B-17 Flying Fortress
B17F 41-24478 assigned 369BS/306BG Westover 19-Aug-42; Thurleigh 13-Oct-42; Missing in Action 23-Nov-42 while on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St Nazaire, France. Flak and German fighters KO’d engines #1 & #2 and 10ft off end of left wing. Crashed near Piriac, France. 8KIA 2POW MACR 15392
P 1Lt. Clay E. Isbell (KIA); CP 2Lt Dyer Fulton (KIA)
N 1Lt Peter J. Fryer (POW); B 2Lt Abraham L. Burden (POW)
E/TTG TSgt Erwin Grenke (KIA); RO Sgt Robert S. Kryak (KIA)
BTG SSgt Edward Kostecki (KIA); WG SSgt Ray E. Buckmaster (KIA)
WG Sgt David W Lindsey (KIA); TG SSgt George L. Houx (KIA)
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
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23-November-1942 in B-17F 41-24478 while serving as Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Bombardier. Prisoner of War (POW).
AM POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 on 5th mission over St. Nazaire, France, while serving as Navigator. Aircraft was attacked by FW 190's and took direct hits on the left engines. He bailed out just north of St. Nazaire. He was captured...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Co-Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Tail Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Radio Operator. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24478 while serving as Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA).
23 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are the Primary (P) for this mission. A combined force of 50 B-17s despatched from 91BG (10), 303BG (12), 305BG (20) and 306BG (8) to attack this target. 91BG is not able to put any of their group on the target,...
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Piriac-sur-Mer, France | 23 November 1942 |
|
10 foot section of left wing shot away by German aircraft. Crashed near Piriac, France |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 01 December 2014 23:15:50 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 1-Dec-2014. Edited description with military-style dates, mission objective and loss details per MACR 15392. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 November 2014 18:33:41 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 7-Nov-2014. Complete names added from Missing AIr Crew Report (MACR) 15392. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:02 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15392 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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