Otto Ahlers
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B17#42-37744. 10 KNO. 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard.
42-37744
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 13/8/43; Tulsa 17/8/43; Scott 1/10/43; Assigned 1 CCRC Gp Bovingdon, then 8AF Weather Flight, Bovingdon 10/6/43; crashed on t/o from Cheddington 9/12/43 with LaVerne Rissinger, Co-pilot: Bill Holcomb, Navigator: Otto Ahlers, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Pete Costello, Radio Operator: Bernie Cohen, a/ettg-Matt Ekes, cr/ch-John Buchanan, g-Ralph Harding, Met/Ob-Sq/Ldr Jack Osborne (RAF-517Sq), Met/Ob-F/Lt John Leigh-Clark (RAF-517Sq) (10 Killed in Service). T/O using all of runway and crashed down a slope through the trees in Bourne Wood, burning as it hit the ground.
Service
People
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John Buchanan
Military | Master Sergeant | Engineer | 25th Bomb Group
John Buchanan was killed on 9 December 1943 in a take-off crash from Bovingdon, UK, where the 1st Combat Crew Replacement Center were based. He was beginning a weather reconnaissance flight in B-17 #42-37744. All 10 on board were killed, including two... -
Bernard Cohen
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator Gunner | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B17#42-37744. 10 KNO. 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard. -
Peter Costello
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flt Eng | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B17#42-37744. 10 KNO. 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard. -
Matthew Ekes
Military | Corporal | Gunner | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B-17 #42-37744 (10 KNO). 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard. -
Ralph Harding
Military | Sergeant | Gunner | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B17#42-37744. 10 KNO. 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard. -
William Holcomb
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 92nd Bomb Group Fame's Favoured Few
The pilot, Lt. Holcomb and the entire crew of 10 weeks, crashed on take-off in B-17G (42-37744) at Bovingdon, England. They were on a weather recon mission bound for the eastern Atlantic. -
LaVerne Rissinger
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 25th Bomb Group
December 9, 1943 take off crash from Bovington, UK on a weather recon flight in B17#42-37744. 10 KNO. 2 RAF Meteorological Officers aboard.
Places
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Bovingdon
Military site : airfield
Bovingdon, in Hertfordshire (often confused with Bovington, Dorset), was built in 1941-42 as a bomber station but was never developed into a fully-fledged heavy bomber airfield as it did not have the required 2,000 yard runway. ...
Events
Not yet known
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 01 April 2016 12:47:08 | Lucy May | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 April 2016 12:34:39 | Lucy May | Changes to person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Associated airmen's records to the aircraft record from information in their Biography fields. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:44 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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