42-5847 | American Air Museum in Britain

Delivered Long Beach 17/3/43; Pueblo 10/4/43; Smoky Hill 6/5/43; Dow Fd 19/5/43; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-T] Ridgewell 26/5/43 with Guerdon Humason, Alf Casaly, Leroy Hames, Bill Tsialas, John Ivey, Albt Parker, Joe Kralik, Frank Fabiano, Walt Anderson, Bob Cummings; Missing in Action 1+m Gelsenkirchen 12/8/43 with Theo Moon, Co-pilot: Jim Hamer, Navigator: Steve Pritz, Bombardier: Bernie McNichol, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: John Ernharth, Radio Operator: Mike Fleming, Ball turret gunner: John Wheeler, Waist gunner: Wilbur Alsheimer, Waist gunner: Paul Mattfield,Tail gunner: Howie Wood (10 Prisoner of War); flak, crashed Maastricht, Hol. Missing Air Crew Report 660. MARGIE MAE.

Service

Aircraft

42-29950 Forget Me Not

B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 3/4/43; Pueblo 30/4/43; Smoky Hill 11/5/43; Dow Fd 23/5/43; Assigned 535BS/381BG [MS-N] Ridgewell 29/5/43 with Chas Dowell, Fred Evans, John Lander, Clarry Watkins, Chas Dodge, Herb Kern, Walt Wessler, Chas Miller, Stuart Doll, Ken...
42-29954 Devil's Angel

B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 17/3/43; Pueblo 8/4/43; Smoky Hill 7/5/43; Dow Fd 25/5/43; Assigned 534BS/381BG [GD-D] Ridgewell 25/5/43 with Bill Wroblicka, Omen Jones, Jim Delano, Lester Schneider, Joe Labushevicz, Fred Smith, Dick Wante, Edwin Jonson, John Kratzer...

Units

381st Bomb Group

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...
532nd Bomb Squadron

Squadron

People

Wilbur Alsheimer

Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
BTG, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag XVIIB. New York
John Ernharth

Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft IV. McKeesrock, PA POW
Michael Fleming

Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag XVIIA. New York
James Hamer

Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th Af. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VIIA. South Dakota
Paul Mattfield

Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag XVIIB. Massachusetts
Bernard McNichol

Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Bombardier, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War (POW)at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIIID. Arizona
Theodore Moon

Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War (at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XIIID. California
Stephen Pritz

Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Navigator, Moon Crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae". Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag XVIIA. Massachusetts
John Wheeler

Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
LWG, Moon crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae'. Mission #17 to the synthetic oilw works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag XVIIB. ...
Howard Wood

Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Tail gunner, Moon Crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-5847 'Margie Mae". Mission #17 to the synthetic oil works at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. MACR 660. Prisoner of War at Stalag VIIA. Illinois

Missions

VIII Bomber Command 81

12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb...

Places

Ridgewell

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...

Events

Event	Location	Date
Failed to Return (FTR)	Germany	12 August 1943

Date	Contributor	Update
03 November 2017 19:57:05	ARowe95	Changes to aircraft associations
Sources
ARowe95
Date	Contributor	Update
27 September 2014 18:40:57	AAM	AAM ingest
Sources
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 660 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database