B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 13/12/43; Kearney 30/12/43; Grenier 29/1/44; Assigned 563BS/388BG Knettishall 9/2/44; battle damaged Frankfurt 5/1/45 with Jim Ruether, Co-pilot: Ray Helminiak, Radio Operator: Ray Ward (3 RTD – all WIA); Navigator: H.W. Swanson, togg-J. Haskett, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Fred Thielske, Ball turret gunner: Martin Smith, Waist gunner: A. Kiss, Tail gunner: Virgil Koon (6 Killed in Action); flak burst in heavy cloud and attempted to drop down for home, crash landed RAF Hawkinge, Kent, UK; Salvaged 6/1/45. MARY'S SISTER.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 20/5/44; Kearney 29/5/44; Grenier 7/6/44; Assigned 525BS/379BG Kimbolton 19/6/44; 527BS; hit when parked at RAF Colerne by 42-97528 (351BG) 19/12/44; twice force landed on continent 3/45 but repaired and back onto operations;...
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 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Squadron
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Placido was one of 5 sons of Placido and Diluvina Andrade, a 5-Blue Star Family from Los Angeles, CA. Placido and his brothers, Albert-USA, Leonard-USA, Alfred-USA, and Danny-USN, all served during World War II. Placido was an original crew member of ...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Technical Sergeant | Bombardier; Togglier | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 5 January 1945
PH
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Co-Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Raymond Helminiak served as a pilot with the 563rd Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Knettishall, England. He was Wounded in Action (WIA) in February 1945 when, after flying his shell-damaged aircraft back to the UK, it...
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Wounded in Action (WIA)
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) in B-17 #42-97528 "Mary's Sister".
PH
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) in B-17 #42-97528 "Mary's Sister".
PH
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) in B-17 #42-97528 "Mary's Sister".
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
WIA
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 June 2021 17:09:49 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added an association to the 8th AF. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 June 2021 21:54:55 | jmoore43 | Changes to production block number, manufacturer and description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 October 2015 19:39:03 | ram957 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
388th BG Association Records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:41:13 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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