B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 12/12/43; Gt Falls 16/12/43; Denver 20/12/43; Kearney 31/12/43; RAF Nutts Corner 15/1/44; Assigned 551BS/385BG [HR-M] Gt Ashfield 17/1/44; Missing in Action French A/fds 12/6/44 with Loren Jackson, Co-pilot: Ross Blake, Bombardier: Joe Haught, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Armando Marsili, Radio Operator: Ervin Pickrel, Ball turret gunner: Felipe Muquiz, Waist gunner: Fred Martini, Waist gunner: Sam Pennell, Tail gunner: Theo Dubenic (9 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Gerald Shaffer (Killed in Action); flak, crashed Farceaux, 20 miles SE of Rouen, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 5628. JUNIOR aka CRASH WAGON III.
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 | Co-Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
B-17 Crash Wagon III (#42-31762) hit by flak, crashed at Boisemont 12 Jun 1944. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 385th Bomb Group
Damaged by flak before reaching the V-site target in the Pas-de-Calais, FR area on 13 Feb 1944, B-17G #42-39901 'Star Dust' returned to England and made an emergency landing at RAF Detling, Kent. RTD.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
B-17 Crash Wagon III (#42-31762) hit by flak, crashed at Boisemont 12 Jun 1944. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Major | Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
Assigned to ETO UK, STA 155, Great Ashfield, 385th Bomb Group in April 1944; flew missions through June 1945. Was assigned temporary duty to 388th Bomb Group, Knettishall. Was sent to RAF STA 136 Winsfarthing, Fersfield for missions with Project...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 385th Bomb Group
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 385th Bomb Group
B-17 Crash Wagon III (#42-31762) hit by flak, crashed at Boisemont 12 Jun 1944. Prisoner of War (POW).
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
B-17 Crash Wagon III (#42-31762) hit by flak, crashed at Boisemont 12 Jun 1944. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Joined in August 1941, trained as a quartermaster. Volunteered for air service after the war started. Went to gunnery school and mechanics school. Joined Lt Loren Jackson crew when it formed at Drew Field, FL. Flew to ETO in April 1944, plane...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) B-17G 43-37548 took off from Station 155, England on a bombing mission over Berlin, Germany. They were attacked and shot down by German Aircraft and crashed near Liepe, Germany. The group had it worst day of the war, they lost a...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 385th Bomb Group
B-17 Crash Wagon III (#42-31762) hit by flak, crashed at Boisemont 12 Jun 1944. Prisoner of War (POW).
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 | 12 June 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 June 2020 02:16:27 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 September 2016 23:20:12 | hermanns | Changes to nicknames |
| Sources | ||
385th BG website |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:40 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 5628 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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