42-8443 “Miss Clean Sweep”
Object Number - UPL 29516 - Lt. William G Burlingame. 358th Fighter Squadron. P-51B 42-106452 YF-W "Buzz Boy / Miss Heck". Bill seen here posing for the normal "publicity" shot...
P-47D # 42-8443, 355FG/354FS piloted by 1LT Kenneth R. Williams was hit by ground fire while making a low-level strafing attack on a German airfield at Châteaudun, France on 26 March 1944. His bullets ignited the fuel dump and the resulting explosive debris (ED) damaged his aircraft. He crashlanded in loose dry dirt and was only slightly wounded, with lumps and cuts on his head and arm. Helped by French citizens, he managed to evade capture. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 3529. There are 2 photos of the damaged Thunderbolt on page 64 of "Aces and Pilots of the US 8th/9th Air Forces" by Jerry Scutts (Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, Surrey, UK - 2001.)
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 496th Fighter Training Group 358th Fighter Squadron 555th Fighter Training Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-811950
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 352nd Fighter Group 353rd Fighter Group 355th Fighter Group 354th Fighter Squadron 486th Fighter Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-671825
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Fighter Pilot
Places
![P-51 Mustangs of the 355th Fighter Group break formation, ready for landing, over the ground support vehicles and control tower of Steeple Morden Airfield. Image signed on reverse with the approval of station censor. Handwritten caption on reverse: '355 FG Steeple Morden, Control Tower, read crew + P41 [sic] group peeling off for landing.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377141.jpg.webp?itok=zxxvSLfB)
- Site type: Airfield
Missions
- Date: 26 March 1944
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Manufactured |
Steeple Morden | 28 February 1944 | Thomas Oscar Meteyer flew the same P-47D on his first mission on February 28, 1944. |
|
Crashed |
26 March 1944 | Crashlanded near Donnemain-Saint-Mamès, ±3km NE of Châteaudun, Eure-et-Loir, France |
Revisions
Information provided by Peter Randall
Thomas Meteyer's first mission
MACR 2902
NARA - Captured German records - J-743 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/131494645
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 555
Lee Cunningham 7-Mar-2016. Made connections to Place and Mission added Mission Narrative based on "The Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A Hey MBE and MACR 3629.
MACR 3629 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
