Ellera J Corwin
Military303rd Bomb Group Website (303rdbg.com)
Ellera volunteered for military service as the US entered the war, and aimed to serve in the Army Air Corps. Eventually he went through navigator school, completed it, and served on the B-17 numbered 42-5262 (PU-F) 303BG/360BS.
9-Feb-42 Assigned as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. 303BG records do not indicate that he was in the original complement of aircraft and crews of the 303BG at Molesworth, UK in October 1942. It seems likely that he was part of a replacement crew and was processed through one of the Combat Crew Replacment Centers prior to his assigment with the 303BG.
Shot down over the Bay of Biscay on March 6th, 1943, Ellera survived substantial shrapnel wounds and was ocean-bound on a liferaft until he and the surviving B-17 crewmen were picked up.
An excerpt of mission #20 to Lorient, France, from the 303rd Bomb Group's website, 303rdbg.com:
"Lt Plocher reached a life raft where Lt's Corwin and Kahlden, with their life jackets on, were bobbing in the water. Lt Plocher boarded the life raft and pulled the other two aboard. They then spotted the other life raft with five crewmen aboard. They managed to tie the two rafts together. As the sun began to set, the crew heard an aircraft. A German fighter spotted them and flashed its landing lights before veering away. Around midnight, all of the crew shivering from the cold and wet after floating for 12 hours, saw a light sweeping the water some distance away. A loud and clear English speaking voice asked who we were. Again the voice spoke and was recognized as having a German accent. The German vessel approached the rafts and lowered a 30-foot ladder. Lt Plocher was the last crewman to make the climb. The seven surviving crewmen spent the next 26 months as POWs. Wounded Tail Gunner, S/Sgt Tornow, was repatriated by the Germans."
Participated in 3 Operations (NO aborts) See Biogrpahy events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1943
- Date: 27 February 1943
- Date: 26 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 9 February 1943 | Assigned as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. |
Other Mission #1, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK |
Other Mission #2, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Brest, France | 27 February 1943 | Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the port area and U-Boat pens at Brest France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - POW |
Lorient, France | 6 March 1943 | Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft was shot down by fighters but the pilot managed to ditch the aircraft into the Bay of Biscay. He and 7 other airmen were able to get in rafts and were eventually captured by the Germans. Two other crew were KIA in the attack. |
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 1 |
Moosburg, Germany | 7 March 1943 - 13 October 1943 | Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria until 13-Oct-43, then relocated to Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria until liberted by American forces on 15-Apr-45. |
Other Last Report Date - Discharged |
8 June 1945 | Evacuated to the United States and Discharged. | |
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 2 |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 13 October 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria until liberated by the 3rd Army (Patton) on 15-Apr-45. |
Born |
Minnesota, USA | Minnesota | |
Based |
Molesworth | 6 March 1943 |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Last Report Date event per NARA WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added POW-Camp 2 event per NARA WWII POW database and historical records of Stalag 7A.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added noted to POW-Camp 1 event per NARA WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/020.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 27-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/018.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Personnel Roster: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Missions; Added Assignment statement and Participations statement to Summary Biography per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Personnel Roster; http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunnungham 3-Jul-2015. Added Decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added unit and crew position to Description per MACR 15536.
Re-associated the photograph of Ellera Corwin with his record.
NordicFox - I think that it might not have shown up the first time you did it because you were editing the Person record at the same time as the Media record. The archive can't make an association with a record that is in the edit mode.
I am Ellera's grandson, and have performed extensive research into his service with the 303rd bomb group.
Lots of info from www.303rdbg.com
MACR 15536 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database