William Francis Sears

Military

Shot down 1 December 1943 in B-17 42-30033 'Little America. ' Prisoner of War (POW). Earlier 10/14/43 on return from Schweinfurt mission, B17 42-5852 'The Natural' ' crashed at Oxfordshire with crew baling out near RAF Oakley. 5 of the crew were injured with all returning. Originally Sears was unaccounted for, but had slept at Magdalen College Oxford. 12 June 1943 involved in an accident on a formation training flight in B17 42-30131piloted by F. J. Witt.



POW

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 384th Bomb Group.

384th Bomb Group

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

Aircraft

42-30033

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Little America
  • Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron 547th Bomb Squadron

42-30131

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: No 1 Combat Crew Replacement Center 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Germany 1 December 1943

Revisions

Date
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=4739;
Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Date
Contributorbombercommand
Changes
Sources

http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=4739

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1335 / MACR 1335, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 147, 341, 404 , http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=… / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database