B-17 Flying Fortress
Mission 94 Report, a/c 41-24498
My father, Wallace B Kirkpatrick, might be right out of navigator school.
Wallace B Kirkpatrick
Assigned 369BS/306BG [WW- ] Westover 23-Aug-42; Thurleigh 30-Oct42; Missing in Action 13-Jan-43 on a mission to bomb the railroad factories of Atclier D' Hellemmes at Lille, France. Aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target. 6KIA 4POW MACR 15634.
P 1Lt Jack A. Spaulding (KIA); CP Russell G. Kahl (POW)
N 2LT Wallace B. Kirkpatrick (POW); B 2Lt Gordon R. Grant (KIA)
E/TTG TSgt Thomas H. Gilliland (KIA) RO SSgt Edward A. Nork (POW)
BTG SSgt Dale A. Davis (KIA); LWG Sgt Earl Santos (POW)
RWG TSgt, Leon Williams (KIA); TG SSgt Louis R. Morgan (KIA)
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 369BS/306BG [WW- ] Westover 17-Aug-42; Thurleigh 2-Oct-42; Missing in Action 13-Jan-43 on a mission to bomb the railroad factories of Ateliers D'Hellemmes at Lille, France. Due to a mid-air collision with 41-24498, aircraft was sliced in two...
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 | Air Gunner, Togglier/Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 26 November 1943 in B-17 #42-30832, Prisoner of War (POW). He was a POW from 26 Nov 1943 to 04 May 1945 at Stalag 17B, Krems, Austria. Prisoner of War (POW) no. 100388.
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the intended target at Lille, France. He was unable to escape the doomed...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the intended target at Lille, France. He was killed in the...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Bombardier the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target at Lille, France. He was killed in the collision. Killed in Action ...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Pilot the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 42-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target at Lille, France. He parachuted to safety and was captured. Prisoner of War...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Navigator the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target at Lille, France. He was able to parachute to safety and was captured....
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Tail Gunner the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the intended target at Lille, France. He was unable to bale out of the doomed...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13-Jan-43 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Radio Operator the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" just north of the target at Lille, France. He parachuted to safety and was captured. Prisoner of War (POW)
...
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-244471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target of Lille, France. He parachuted to safety and was captured. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-244898 while serving as Co-Pilot the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" just north of the target at Lille, France. He was killed in the collision. Killed in Action (KIA).
13 January 1943
The primary target for this mission is the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works, associated steel works and the railroad marshalling yards at Lille, France. The attacking force is composed of 72 B-17s from: 91BG (13); 303BG (19); 305BG (23) and 306BG ...
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) | Marcq-en-Barœul, France | 13 January 1943 |
|
Aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" near Lille, France. Both aircraft crashed at Marcq-en-Baroeul, France. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 19 January 2015 19:13:58 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 19-Jan-2015. Made connections with Place and Mission within existing website data; Added FTR description per "Losses of the 9th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; Added target information to Description per "USAAF Combat Chronology" Jack McKillop; added crew position, rank, full proper name and disposition per MACR 15634; formatted crew display. |
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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 15634 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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