Coleman S Whitaker

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-15860.jpeg UPL 15860 B-24D - 41-23816. Black Jack, and crew. 8th Air Force, 44th Bomb Group, 68th Bomb Squadron. Pilot Lt. Coleman S. Whitaker (KIA) - Right Side. Black jack was lost. Shot down and crashed. Austria. 1 Oct 43. MACR 3312

Best Web - B-24 - 41-23816 - Black Jack

Object Number - UPL 15860 - B-24D - 41-23816. Black Jack, and crew. 8th Air Force, 44th Bomb Group, 68th Bomb Squadron. Pilot Lt. Coleman S. Whitaker (KIA) - ...

Lt. Coleman Whitaker volunteered for, and served as an RAF pilot for several months before Pearl Harbor. Later, he transferred back to the USAAF and took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to the Ploesti, Romania, oil refineries, flying the B-24D Liberator, 42-40071, Margaret Ann II. 1 Aug 43.



Lt. Whitaker was killed in action (KIA) on a mission to Weiner Neustadt, Germany, flying the B-24D, 41-23816, Black Jack. He was hit by flak in his B-24's bomb bay shortly after leaving target area. Lt. Whitaker peeled off, while quickly losing altitude as fire developed in his bomb bay. The plane broke apart and crashed in the target area. 5 KIA. 5 POW. Aircraft failed to return. FTR. 1 Oct 43. Pilot Coleman S. Whitaker. KIA. MACR 3312





Distinguished Flying Cross - Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters - Purple Heart - European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal - WWII Victory Medal

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Units served with

The insignia of the 44th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
B-24 Liberators of the 44th Bomb Group line up for takeoff at Shipdham in 1943. The 'Flying Eight-Ball' emblem of the 68th Bomb Squadron is visible on the nose of the leading aircraft. Image stamped with field press censor, 1943. Press Agency photograph- original printed caption has been removed.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 345th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-22549
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot
B-24 Pilot Lt. Claude Alvin Turner, Command Pilot of the B-24D, 42-40608, the Vulgar Virgin, on the Ploestii bombing mission to destroy the German held oil refineries in Romania. 1 Aug 43. the B-24, 42-40765, Birmingham Blitzkrieg, after a deadly and chaotic mission to Bremen, Germany -  11 KIA  13 Nov 43.  MACR  2180
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 328th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-665742
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-885920
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Black Jack
  • Unit: 98th Bomb Group 345th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Black Jack
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Margaret Ann II
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed in action

1 October 1943

Born

Petersburg, Tennessee

Buried

Revisions

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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23816 - Black Jack - 42-40071 - Margaret Ann II

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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40071 - Margaret Ann II

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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40071 - Margaret Ann II

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Best Web - B-24 - 42-40071 - Margaret Ann II

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Details added. - Kickapoo

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Punctuation. - Kickapoo

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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23816

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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23816

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Best Web - B-24 - 41-23816

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Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3312, 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties by Will Lundy p. 135, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 298 with picture of the plane; 8 Ball Tails, Vol. 13, No. 5, pg 20; 44th Bomb Group, The Flying Eightballs, pg 22

Coleman S Whitaker: Gallery (3 items)