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Military
"Lt. Shoup and crew of the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, beside the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Miss Manooki'. England, 20 November 1943." Rear L-R: Lt's Noel E. Shoup, Walter E. Ulbricht, Byron F. Clark, James Litherland. Front L-R: Sgt's Harry Conray Ross, William L. Hostetter Jr, Donald Bernard Harrison, Nick Asvestos, Ben W. Bragg, Robert T. Gribble.
Assigned to 359BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 17 x combat missions. 11-Feb-44, brakes failed on landing at RAF Shoreham, Sussex, overshooting the runway and hitting a guard shack in B-17G 42-31314 'Scorchy'. RTD. Mission target was Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Failed to Return (FTR) Bois-Coquered in B-17F 42-5306; Shot down by flak and crashed SW of Abbeville 28-Feb-44. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2863
Awards: AM, PH
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 359BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 21 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bois-Coquered in B-17F 42-5306; Shot down by flak and crashed SW of Abbeville 28-Feb-44. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2863
Awards: AM (2OLC), PH
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 19/10/43; Gr Island 1/11/43; Memphis 2/11/43; Assigned 359BS/303BG [BN-E] Molesworth 18/11/43; ex-Frankfurt 11/2/44, with Howard Dahleen, Co-pilot: Chas Rice, Navigator: Russ Klingensmith, Bombardier: Ray Gauthier, Flight engineer...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 16/11/42; New Castle 9/12/43; Assigned 367BS/306BG [GY-P] Thurleigh 1/1/43; in taxi accident at base with Warren Grey 27/6/43; transferred 359BS/303BG [BN-Q] Molesworth 25/9/43; Missing in Action Pas De Calais 28/2/44 with Noel Shoup,...
Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Greenville, Ohio | 8 December 1922 |
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Son of Ormal Francis and Mindie Talitha [Whitaker] Ross. |
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| Enlisted | Cincinnati, OH | 6 January 1943 |
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Cincinnati Ohio |
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| Based | Molesworth | November 1943 – 28 February 1944 |
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Assigned to 359BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | SW of Abbeville, France | 28 February 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) Bois-Coquered in B-17F 42-5306; Shot down by flak and crashed SW of Abbeville 28-Feb-44. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 2863 |
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| Buried | WWI cemetery Abbeville, France | 2 March 1944 |
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Interred |
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| Buried | Abbottsville Cemetery Abbottsville, Darke County, OH | 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 October 2019 18:47:11 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/89115857-harry-c-ross |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 October 2019 18:44:15 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/89115857-harry-c-ross |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:12:19 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2863, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces |
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