41-24441 Francis X
From family archive
Object Number - UPL 23777 - Crew of 124441 - Francis X
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 . 6 KIA 4 POW. FRANCIS X.
P 2Lt Francis Schwartzenbeck (KIA) CP 1Lt William L. Tingle (KIA)
N Capt Joe H. Gray, Jr. (KIA); B 2Lt Harry R. Erickson (POW)
E/TTG TSgt William T. Lynch (KIA); RO Sgt Kenneth K. Laud (POW)
BTG Sgt Mitchell Small (KIA): WGSgt Kenneth V. Maeran (POW)
WG Sgt Ned R. Herzstam (POW); TG Sgt George Whitham, Jr. (KIA)
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft on fire, flying about 500 ft above the ground, and reported that no one had bailed out.
Connections
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Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 342nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12043729
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 97th Bomb Group 342nd Bomb Squadron 526th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12029080 at enlistment, then O-435706
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot / Intelligence, S-2 Officer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 342nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19013914
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 342nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 11023751 / O-437899
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 342nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12025350
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Places
Missions
Revisions
Added Some Punctuation in the A/C "Biography Description" to aid readability.
Information from the journal of Ben Rushing (97th Bomb Group, and a friend of Harry Erickson), transcribed by his family on their blog
Corrected 'George Whitman Jr' to 'George Whitham Jr': https://abmc.gov/node/546480#.Wo_tE01LGM8
Lee Cunningham 17-Nov-2014. Formatted Description for crew and edited entry for consistency; Added MIA event details.
Lee Cunningham 27-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A Hey MBE; "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" Roger A Freeman & David Osborne; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)