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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42-30237
B-17 Flying Fortress
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A crew of the 379th Bomb Group poses beside a boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Stumper Jumper' at an 8th Air Force Base in England, 16 July 1943. 42-30237 "Stump Jumper" (379th BG 524th BS WA-V) transferred to Aphrodite [ remote controlled drone flying bomb loaded with Torpex explosives ] missions, lost on Oldenburg Power station 1st Jan 45 [ crashed en route to target due to flak]. Top row (standing) Armstrong, Donald B, T/ Sgt, R Waist Gunner Theiss, Joseph E, Lt, Pilot Edwards, James G, Lt, Navigator Peifer, Thomas D, Lt, Bombardier Krafft, Julius "Red" W, Lt, Co-Pilot Front row (kneeling) Frydryk, Frank P, S/Sgt, Ball Turret Hill, George R, Sgt, Tail Gunner Nolan, Morrison T, S/Sgt, Top Turret Klump, Delbert W, T/Sgt, L Waist Gunner McKeegan, Hugh (NMI), Sgt, Radio Operator/Gunner. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A11460-A71025AC.
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Personnel of the 379th Bomb Group transfer a casualty from a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30237) nicknamed "Stump Jumper" in to a waiting field ambulance. Official caption printed on image: '(GPR-190-8-379) (June).' Printed caption on reverse: '71146 AC- A crew member of the 379th Bomb Group who was injured during a mission over Europe is carried from the Boeing B-17 "Stump Jumper" to a waiting ambulance at an 8th Air Force base in England. June 1944. US Air Force Photo.'
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A crew of the 379th Bomb Group poses beside a Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 42-30237 "Stump Jumper" at an 8th Air Force Base in England, 18 November 1943. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A11530-C71042AC.
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Flying Fortress B-17G 42-30237 "Stump Jumper" (379th BG 524th BS WA-V) in formation. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A19559-25151AC.
Delivered Cheyenne 1/5/43; Gore 13/5/43; Smoky Hill 14/5/43; Dow Fd 30/5/43; Assigned 524BS/379BG [WA-V] Kimbolton 1/6/43; transferred 1 Base Air Depot, Burtonwood 4/8/44; APH Knettishall, Crashed due to flak short of target [Oldenburg power station] on Aphrodite drone flying bomb attack. Control crew Capt Jack L Hodson & Lt Lloyd L Lawing baled out over UK. 1/1/45. STUMP JUMPER.
Service
Units
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379th Bomb Group
Group
The 379th Bomb Group (H) (heavy), based at Kimbolton, flew more sorties than any other Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Group. The B-17 Flying Fortress Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit... -
524th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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Base Air Depot 1
Headquarters
People
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Constant Anszperger
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 28 x combat missions. 12-Aug-43 on mission to oil refinery in Germany, landed with severe bomb damage in B-17 42-29933. RTD. ETD. Awards: DFC, AM, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Donald Armstrong
Military | Technical Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Shot down 3 September 1943 in B-17 #423300. Killed in Action (KIA). -
Joseph Blanton
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 14 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Liege, Belgium. Shot down 30-Jul-43 in B-17 'Flying Jenny' 42-5829. Baled out, "Rather was thrown out of A/C by ships motion" luckily with his parachute. Prisoner of War... -
Weldon Bledsoe
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME. -
William Bonin
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 30 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Wernigeerode in B-17 42-31028; Hit by flak, exploded in mid-air and crashed near Munster, Germany on 22-Feb-44, Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 2872. ... -
John Bradley
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 14 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Le Bourget in B-17 42-29866 16-Aug-43; Shot down by flak. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1352 Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME -
Joseph Brown
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Group Bombardier | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 28 x combat missions. Group bombardier. ETD. ... -
Wallace Buttrey
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Flew 32 combat missions. Mission list attached to database form. Flew in B-17s called 'Mojo,' 'Flack Rabbit,' and 'Stump Jumper. ' DFC/ AM w/ Oak Leaf Clusters/ ATO/ EAME w/ 3 battle stars/ WW II VM/ DUC -
Carl Christensen
Military | Staff Sergeant | Bombardier / L,R Waist Gunner, Nose Gunner / Togglier | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 25 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) in 42-31083; A/C exploded mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA). Awards: AM, PH. -
Charles Daniel
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 524BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 18 x combat missions. ETD Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 84
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ... -
VIII Bomber Command 131
16 November 1943
This mission was directed at targets in Norway. It was composed of three elements. The first element was a combined force of 189 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 384BG (21); 303BG (20); 379BG (22); 351BG (20); 91BG (20); 381BG (22); 305BG ... -
424
19 June 1944
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774
1 January 1945
Places
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Burtonwood
Military site : airfield
Built for the RAF in 1939-40, the RAF's No. 37 Maintenance Unit used the base from 1940 to 1942, before it became a joint Anglo-American maintenance and servicing airfield - a Base Air Depot. After the war it continued to be used as a maintenance and... -
Kimbolton
Military site : airfield
Planned for RAF use, Kimbolton airfield was built by W and C French Ltd. in 1941. The airfield was increased in size to accommodate a full US heavy Bomb Group, and the first such unit to us it was the 91st Bomb Group, who arrived in September 1942.... -
Knettishall
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Crashed | Oldenburg, Germany | 1 January 1945 |
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Crashed due to flak short of target [Oldenburg power station] on Aphrodite drone flying bomb attack. Control crew Capt Jack L Hodson & Lt Lloyd L Lawing baled out over UK. 1/1/45. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 2021 21:29:05 | jmoore43 | Changes to production block number |
| Sources | ||
Updated the Production block number per info on the internet. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2018 16:34:51 | TennyBelle | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
8th AF mission database |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2015 09:13:10 | Al_Skiff | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2015 09:07:23 | Al_Skiff | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2015 09:01:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 December 2015 23:34:59 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Aphrodite |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:27 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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