Following recent government announcements the museum is currently closed, there is plenty to explore in our online archive.
The American Air Museum is a charity - Find out how you can support us
Military
On January 3, 1943 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-24D 41-23808 'Texan' the aircraft crashed in a field near Aberporth airfield, Cardiganshire, returning from target U/B yards (submarine) at St. Nazaire, France. Fuel shortage caused the crash. 11RTD No MACR issued.
On 15-February-1943 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-24D 41-23794 'Railway Express' the aircraft sustained severe damage from flak over the port area of Dunkirk, France and crashed in to the English Channel. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
B-24D 41-23794 "Railway Express" 44BG/67BS was despatched on 15-Feb-43 to bomb the port facilities and Dunkirk, France. The aircraft was damaged by flak over the target and crashed into the sea off the coast at Dunkirk, France. 11KIA MACR 16003.
...
B-24 Liberator
B-24D 41-24998 "Texan" was assigned to the 44BG/67BS at Shipdham, UK. The aircraft was despatched on 3-Jan-43 to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. Aircraft returned to England but ran out of fuel and crashed at Aperporth airfield,...
3 January 1943
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are once again the target for this mission. This is proving to be a particularly difficult target to destroy due to its massive, reinforced concrete design. It consists of 14 individual pens connected together in...
15 February 1943
The port area of Dunkirk, France and any merchant vessels there are designated as the primary target of this mission. A total of 23 B-24s are despatched: 44BG (17) and 93BG (6). 21 are effective on the target, but 2 from 44BG are listed MIA and another...
Military site : airfield
Shipdham was built in 1941-1942, the first US heavy bomber airfield in the English county of Norfolk. It was a standard design, with T2-type hangars and a domestic site dispersed to the south east. Improvements were carried out to increase the number...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Detroit, Michigan | |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | Dunkirk, France | 15 February 1943 |
|
Killed when aircraft was severely damaged by flak over the port area of Dunkirk, France and crashed into the English Channel. his remains rave never been recovered. |
||
| Commemorated | Liège, Belgium | 1945 |
|
Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Ardennes American Cemetery |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 31 January 2015 21:47:53 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to role, biography, awards, events, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 31-Jan-2015. Added Decorations, verified SN and Commemorated even per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; Made connections to Place, 2 Aircraft and 2 Missions within existing website data; Added KIA event, RTD event, edited Biography for chronological order and added target and loss details per "Losses of the 8th 7 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:06:33 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 16003 / MACR 16003, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 61-62,76; 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties by Lundy pp. 40, 47, The 44th BG in WWII by MacKay and Adams pp.27, 31, ABMC web site. / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
||
