8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Felix Roberson Abel
Military
'I was a Airplane Mechanic on the B-17 "Hells Angels Out of Chute 13" with the 401st Bomb Group + 612th Squadron. We were really proud of it because I finished 118 missions without an abort. It was shot up on the last mission of the war in Europe, but made it back to our base where it was junked. The next day we were assigned another plane to ferry to the States...'
Service
Units served with
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401st Bomb Group
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following... -
612th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-39993 'Hells Angels Out Of Chute 13', 'Grossly Inadequate'
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 26/10/43; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-C] Deenethorpe 1/1/44; 118m landing accident at base with Jim Nolan 7/5/45; sal 2 SAD Watton, Nfk 8/5/45. HELL’S ANGELS OUT OF CHUTE 13 aka GROSSLY INADEQUATE. ...
Associated Place
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Deenethorpe
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Dayton, TN | 30 June 1919 |
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Son of the late James Moss and Gladys [Lowry] Abel. |
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| Enlisted | Fort Oglethorpe, GA | 28 October 1942 |
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Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia |
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| Based | Deenethorpe | 1943 – June 1945 |
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Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Dayton, TN | 7 September 2015 |
| Buried | Abel Cemetery Dayton, Rhea County, TN | 10 September 2015 |
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Abel Cemetery |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 23 February 2020 21:10:13 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/87977493-felix-r-abel |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 November 2014 11:30:28 | Emily | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, unit associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Self, via American Air Museum Memory Book Correspondence. |
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