Donald H Brightbill

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Shot down 20 December 1942 in B-17F 41-24566 'Zombie' 303BG/360BS, while serving as Navigator on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. MACR 15593. Killed in Action (KIA). Participated in 4 Operations (1 was aborted). See Biography events.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Official emblem of the 303rd Bomb Group approved 7 November 1942.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Zombie
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Assigned to Aircraft

Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA 23 June 1942 Assigned as Navigator of B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Other

Arrived in UK

Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK 25 October 1942 Arrived as Navigator with B-17F 41-24566, Zombie, 303BG/359BS at Molesworth, UK

Other

Mission #1, 2LT Donald H. Brightbill, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS

Saint-Nazaire, France 18 November 1942 Assigned as Navigator of B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #2, 2LT Donald H. Brightbill, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS

Lorient, France 22 November 1942 Served as Navigator on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #3, 2LT Donald H. Brightbill, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS - Aborted

Rouen, France 12 December 1942 Served as Navigator on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the railraod marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechaincal failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK.

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

Dieppe, France 20 December 1942 Killed when the aircraft was attacked by German fighters and crashed into the English Channel near Dieppe, France. His remains were never recovered. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) has no record that his name appears on any Wall of the Missing at any American Cemetery in Europe.

Other

Mission #4, 2LT Donald H. Brightbill, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS - KIA

Romilly-sur-Seine, France 20 December 1942 Served as Navigator on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. The aircraft sustained heavy damag from fighters and AA fire an crashed into the English Channel on return. All crew lost. KIA.

Born

Reading, Pennsylvania

Revisions

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission # 2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission # 1 eent per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Orville S. Witt crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-witt.html

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Orville S. Witt crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-witt.html

Date
Changes
Sources

Combined two entries into a single entry. This record now includes information from the following source: MACR 15708 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database.

Correction of some typographical errors.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 4-Dec-2014. Added KIA event. see previous.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 4-Dec-2014. Added KIA event and other details per MACR 15709; made connections to Place aircraft and Mission within existing website data.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15708, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Hey and Bishop p.55