B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/6/43; Smoky Hill 12/7/43; Dow Fd 16/7/43; Assigned 549BS/385BG [XA-L] Gt Ashfield 16/7/43; Missing in Action Lille 15/8/43 with Ed Stone, Co-pilot: George Larsen, Navigator: Jim Atkinson, Bombardier: Darrell Taylor, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Tony Kalisko{body washed up two weeks later on Belgian coast}, Radio Operator: Harry Rusk, Ball turret gunner: Bob Paige, Waist gunner: Jim Glaxner, Waist gunner: Elvin Rankin,Tail gunner: Sam Burns (10 Killed in Action); flak hit near Dunkirk, ditched Channel; Missing Air Crew Report 267.
Group
The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Col. Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 385th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #4230598. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #4230598. Killed in Action (KIA).
His name is on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Military | Co-Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #4230598. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30598, Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 42-30598, Killed in Action.
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #4230598. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 42-30598. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 385th Bomb Group
Shot down 15 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30598, Killed in Action (KIA).
15 August 1943
German airfields in Holland and France are the targets for this mission. All of the attacks were made late in the afternoon just prior to sunset. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (20...
Military site : airfield
The airfield was built in 1942 by John Laing & Son Ltd. 108,000 tons of concrete was used in its construction, creating a Class 'A' airfield suitable for heavy bombers. The 385th Bomb Group took up residence in the summer of 1943, and remained at the...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | France | 15 August 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:31 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 267 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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