42-52653 Sleepless Knights

media-55774.jpeg UPL 55774 B-24H 42-52653 'Sleepless Knights'

https://www.b24bestweb.com/sleeplessknights1.htm

Object Number - UPL 55774 - B-24H 42-52653 'Sleepless Knights'

Assigned to 836BS, 487BG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 825BS, 484BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Linz, Austria with Pat Truesdell crew, 25-Apr-45; hit by flak, crash landed behind Russian lines - 9 x RTD MACR 13993

Connections

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Units served with

A B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-78289) nicknamed "Flak Strainer" of the 484th Bomb Group, 15th Air Force. Image via P Gandillet. Handwritten caption on reverse: '42078289 B024L 824 BS- 84 BG 15th AF "Flak Strainer" Dijon-Longvic Oct 1944.'

484th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment
The insignia of the 487th Bomb Group.

487th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Ralph Norman Christensen

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 484th Bomb Group 825th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13075755
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Flight engineer / gunner

Joel George Gochenour

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 484th Bomb Group 825th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-2075183
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-pilot

William Russell Hedden

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 12093051 / O-696368
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

James J Jacobs

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Joe Herman Schell

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 487th Bomb Group 836th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14122048 / O-683540
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Places

Officers of the 487th Bomb Group outside the 838th Bomb Squadron operations room.

Lavenham

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Lavenham/Alpheton Airfield

Torretta

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Cerignola #3

Events

Event Location Date Description

Crashed

Kecskemet, Hungary 25 April 1945 Force landed after flak hit on Linz mission; 25-Apr-45

Assigned

Lavenham, UK Assigned to 836BS, 487BG, 8AF USAAF.

Assigned

Torretta, Sicily Transferred to 825BS, 484BG, 15AF USAAF.

Manufactured

Willow Run, Ypsilanti, MI Built at Ford, Willow Run, Michigan.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/29029019
https://www.b24bestweb.com/sleeplessknights1.htm

42-52653: Gallery (1 items)

Object number: UPL 55774 - B-24H 42-52653 'Sleepless Knights'