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Military
He reported to group on 27 Mar 1942. He graduated Pilot class 42-B at Brooks AAB, TX.
Shot down 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24471 'Four of a Kind. ' KIA. Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces gives reason for crash as a mid-air collision with B-17 41-24498 occurring 3 miles north of Lille.
Military | Major | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
He flew on James Johnston crew. Reported to the ETO on 27 Mar 1942. Completed 31 missions. 22 June 1944 Completion of Operational Tour. He led 18 wing missions. He was the Squadron Operations Officer in the 369th BS from 01 Dec '43 to 18 Apr '44....
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24471 'Four of a Kind' while serving as Navigator the aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24498 306BG/369BS which broke the aircraft in two just north of the target of Lille, France. He was either...
Military | Captain | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
He was an original crew member of the Group.
...
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 369BS/306BG [WW- ] Westover 17-Aug-42; Thurleigh 2-Oct-42; Missing in Action 13-Jan-43 on a mission to bomb the railroad factories of Ateliers D'Hellemmes at Lille, France. Aircraft was sliced in two and the crew members were trapped in the...
13 January 1943
The primary target for this mission is the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works, associated steel works and the railroad marshalling yards at Lille, France. The attacking force is composed of 72 B-17s from: 91BG (13); 303BG (19); 305BG (23) and 306BG ...
Military site : airfield
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Bloomfield, Indiana, USA | |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | Marcq-en-Barœul, France | 13 January 1943 |
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Killed when the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24498 306BG/369BS just north of the target at Lille, France. Aircraft crashed at Marcq-en-Baroeul, France. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) does not have a listing for this airman as being interred in any American cemetery in Europe. Given the circumstances it is highly probable that his remains were never recovered. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 19 January 2015 19:47:42 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 19-Jan-2015. Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data. Added KIA event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A Hey MBE; also reference MACR 15502. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:48 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15502 / MACR 15502, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey, p. 63, First Over Germany pg. 23, 63 & 324; http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/wardept/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=991250... / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pic... |
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