Donald Ivan Collins
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Object Number - FRE 5133 - The insignia of the 544th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group.
Assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #126 dated 23 October 1943. Flew 12 missions with Crew #41 November 1943-April, 1944. Planes flown include 'Our Baby' returned to base with over 200 holes. Fell from the ball turret without a parachute over the Channel on an operational mission, 3 Feb 1944 in B-17 #42-31495, 'WABBIT TWACKS'. Killed in Action (KIA)/Missing in Action (MIA)
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
People
Aircraft
Missions
![B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 385th Bomb Group fly in formation. Passed for publication 15 Nov 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'U.S. Flying Fortresses In Action. Here is a series of pictures taken of Flying Fortresses over enemy territoty[sic] during a recent raid. These four engined "giants" are doing a good job with their successful daylight operations, and every bomb dropped is helping to speed up the end of the war. Photo Shows:- Aerial scenes of Fortresses over enemy territory in formation and in f](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-413703.jpg.webp?itok=_Z4xNpVu)
- Date: 30 November 1943
- Date: 26 November 1943
- Date: 16 November 1943
Places
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Enlisted |
Missoula, MT, USA | 4 June 1942 | Residence: Daniels County, Montana Private, Branch Immaterial |
|
Died Missing in Action (MIA) |
3 February 1944 | Lead group. Ball turret gunner, Donald Ivan Collins, "fell through" ball turret at 1232 hrs, 12,000ft, over enemy territory; he was not wearing a parachute. No MACR has been found. | |
|
Other Memorialized |
Cambridge, England | Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridge, England: Tablets of the Missing |
Revisions
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Updated the label for a KIA event per info in the "Summary biography".
http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=5315
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=2&cat=WR26&tf…
Information Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=c... for Donald L. Collins has been merged with this record.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces