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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Dallas 23/9/43; Harvard 10/10/43; Assigned 711BS/447BG [IR-J] Rattlesden 19/11/43; Missing in Action Bordeaux 31/12/43 with Milton Moore, Navigator: Jerome Abrams, Bombardier: Dave Botello, Radio Operator: John Reagan, Ball turret gunner: Dan Norton,Tail gunner: Harrell Strawn (6 Prisoner of War); Co-pilot: Jim Coleman, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ted Troy, Waist gunner: Wilbur Teapole (3 Killed in Action); Waist gunner: Ed Knapp (evaded capture); flak, crashed Cognac, near target, Fr; Missing Air Crew Report 1789. NO REGRETS.
Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-31125. Prisoner of War (POW).
PH/ POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #4231125. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-31125, Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #4231125. Evaded.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-31125, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Technical Sergeant | Aerial Gunner, Radio Operator | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down on first mission over occupied France on 31 December 1943 in B-17 #4231125. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft 17B for17 months.
POW/ AM
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #4231125. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #42-31125, Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 31 December 1943 in B-17 #4231125. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military site : airfield
Built for the Eighth Air Force in 1942, Rattlesden had three concrete runways, 50 hardstandings and two dispersed T2 hangars. Intended to be a twin-engine B-26 bomber base, it was originally a satellite for nearby Rougham, and first occupied from...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | France | 31 December 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:36 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 1769 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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