Clarence Arnold Aaberg
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Details added. - Kickapoo
Object Number - UPL 29828 - 2nd Lt. Clarence Aaberg was killed (KIA) on his 3rd combat mission, flying the B-17G, 42-37855, returning from a mission to Regensburg, Germany, 25...
Lt. Clarence Aaberg was killed on his 3rd mission, flying the B-17 42-37855, returning from a mission to Regensburg, Germany, 25-Feb-44. His Fortress was hit and lost the #3 engine 10 minutes after bombing it's target. The crew saw quite a few German fighters, and a few shot rockets at them, but, fearing their gunners and their .50 cal. guns, they never came in close. Their bomber made it back to the French coast on 3 engines but was hit again by coastal flak guns. Engines #1 and #4 were hit and failed exiting the French coast, yet, Lt. Aalberg still managed to cross the English Channel, descending on one engine. Once over southern England, he ordered his crew to bail out, and all of them did so safely. But Aaberg, the last to bail, had waited too long. He bailed out too late, too low, and was killed when his parachute failed to open in time. His plane crashed in the woods at Starvecrow Hill, a mile north of Tonbridge, Kent, and was a total loss. Killed in Action (KIA). 25-Feb-44.
Awards: DFC, PH, EAME.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Mr Terrific
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group
Missions
- Date: 25 February 1944
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Cambridge American Military Cemetery
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Divide County, North Dakota, USA. | 26 April 1918 | Son of Carl Adolph and Anna L [Lund] Aaberg. |
|
Enlisted |
Missoula, MT | 18 November 1941 | Missoula, Montana, as a Private in the Air Corps |
|
Other Killed In Action (KIA) |
Gravesend, Kent, UK | 25 February 1944 | in the crash of B-17 42-37855 he was piloting. Last one to bail out on return from the Regensburg mission, his parachute didn't open due to the low altitude at which he managed to jump after all his crew members had safely left the plane |
|
Buried |
Cambridge American Cemetery | 26 February 1944 | Cambridge American Cemetery Coton, Cambs, UK Plot D, Row 1, Grave 49 |
|
Buried |
East Writing Rock Cemetery Fortuna, ND | Memorialised East Writing Rock Cemetery Fortuna, North Dakota, USA. |
Revisions
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Updated the Born & Buried events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 47104673.
Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47104673/clarence-arnold-aaberg
Removed a duplicate Buried event.
Added punctuation to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.
NARA WWII Enlistment records
ABMC website
Richard Pitt Jr. diary, Clarence's flight engineer and top turret gunner.
TogetherWeServed.com; Fold3.com; Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records
Clarence akaerg plane was hit by ack ack over France
And lost one engine, then lost a another due to overheating over the coast
Was trying to make for the emergency airfield at penshurts about 4 miles west of tonbridge Kent
Seeing that he was not going to make it
Ordered the crew to jump, but he left it to late and his parachute did not open
The plane crashed into the woods
The crew landed on plough fields and some turn their angles
The crew called Clarence pappy
I know of this story because as a school kid I worked on a farm during my school holidays, and one of the old farm workers was the first one on the scene as he was working the field near by
Lee Cunningham 20-Jun-2015. Added map location to KOM event, made connection to Place; per "Losses of the 8ht & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; Added burial grave location per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) records. Slight edits to Biography.
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2015. Combined Born events.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces
