Arthur Howard Driver
MilitaryRear L-R: 2Lt Richard F Tasker, F/O Clyde Meadows, 2Lt John Joseph McDonnell, 2Lt Angelito Francis
Front L-R: Sgt Charles S Van Ornum Jr, Sgt Enrique M. Reider, Sgt Glenn A Minnix, Sgt Arthur H Driver, Sgt William D Toon
Assigned to 360BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Rottweil mission; only survivor of mid air collision from B-17 'Scorchy II' 42-97058 21-Jan-45. Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 11759
"Realised the tail had been severed from the fuselage and exited via the tail escape door, whilst in free fall, hauled in his chute pack with his line and only managed to snap on one of two clips prior to opening his chute as he was almost out of time, landed hard, captured shortly afterwards"
Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Most Unusual Mission Experiences as related by 1st. Lt. John Stephen Proffitt, Jr. (303rd Bomb Group, 359th Bomb Squadron ("BS")). For more information, see Mission Report No. 305 on the 303rd Bomb Group's website.
"...'the most unusual experience' was witnessing the collision of two B-17s on the January 21, 1945 mission to Aschaffenburg, Germany (described on pages 636-7 of the fine book "Might in Flight."). We were flying on Tasker's left wing, and I was consciously observing the situation before and at the time of the collision. Duffield, the squadron leader, let his IAS increase to about 160 mph in the left turn. Upon completion of the turn, he immediately reduced his air-speed, and Tasker was slow to react. Consequently, Tasker's plane moved forward until he was nose to nose directly under Duffield's plane. In an apparent effort to slow down, Tasker put down some flaps and the lift raised his plane into contact with Duffield's. While I had been watching this entire event develop right in front of me, the actual collision was unexpected. My first realization of the seriousness of the situation was when a landing gear wheel from one of the planes nearly hit my right wing; my instant reaction was to peel off to the left, so both planes were on their way down by the time I saw them again. Since we generally expected that everyone involved in the collision had perished, my tail gunner, Howard F. O'Neal, was surprised to encounter Tasker's tail gunner, A.H. Driver, on the ship when returning to the U.S. a few months later." 303rd BG Editor's note: "Actually, there were two survivors to the collision. Lt. J.C. Flemmons, a bombardier on Lt. Duffield's crew, also survived the collision and became a POW."
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: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-826029
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 21 January 1945
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Dickson City, TX | 9 October 1911 | |
Enlisted |
Seattle, WA | 14 December 1942 | |
Other Ferry crew member |
Dow Field, Bangor, ME | 26 October 1944 | Aboard B-17 44-8477 departed Dow Field, ME with Lt Tasker crew, destination ETO. |
Other Baled out POW |
Rottweil, Germany | 21 January 1945 | Failed to Return (FTR) Rottweil mission; only survivor of mid air collision from B-17 'Scorchy II' 42-97058 21-Jan-45. POW MACR 11759 |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Tychowo, Poland | 21 January 1945 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft IV. |
Other Discharged USAAF |
9 November 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Yakima, WA | 26 January 1996 | |
Based |
Molesworth | 21 January 1945 | Assigned to 360BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Ellensburg, WA |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11760