Charles Kinsey
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
20 Dec 43 B-17 developed oxygen problems and Bombardier Bloom died. Kinsey returned the plane to England.
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Military
Prisoner of War (POW) Hit by flak and crashed near Caen on 8/8/44 in B-17 #42-102669. Flew 32 missions. Lt. Sidney Wolfe was the original crew when he arrived at Thurleigh. Lt. Herbert Bloom and Kepler flew their first mission with Lt. Charles J. Kinsey, Jr. On 4 Jan 1944 they flew their first mission as a crew [S. Wolfe crew]. His heated suit shorted out and his face and hand was frostbit. He was grounded for a few days. On 5 Jan 1944 the crew went back to Kiel and was shot down, without Kepler. When Andrew Kata's crew arrived to the squadron, they were short a waist gunner and then Kepler was assigned to his crew. They were shot down on their last mission to Caen, France.
POW, AM OLC, DFC,
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
20 Dec 43 B-17 developed oxygen problems and Bombardier Bloom died. Kinsey returned the plane to England.
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
Delivered Cheyenne 24/3/44; Kearney 15/4/44; Grenier 29/4/44; Assigned 369BS/306BG [WW-G] Thurleigh 24/5/44; Missing in Action Cauvincourt, Fr 8/8/44 with Andy Kata, Co-pilot: George Simons, Navigator: Ray Bleker, togg-Phil Mundell, Flight engineer/top...
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 |
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Born | Bloomington, Illinois, USA | 10 February 1923 |
Prisoner of War (POW) | Germany | 8 August 1944 – 24 May 1945 |
Died | 8 July 2011 | |
Buried | Christian County, Illinois, USA | |
Adams Gorden Cemetery |
Date | Contributor | Update |
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24 July 2020 20:29:10 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
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Added Birth and Burial info to events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 73205642. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 July 2020 19:29:29 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
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Updated POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA) |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 July 2020 19:25:47 | jmoore43 | Changes to role |
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Removed redundant data from the Role field. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
24 July 2020 19:22:24 | jmoore43 | Changes to person associations |
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Added a connection to his pilot, Charles J. Kinsey, mentioned in the "Summary biography". |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
19 April 2020 19:52:42 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
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Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency. |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
14 February 2016 21:10:23 | JCKep52 | Changes to nickname and awards |
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This information has been updated by son, James C Kepler |
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Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:13:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition MACR 8434, NARA, First Over Germany pg. 266, 306th BGA Collection, Russell Strong Index Cards, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 8434 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pic... |