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B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 366BS/305BG [KY-F] New Castle 11-Oct-42; Grafton Underwood 24-Oct-42; Missing in Action 27-Jan-43 while on a mission to bomb the naval installations at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. 5KIA 5POW MACR 15501.
P Capt Vance W. Beckham (POW); CP 2Lt Donald R Stout (POW)
N 2Lt Alfred G. Wade (POW); B 2Lt John H. Fahr (POW)
E/TTG SSgt Harry G. Patton (POW); RO TSgt Burnice C. Farmer (KIA)
BTG Sgt Roy E. Whitney (KIA); LWG SSgt Jerome C. Kisseleff (KIA)
RWG LeRoy D. Mason (KIA); TG SSgt Robert G. Ames (KIA)
Group
The 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), nicknamed "Can Do" was activated 1-March-1942 at Salt Lake City Air Base, Utah which was their primary training base until 11-Jun-1942 when they relocated to Geiger Field, Washington until 29-Jun-1942, then on to...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Tail Gunner. The aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target Wilhelmshaven, Germany. the aircraft crashed at Tossens, Germany. Killed in Action (KIA).
Purple Heart, Air Medal
Military | Captain | Pilot | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Pilot. The aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Aircraft crashed near Tossens, Germany. He was able to bale out of the stricken aircraft and...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24637 while serving as Bombardier. Aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany and crashed near Tossens, Germany. He was able to bail out of the stricken aircraft and was...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
7 Missions. 1st mission 17 November 1942. Killed in action 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Radio Operator on a mission to Wilhelmshaven. 1st mission over Germany, 1st B-17 lost over Germany. Killed in parachute by fighters. Buried by...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Left Waist Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR has last name without the first 'e'. National archives and Losses show the 'e'
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Waist Gunner. The aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany and then crashed at Tossens, Germany. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Engineer/Top Turret Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. AIrcraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The aircraft crashed at Tossens, Germany He was able to bale out of the...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Co-Pilot. The aircraft was attacked by fighters on the approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The aircraft crashed near Tossens, Germany He was able to bale out of the stricken...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24637 while serving as Navigator. Aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target at Wilhelmshaven, Germany and crashed near Tossens, Germany. He was able to bail out of the stricken aircraft and was...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 305th Bomb Group Can Do
Shot down 27 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24637 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. The aircraft was attacked by fighters on approach to the target of Wilhelmshaven, Germany and then crashed near Tossens, Germany. Killed in Action (KIA).
27 January 1943
First successful attack by 8th Air Force into Germany. The 306th Bomb Group gets the distinction of being the first American Bomb Group to drop bombs on Germany. O Original target was Vegesack but clouded over. Col. Frank Armstrong lead the group. Two...
Military site : airfield
Chelveston was adapted and expanded in preparation for the arrival of American forces. Rather than heavy bombers, the first aircraft to fly from its runways were C-47 Skytrains that were flown by the 60th Troop Carrier Group in July 1942. The first...
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Tossens, 26969 Butjadingen, Germany | 27 January 1943 |
|
Shot down by enemy fighters on mission to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Crashed near Tossens, Germany |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 January 2015 19:17:19 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to markings, description, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Jan-2014. Added Markings per "The Mighty Eighth Warpaint & Heraldry" Roger A. Freeman; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added FTR event, crew position, rank, full proper names and dispositions of crew per MACR 15501; formatted crew display |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15501 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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