Alan Eugene Magee
MilitaryJun-42 Assigned as a Ball Turret Gunner with the 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. 303BG records to do not indicate that we was permanently assigned to a crew and do not specify when he arrived in the UK.
3-Jan-43 Shot down while serving as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 41-24620 "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", 303BG/360BS while on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. he was wounded in his Ball Turret and discovered that his chest pack had a large hole in the middle. He made his way to the bomb bay waiting for T/Sgt Alfred M. Union (R) to bail out. The B-17 exploded before he could bail out and he was tossed out unconscious from the B-17 without a parachute. He fell over 20,000 feet and crashed onto the glass roof of the St. Nazaire railroad station and tangled in the steel girders. He was badly wounded. His arm was nearly torn off and had badly damaged teeth, legs, knees and ankles. Was cut down from the roof by German soldiers. He was well treated by German doctors in a series of hospitals and at his POW camp. After his rescue in St. Nazaire, and his miraculous survival, he stated: "I don't know how I got there, but here I am, thanks to God. See the Alan Magee Story "20,000 Feet Without a Chute". http://www.303rdbg.com/magee.html
Participated in 7 Operations
Air Medal, Purple Heart, Prisoner of War medal.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Garbage
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Wulfe Hound
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Snap! Crackle! Pop!
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shak Hak
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Iza Vailable
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 6 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 22 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Plainfield, New Jersey | 13 January 1919 | |
Other Mission #1, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 17 November 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #2, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17F 42-2967, 303BG/360BS |
18 November 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 42-2967 "Shak Hak", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. | |
Other Mission #3, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS |
22 November 1942 | Served as Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird II", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. | |
Other Mission #4, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17F 41-24585, 303BG/360BS |
Lille, France | 6 December 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 41-24585 "Wulf Hund", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the carriage and wagon works at Lille, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #5, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 41-24602 "Yardbird II", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #6, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17 42-2973, 303BG/360BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 42-2973 "Iza Vailable", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #7, SSGT Alan E. Magee, w/B-17 41-24620, 303BG/360BS WIA/POW |
Lorient, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner on B-17F 41-24620 "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. The aircraft was shot down and crashed but although serious;y wounded he managed to bail out and was captured as a Prisoner of War (POW) |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 3 January 1943 - 3 July 1945 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria. Recovered from his wounds while interred as a POW. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 3-Jul-45. |
Died |
San Angelo, Texas, USA | 20 December 2003 | |
Other Assigned to Unit |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | Assigned as an Aerial Gunner with the 303BG/360BS at Amalogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. | |
Buried |
Grape Creek, Texas, USA | Pioneer Memorial Park |
Revisions
Added birth, death & burial events per info for Find-a-grave MEMORIAL ID 33587420.
Lee Cunningham 13-Feb-2016. Added loss details and made a connecting link to his story http://www.303rdbg.com/magee.html
Lee Cunningham 27-Jan-2016. Correcting typo in Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Prisoner of War event per National Archives & Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW databse.
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reoprt of 6-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reoprt of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reoprt of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission REoprt of 17-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/001.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Assigned to Unit event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Paul F. Flickenger crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-flickenger.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added New Person entry per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Paul F. Flickenger crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-flickenger.html