Joe Gray
Military | Captain | Navigator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Navigator. Killed in Action (KIA).
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Military
As a bombardier, Erickson occupied the glass cabin in the B-17's nose. It was his job to release the bombs accurately over the target.
The son of a steam railroad engineer from Mankato, Minnesota, Erickson only completed eight mission. In October 1942, his friend Lieutenant Ben Rushing recorded in his journal: 'Erickson was lost. He went in someone else's plane and happened to [have] hard luck. You begin to realise that it is war when they get your best buddies... I can hardly realise that he is definitely lost... May his soul rest in peace.'
However Erickson did not die: he was captured and became a Prisoner of War for nearly three years.
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17F 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Bombardier. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Captain | Navigator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Navigator. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis' as a Waist Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW)
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17F 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Radio Operator. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
On 12 August 1942, a fire in a/c B-17E 41-9115 forced crew to bail out during a training flight.
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as a Waist Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 97th Bomb Group
Served with the 97th Bomb Group from June 1942 to July 1943. Kept a journal of his service which has been transcribed by his relatives at http://drbenspice.com/spiceblog/wednesday-october-21-1942/
Military | Captain | Pilot / Intelligence, S-2 Officer | 379th Bomb Group
On 14 August 1942, a fire in B-17E #41-9115 forced crew to bail out during a training flight. All Returned to Duty (RTD)
...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17F 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Co-Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Tail Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA)
Group
The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 326BS/92BG at Bangor 31-Jul-42; Transferred to 326BS/97BG Polebrook 12-Aug-42. Missing in Action 21-Oct-42 while on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient . 6KIA 4POW. FRANCIS X.
...
21 October 1942
German U-Boat pens are Lorient, France are the Primary (P) targets for this mission along with the German airfield at Cherbourg, France. 93BG despatches 24-B-24s to Lorient, but cloud cover prevents them from bombing. The main attack force to Lorient...
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Event | Location | Date |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
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12 February 2020 16:00:03 | Emily | Changes to biography |
Sources | ||
IWM, Somewhere in England, p 47 |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
22 March 2019 10:57:15 | ED-BB | Changes to person associations |
Sources | ||
Conections with other crew members |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2015 18:58:53 | Jenny | Changes to middlename |
Sources | ||
His enlistment record gives his middle name as 'R' but Find a grave says 'C'. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
17 November 2014 21:43:00 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography and events |
Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 17-Nov-2014. Added POW event details. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 October 2014 19:05:21 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to service number, biography, events, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 27-Oct-2014. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:12:27 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
97th Bomb Group Association, Inc., Roster - June 1, 2000; Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1, p. 38 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |