Available: 3 February 1944 - Boeing Aircraft Co, Seattle, Washington

Accepted: 4 February 1944

Assigned: 15 February 1944 - ATC / 7th Ferry Group - (Gore AAF)

Ferried: 16 February 1944 (Boeing Field - Gore AAF - Cheyenne Municipal)

Weather delays

Assigned: 23 February 1944 - United Airlines / Boeing Modification Center #10 - (Cheyenne Municipal)

Assigned: 1 March 1944 - ATC / 7th Ferry Group - (Gore AAF)

Project: 92463 R

Ferried: 5 March 1944 (Cheyenne Municipal – Rapid City AAF - Grand Island AAF)

Assigned: 5 March 1944 / 19 April 1944 - 2nd AF / 17th BTW / 10th Heavy Bombardment Processing - (Grand Island AAF)

Staging Field

Assigned: 21 April 1944 - ATC / North Atlantic Wing - (Dow AAF)

Port of embarkation

Ferried: 21 April 1944 (Presque Isle AAF - RAF Goose Bay - BW-1 - Meeks Field - RAF Valley)

Assigned: 25 April 1944 / 29 April 1944 - 8th AF / VIII Service Command / BAD 1 - (RAF Burtonwood)

Aircraft Storage, Distribution and Modification

Assigned: 5 May 1944 - 8th AF / VIII Service Command / 27th Air Transport Group - (RAF Maghaberry)

Ferried: 9 May 1944 (RAF Burtonwood - RAF Bassingbourn)

Assigned: 9 May 1944 - 8th AF / 1st BD / 1st CBW / 91st BG / 323rd BS - (RAF Bassingbourn)

( Triangle-A ) ( OR * L / Take it Easy )

25 combat missions

First mission: Friday, 19 May 1944

(Pilot: 1Lt Fred T Gardner)

8th AF mission: 358 / 91st BG mission: 162 (Berlin, Germany – Wilhelm-Strasse Railroad Station)

After 1 July 1944: ( Triangle-A ) Red vertical and horizontal stabilizers ( OR * L / Take it Easy )

MIA: Saturday, 8 July 1944 @ 0715 hrs (Flak)

Coudres, Upper Normandy – France (48°52'8"N / 1°14'56"E)

P + F/O James W Fore

CP ~ 2Lt Donald F Bridwell

N + 2Lt Robert W Ward

B * 2Lt Milton Gastwirth

E + S/Sgt Robert M Phelps

RO + S/Sgt Chasten L Bowen

BT + Sgt George Sherman

FG + Sgt Bernard F Scharf

TG + Sgt James F Zeiser

1 KIA, 7 POW, 1 Evader (MACR 8323) – SOC.

8th AF mission: 460 / 91st, BG mission: 897 Airfield in Saint-André-de-l'Eure (27)

Hit between #1 & 2 engines, wing was set on fire.

Phelps (engineer/gunner) and Sherman (gunner) were prisoners by german patrol when they hit the normandy ground.

Pilot James W Jore, navigator Robert W Ward, waist gunner Bernard F Scharf, tail gunner James W Zeiser, radio operator Chasten L Bowen attempted to escape german soldiers, but after 2-days with the French resistance, were betrayed and captured by the Gestapo in Paris.

All five were sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp as spies where they spent 3 months until transferred to a regular POW camp (Stalag Luft III at Sagan.

Reported by Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur E (v) 204/XII Chartres

Luftwaffe report KU 2633

https://www.americanairmuseum.com/mission/897.

E&E 1081: 2Lt Donald F Bridwell, hidden in France by underground until liberated on August 15 by 3rd Amy/7th Armored Division.