42-37949 Sunrise serenade
Object Number - UPL 31083 - On May 1st, 1944, a dozen Flying Fortresses of 452 Bomb Group were heading towards Schaarbeek/Brussels Marshalling Yards when the formation was...
Delivered Denver 23/10/43; Walla Walla 9/11/43; Assigned 730BS/452BG [6K-Q] Deopham Green 4 January 1944 - Missing in Action - Mission to marshalling yards in Metz, France (primary target); shot down over Brussels after bombing the secondary target, marshalling yards of the Schaerbeek Railway station in Brussels. Pilot Francis C. Smedley (KIA- when chute caught on horizontal stabilizer); Co-pilot: William J Hewett, Navigator: John J McGrath, Bombardier: George D Griffin, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Norbert E Rhodes, Radio Operator: Andrew Senetsky, Ball turret gunner: James E Gallagher, Left Waist gunner: Harry C Shoffner, Right Waist gunner: John G Brown, Tail gunner: Raymond E Dean (8 men made Prisoners of War; Harry Shoffner evaded); flak KOd #2 and set fire to cockpit, crew bailed and aircraft crashed St Ulriks-Kapelle, seven miles NW of Brussels, Belgium; Missing Air Crew Report 4492. SUNRISE SERENADE.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 730th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 730th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13121490
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 730th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19124173
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 728th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13041523
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 730th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-673797
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Missions
- Date: 1 May 1944
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Failed to Return (FTR) |
Belgium | 1 May 1944 |
Revisions
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity.
MACR 4492
Roger Freeman's "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story"
Personal research about Left waist gunner S/Sgt Harry Shoffner for http://www.evasioncomete.org/fshoffnhc.html
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 4492 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
