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B-17 Flying Fortress
401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 11, 4 Jan 1944, Kiel, Germany. The lead aircraft, piloted by Capt. Garland with Major Martin as Group Air Commander, developed engine trouble and was forced to ditch in the North Sea. Two crewmen were lost in the icy seas, but miraculously the other eight survived. The Group lead was taken over by Lt. James Goodman, who led the 401st over the target on a highly successful mission.
401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 12, 5 Jan 1944, Tours, France. All aircraft returned from mission by 1452 hours. Colonel Rogner expressed his pleasure with the way the crews kept close formation to and from the target.
Delivered Cheyenne 19/10/43; Gr Island 1/11/43; Romulus 18/11/43; Assigned 614BS/401BG [IW-C] Deenethorpe 23/12/43; Missing in Action Bordeaux 19/6/44 with Garrett Filemyr, Co-pilot: Herb Claxton, Navigator: Ed Robinson, Bombardier: Bob Monteil, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Dave Johnzen, Radio Operator: Jim Parkes, Ball turret gunner: Bill Reynolds, Waist gunner: Malcolm Culver, Waist gunner: Tom Meadows (9INT in Spain but ret UK 4 July);Tail gunner: Lorenzo Maiden (Killed in Action); flak knocked off tg’s compartment, crashed in Bay of Biscay, Missing Air Crew Report 5999. LIBERTY RUN.
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 27 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 27 x combat missions. Garrett Filemyr crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. Garrett Filemyr crew. 23 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 5th combat mission. Garrett Filemyr crew. Tail gunner. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 5999
Awards: PH.
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Crashed in Spain on 6/19/44 in B-17 Liberty Run #42-31315. Interned then sent back to England and returned to his base and started instructing others on the use of the radio. He was then reassigned to a bomber and flew quite a few more missions then he...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 27 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 614BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 27 x combat missions. Garrett Filemyr crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux in B-17 42-31315 'Liberty Run', on 19-Jun-44; flak shot off the tail, A/C ditched in Bay of Biscay. Interned (INT) in Spain.
...
4 January 1944
The port area of Kiel, Germany and the railroad marshalling yards at Munster, Germany are the Primary targets of this Mission which is organised as two elements: one going to Kiel and the other to Munster. Roger A. Freeman begins to designate aircraft...
5 January 1944
This mission consists of five elements: The first element is a combined force of 131 B-17s are despatched by 1st Bomb Division: 92BG; 303BG; 305BG; 306BG; 379BG; 384BG; and 482BG to bomb the shipyards and industrial areas of Kiel, Germany. 119 are...
2 March 1944
The primary targets for this mission are: the railroad marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany; and the German air depot ar Chartres, France. The mission is composed of two entierly separate forces. 327 B-17s from 1st Air Division joined by 154 B-24s...
29 March 1944
This mission is composed of two separate elements. The first element is a combined force of 238 B-17s of 1st Air Division: 91BG; 92BG; 303BG; 305BG; 306BG; 351BG; 379BG; 381BG; 384BG; 401BG and 457BG are despatched to bomb the industrial areas of...
20 April 1944
12 May 1944
19 June 1944
Bombed an airfield. Nine hour mission. Shortly after retiring we were called again but mission was called off at briefing room.
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | France | 19 June 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 07 September 2021 21:49:41 | acbernstein1 | Changes to markings and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Aircraft/Details.aspx?ID=31315 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 January 2020 22:12:48 | jmoore43 | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
Added the A/C nickname from the description. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:37 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 5999 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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