42-3539 Michigan Air Force
Delivered Denver 26 July 1943; Dyersburg 9 August 1943; Assigned 550BS/385BG [XA-P] Great Ashfield 3 September 1943. Missing in Action Münster, Germany 10 October 1943. Shot down by enemy aircraft. Was seen at 22,000 feet with No. 2 engine on fire, losing altitude but under control as it veered to the right; then seen to break up. Crashed near the Helhuizenweg, north of Holten, Holland, The Netherlands. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 826. The crew belonged to the 549th Squadron : Pilot William B. Whitlow; Co-Pilot Jim F. Burch; Navigator: William D. Fazenbaker; Bombardier: Lloyd A. Stanford; Flight Engineer/Top Turret gunner: Willis G. Shaneyfelt; Radio Operator/Gunner: John T. Ashcraft ; Ball Turret gunner: Thomas M. Ennis; Right Waist gunner: Howard E. Walker; Left Waist gunner: Clarence W. Schaumburg; Tail gunner: Robert L. Richards. Tom Ennis and Howard Walker were Killed in Action (KIA). Bill Fazenbaker, Bob Richards, Clarry Schaumburg and Willis Shaneyfelt were made Prisoner of War (POW). Four evaded capture : John Ashcraft, Lloyd Stanford, Bill Whitlow and Jim Burch. Ashcraft, Stanford and Whitlow managed to evade with the help of the Belgian Comet evasion network and got back to England. Burch, also helped by Comet, tragically drowned on 24 December 1943 while escaping with a group of other evaders trying to cross the River Bidassoa, on the Franco-Spanish border.
Connections
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Units served with
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-673829
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 385th Bomb Group 550th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-735133
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Places
Missions
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Failed to Return (FTR) |
10 October 1943 | shot down by enemy fighter |
Revisions
http://www.385thbga.com/records/index-mission-number-to-date-and-target… (Listed under mission 27)
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 826 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database