, he was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-17...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
After graduation from Buffalo High School in Kansas, Dean Sommers attended Chanute Junior College. Living in 1940 in Colfax, Wilson County, Kansas, he enlisted in June 1942 in Missouri and trained as an aerial gunner. Sent overseas, he was assigned to...
Military | Captain | Co-Pilot; Pilot | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Shot down on 6 September 1943 as Co=Pilot in B-17 #42-29965. Plane ditched in Channel. Returned to base. Shot down 16 November 1943 as Pilot of B-17 #42-29996 'Flagship'. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
Otto Trammer enlisted in September 1942 and trained as an aerial gunner. Sent overseas, he was assigned to the 92nd Bomb Group/407th Bomb Squadron in England. He was Right Waist Gunner on board of B-17 #42-29965, which went down in the Channel for lack...
Group
The 92nd Group sometime after arrivial in the UK converted to the role of in-theater combat crew indocrination and training. For this role, the Group traded its B-17F complement and obtained the B-17E, mostly from the 97th BG which was departing for...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 23 March 1943; Dow Field 10 April 1943; Assigned 407BS/92BG [PY-R] Alconbury 24 April 1943. Was flown by Captain Donald G. Parker on the 17 July 1943 mission to Hannover, Germany. Hit by Unteroffizier Ernst Breton of JG11, it was...
16 November 1943
This mission was directed at targets in Norway. It was composed of three elements. The first element was a combined force of 189 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 384BG (21); 303BG (20); 379BG (22); 351BG (20); 91BG (20); 381BG (22); 305BG ...
Military site : airfield
Alconbury had been constructed as a satellite airfield for RAF Upwood and Wyton and was used by RAF Squadrons: Nos. 15, 40 and 156. In preparation for the arrival of American heavy bombers, the base was developed in 1942 with the runways extended. When...
Military site : airfield
Built originally to accommodate two RAF bomber squadrons, the first USAAF unit to occupy the base was the 15th Bomb Squadron in September 1942. Podington was then used as a satellite for nearby Chelveston. Work to lengthen the runways, although this...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Illinois, United States | 24 July 1920 |
|
the son of Harry M. and Freda Rhue (Rhea) Bray |
||
| Lived in | Chicago, Illinois, United States | 1941 |
| Enlisted | 1941 | |
|
Enlisted in the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) |
||
| Transferred to the USAAF | 1943 | |
|
joined the 92nd BG/407th BS |
||
| captured | near Konsmo, Norway | 16 November 1943 |
|
Captured near Konsmo after B-17 #42-29996 was shot down on the mission to Knaben, Norway on 16 November 1943. |
||
| Prisoner of War | Barth, Germany | 16 November 1943 – May 1945 |
|
Interned at Stalag Luft 1 in Barth, Germany. NARA WWII POW records "returned to Military control 8 June 1945". |
||
| Buried | Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California, United States | 2012 |
| Died | Stockton, California, United States | 1 July 2012 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 November 2016 11:30:31 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 1384 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:27:18 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1384 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
