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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41-24464
B-17 Flying Fortress
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Navigator 2nd Lt. Rollin P. Ball, 324th BS, 91st BG, survived the ditching of his ship, B-17F 41-24464 "Excalibur" returning from the 4 MAR 1943 mission to Hamm. Less than three months later he would be declared MIA; returning from the 21 MAY 1943 trip to Wilhelmshaven aboard B-17F 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" with Lt. Phillip S. Fischer and crew, they would disappear over the North Sea; no trace was ever found.
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The Sedalia Democrat (Sedalia, Missouri) · 20 Apr 1943, Tue · Page 1 (continued on Page 5) (AAMIB Document #Document 50823) Lt Allen Brill, Pilot, 41-24464 "Excalibur" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Rollin Ball, Navigator, 41-24464 "Excalibur" and 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Rollin Ball, Navigator, 41-24464 "Excalibur" and 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Rollin Ball, Navigator, 41-24464 "Excalibur" and 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Rollin Ball, Navigator, 41-24464 "Excalibur" and 41-24515 "Jersey Bounce" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Allen Brill, pilot, 41-24464 "Excalibur" 324th BS, 91st BG
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Allen Brill, pilot, 41-24464 "Excalibur" 324th BS, 91st BG
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2nd Lt. Rollin P. Ball, Navigator, 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group
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Headstone for 2nd Lt. Rollin P. Ball in the Netherlands American Cemetery. Name is also included in Tablets of the Missing.
Assigned 367BS/306BG Westover 17-Aug-42; Thurleigh 13-Oct-42; transferred 324BS/91BG [DF-J] Bassingbourn 20-Feb-43; Missing in Action (MIA) 2m Hamm 4-Mar-43. Shot down by Lt Kostler (IV/NJG1) in Me 110, KO’d #1 & #3,oil pouring away before #4 was feathered ditched 40 miles west of Texel Is, Holland, in North Sea; five rescued by Royal Navy minesweeper and landed at Grimsby; EXCALIBUR. 3KIA 7RTD (Rescued by Royal Navy). No MACR issued.
P 1LT Allen Brill (KIA); CP 1LT Allan W. Lowry (KIA)
N 1LT Roland P. Ball (RTD); B 1LT Robert F. Brubaker (RTD)
E/TTG TSGT William G. Dickson (RTD); RO SSGT D. C. Wells (RTD)
BTG SSGT James E. Morgan, Jr. (KIA); WG SSGT James M. Bechtel (RTD)
WG SGT L. W. Wolfington (RTD); TG TSGT J. L. Baker (RTD)
Service
Units
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91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla... -
324th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Home of the Memphis Belle
People
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Rollin Ball
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
2LT Rollin P. Ball was Navigator on two differentt B-17s that were lost. ... -
James Bechtel
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Killed in Action (KIA) in B-17 41-24464 'Excalibur' ditched into North Sea on 4 March 1943 after repeated fighter attacks. Losses reports Bechtel survived the ditching after floating in a life raft for 7 hours before a British minesweeper picked them... -
Allen Brill
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Killed in Action (KIA) on 4-Mar-43 in B-17F 41-24464 'Excalibur', 91BG/324BS while serving as Pilot. Aircraft was ditched into North Sea 40 miles west of Texel Island, Holland after repeated fighter attacks. Plane broke in two. 7 crewmembers were... -
Robert Brubaker
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
B-17 #4124464 'Excalibur' ditched into North Sea on 4 March 1943. Returned to base. Shot down 22 June 1943 in B-17 #4229998. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft 3, moved to Nurenberg 49-11. -
William Dickson
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
B-17 #4124464 'Excalibur' ditched into North Sea on 4 March 1943. Returned to base. after being picked up by a British minesweeper. Shot down 22 June 1943 in B-17 #4229998. Killed in Action (KIA). ... -
Allan Lowry
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
On 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24506 'The Shiftless Skonk' while serving as Co-Pilot. Aircraft crashed near Watford on returning from a mission. Plane had been attacked by fighters. ... -
James Morgan
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
B-17 #4124464 'Excalibur' ditched into North Sea on 4 March 1943. The a/c had been repeatedly attacked by fighters and broke in half. Morgan along with pilot Brill and copilot Lowry was killed. The other crew members returned to base. after being... -
L Wolfington
Military | Technical Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
B-17 #4124464 'Excalibur' ditched into North Sea on 4 March 1943. Returned to base. after being picked up by a British minesweeper.
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 39
4 March 1943
After several weather-caused aborted attempts in attacking the marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany, the 8th Air Force is finally successful in attacking this target. A total of 71 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (20); 303BG (18); 305BG (12) amd 306BG (21)....
Places
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Bassingbourn
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long... -
Thurleigh
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...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Texel, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 |
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Sustained severe damage from fighter attacks and was forced to ditch in the North Sea 40 miles west of Texel Island, Holland. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 09 December 2016 18:22:02 | Al_Skiff | Changes to unit associations and person associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 June 2015 20:12:32 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 23-Jun-2015. Corrected typo in FTR notes. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 June 2015 20:11:02 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 23-Jun-2015. Added Production Block # and Manufacturer and Nickname per "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story", Roger A. Freeman; Made connections to Units, Place and Mission withing existing websitet data; Added FTR event, converted dates to military-style signification; added crew position, rank, names and dispositions per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:02 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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