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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 6/8/43; Walla Walla 15/8/43; Assigned 533BS/381BG [VP-X] Ridgewell 8/10/43; Missing in Action (12m) Oschersleben 11/1/44 with Don Nason, Co-pilot: Joe Byser, Navigator: Tony Anagnos, Bombardier: Chas Fiery, Radio Operator: Luster Harrah*, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ralph Lab*, Ball Turret gunner: Paul Stonich*, Right Waist gunner: Ray Beus*, Tail gunner: George Whitney* (9 Killed in Action), Left Waist gunner: John Lantz (POW-rescued by Unknown fishermen); flak damaged three engines, ditched Enkhuizerzand, on Ijsselmer, Zuider Zee, Hol; * bodies never found; (Lantz returned when aircraft recovered from Ijsselmeer in Feb 1975, after aircraft found in June 1966); Missing Air Crew Report 1881. HELLCAT.
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Navigator, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533d BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Mite'. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. MACR 1881. Killed in Action...
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F 42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Might'. MACR 1881. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. Killed in Action (KIA)....
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Mite'. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. MACR 1881. Killed in Action ...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Bombardier, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Mite". MACR 1881. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. Killed in Action...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Might'. MACR 1881. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. Killed in...
Military | Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat'. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. MACR 1881. Killed in Action (KIA). Tablets...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
November 1943 - January 1944. LWG, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Might'. MACR 1881. Plane crashed in...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Mite'. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. MACR 1881. Killed in Action (KIA...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
BTG, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Might'. MACR 1881. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. Killed in Action (KIA)...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Tail gunner, Nason crew. 381st BG, 533rd BS, 8th AF. Shot down by fighters on mission #59 to the aircraft factories at Oschersleben, Germany on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-37719 'Hellcat/Dinah Might'. MACR 1881. Plane crashed in Zuider Zee. Killed in...
11 January 1944
Three aviation industry targets in Germany are bombed. The bomber force consists of 291 B-17s despatched from 1st Bomb Division in two elements, one element of 177 B-17s is despatched to Oschersleben, Germany as the primary target, the other 1BD...
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 11 January 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 January 2018 03:57:07 | ARowe95 | Changes to nicknames and person associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 January 2018 03:46:01 | ARowe95 | Changes to markings, description and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:44 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 1881 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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