William F Smithdeal
Military
Object Number - UPL 50529 - Lt William Smithdeal and crew. 525BS, 379BG.
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 21 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Eisenach in B-17 42-102675 11-Sep-44; crash landed in Belgium, Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 8900
11-Sep-44 mission - Eisenach, Germany (aircraft components) is where the plane was hit by flak at the target, followed the group back as far as the Rhine River and the aircraft was found abandoned in Belgium.
Awards: AM (3OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
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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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-814854
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36666279
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16153023 / O-718317
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 42003585
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
![Lieutenant Masoni of the 379th Bomb Group with Barbara Deans after crash landing his B-17 Flying Fortress in Deans' garden, 4 July 1944. Passed as censored 5 Jul 1944. Handwritten caption on reverse: '379.' Printed caption on reverse: 'Independence Day Incident[obscured] American Bomber Lands In Garden In Southern England. With two engines out of commission and several of the crew wounded by flak, an American four-engined bomber returning from an early morning raid on targets in Normandy made a belly land](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-413476.jpg.webp?itok=TzariJRq)
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 524th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 145162243
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Enlisted |
Roanoke, VA | 15 May 1942 | Roanoke, Virginia |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 11 September 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
|
Other Baled out POW |
11 September 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) Eisenach in B-17 42-102675 11-Sep-44; Baled out POW MACR 8900 | |
|
Born |
Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, USA | Son of Edward Octavius and Cordie Gertrude [Fralin] Smithdeal. | |
|
Based |
Kimbolton | 11 September 1944 | Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Revisions
Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography" - "target" was misspelled.
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
Added POW camp information from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8900 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, MACR 8900; 379th Bombardment Group Anthology, pg 322