Edward C Sharpe

Military

While serving as Aerial Gunner on B-26B-15 MA 41-34971 'Pay Off ' the aircraft was engaged by flak and attacked by a German FW-190 fighter while on a mission to attack the German airfield of Beaumont Le Roger, France. The attack set the right engine on fire. SSGT Sharpe was able to bail out of the stricken aircraft at minimal altitude and quickly captured as a Prisoner of War. He had landed in the middle of a Panzer Divisional field headquarters! He landed very hard with his parachute barely deploying. Surrounded by Germans, he remained on the ground until a local French boy offered him a chair to sit on. He was then taken to Frankfurt for initial interrogation. The aircraft crashed one mile northeast of Brionne near Rouen, France August 22, 1943. 386th BG was part of the 8th BG from July-October 1943

Connections

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Units served with

Lieutenant James T. Wilson and Lieutenant Robert J. Owen of the 386th Bomb Group in the cockpit of their B-26 Marauder. Image stamped on reverse: 'Not to be published.' [stamp], 'Ministry of Information 19 Aug 1943.' [stamp] nand '279545.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'AT THE US MARAUDERS BASE. The B-26 Marauders, American super medium bombers are operating now from bases in Britain. This series of pictures shows various scenes at the airfield where the ground crew and the fliers work together
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Ninth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

Major Thomas I Ramsey of the 386th Bomb Group with a B-26 Marauder (RU-Q, serial number 41-34971) nicknamed "Pay Off". Passed as censored 30 Sep 1943, Passed for publication 2 Oct 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'America's "Red Devil" [a censor has omitted 'Red Devil'] Flyers. USP/2247-7. Major Thomas I. Ramsey, Commander of the Black Panther [ammended by censor to say 'Red Devil'] Squadron, is from Palacios, Texas, talks with a slow Texas drawl, is mild mannered but runs an efficient, well disciplined
  • Aircraft Type: B-26 Marauder
  • Nicknames: Pay Off
  • Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Krems an der Donau, Austria 22 August 1943 - 11 March 1946 Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria. Officially Returned to Military Control 11-Mar-1946. Late RMC date indicates he was probably in hospital.

Born

Revisions

Date
ContributorEdgy01
Changes
Sources

As related to me by Ed Sharpe in a teleconference.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 25-May-2015. Added SN and made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission per MACR 375; Added POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Edited Summay biography based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs by Bishop and Hey, Combat Chronology Supplement, MACR 0375