8th Air Force
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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44-6838
B-17 Flying Fortress
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44-6838 "Spirit of Martinez"
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"Bomber Captured Spirit of City"
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Frank J Calicura greets Commander Jack Shuck before heading off for his 8th mission in March 1945. Also there to exchange words with Frank is Statistical Officer David Olsson who shares the same hometown as Frank, Martinez, Calif. USA
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E. T. O 14/02/1945
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Mission #1 Chemnitz
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the "Spirit of Martinez" or "Cal Rascals" crew at base in Horham, UK circa 1945
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Delivered Hunter 27/11/44; Grenier 16/12/44; Assigned 335BS/95BG [OE-E] Horham 1/1/45; battle damaged Chemnitz 6/2/45 with D.V. Tregoning, force landed B-53, Merville, Bel. then rep; 53m, Returned to the USA Bradley 21/6/45; Sth Plains 23/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 19/12/45. CAL'S RASCALS aka THE SPIRIT OF MARTINEZ.
The “Spirit of Martinez” “our very own Flying Fortress Bomber” piloted mostly by Martinez native Lt. Frank Calicura of the 8th Air Force, 95th BG in Europe. The citizens of Martinez raised $800,000 in war bonds so Frank was granted permission to name a plane after his home town. The crew flew 28 bombing missions over Germany and 3 food supply drops over Holland.
Service
Units
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3rd Air Division
Division
In December 1944, the 3rd Bomb Division was redesginated the 3rd Air Division. -
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95th Bomb Group
Group
The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August... -
335th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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John Barnes
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
John Barnes was born January 31, 1922 in Philadelphia, PA, the son of Leonard and Gertrude Barnes of Emporium, PA . He received his undergraduate and Ph.D from Penn State University. He served in WWII as the navigator of the “Spirit of Martinez with... -
Earle Bogacki
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner ; Flight Engineer | 95th Bomb Group
Earle Bogacki was born Sept. 14, 1. He was a graduate of South High School in Cleveland. Mr. Bogacki served in the Army Air Corps being assigned to a B-17 Bomber crew and eventually an assignment in Europe that last 31 missions over Germany. Earle was... -
Robert Brown
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 95th Bomb Group
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Frank Calicura
Military | First Lieutenant | B-17 Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
Frank Calicura served as a pilot with the 95th Bomb Group. ... -
Robert Collins
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
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Dale Ernest
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
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Marvin Markus
Military | Technical Sergeant | Togglier | 95th Bomb Group
Marvin was born on May 19, 1925 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. While in high school, he was active in FFA and was president of the Kingfisher County FFA from 1942-1943. After graduation, he volunteered into active duty in the U.S Army Air Corps and received... -
Victor Probst
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
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James Titus
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
Missions
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8AF 830
14 February 1945
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832
15 February 1945
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835
19 February 1945
1,100 Heavies Hit Nazi Rails ... -
836
20 February 1945
"Continuing their offensive against the Nazi communications, 900 Fortresses of the 8th Air Force, attacking in two giant waves, thundered over Nuremberg yesterday to shower the cities huge railway yards and locomotive repair shops with more than 11,000... -
841
22 February 1945
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847
25 February 1945
"The Aerial Sledgehammer fashioned by bombers of the 8th and 15th Air Forces and the RAF fell on German communications and fuel supplies for the forth day in a row yesterday as 1,150 Fortresses and Liberators of the 8th hit railyards, airfields, an oil... -
861
3 March 1945
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883
12 March 1945
Heavies Hit Near Rhine, Along Baltic ... -
886
14 March 1945
"1,250 Heavies Strike Tanks, Gun Factories Near Hanover" ... -
898
20 March 1945
Narrative - Official Air Force Mission Description ...
Places
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Horham
Military site : airfield
Horham airfield was planned and built for RAF use, but handed over to the Eighth Air Force and used initially by the 47th Bomb Group. When they joined the Twelfth Air Force in January 1943, it became home to the B-26 Marauders of the 323rd Bomb Group....
Events
Not yet known
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 01 July 2019 03:03:16 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to markings, description and place associations |
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owner of source material |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 September 2018 05:00:45 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to mission associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 September 2018 19:49:47 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to unit associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 September 2018 04:27:30 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to nicknames and markings |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 September 2018 06:19:33 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
https://www.martinezhistory.org/History/mtzcanteen/mtzcanteen.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 September 2018 08:18:54 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to mission associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 September 2018 07:55:14 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to unit associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 September 2018 05:45:29 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to markings |
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https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/44-6838-spirit-of-martinez/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 September 2018 04:06:50 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to nicknames |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 September 2018 03:17:51 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to person associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:44:32 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to manufacturer and nicknames |
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owner of source material |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:43:02 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to unit associations |
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original owner of source material |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:32:15 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to aircraft associations |
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owner of original source material |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:30:54 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to aircraft associations |
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owner of original material on subject(s) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:29:26 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to unit associations |
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original owner of source material. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 September 2018 05:20:53 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to person associations |
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original owner of source material on subject(s) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 August 2018 11:16:10 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to unit associations |
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Associated Group |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 August 2018 03:09:50 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to nicknames |
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based off multiple sources and images |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:41:54 | AAM | AAM ingest |
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Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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