Edwin E Sowles

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-22114.jpeg UPL 22114 Edwin Sowles - Iowa, 458th BG, KIA Charles D Taylor collection

"Iowans of the Mighty Eighth", Chapter 19 "Killed in Action", by Charles D Taylor

Object Number - UPL 22114 - Edwin Sowles - Iowa, 458th BG, KIA

After being badly damaged over Berlin on a mission to Genshagen near Berlin on 6 Mar 1944, B-24H 42-52450 crashed on the return N of Amsterdam. Killed in Action (KIA).

Connections

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

Units served with

Personnel of the 458th Bomb Group gather around a B-24 Liberator (serial number 41-29303) nicknamed "Liberty Lib" in order to transfer a casualty into a waiting ambulance. Image via Harry Holmes. Written on slide casing: '458th BG.'

458th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Beverly E Ballard

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-805152
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Harry S Bengry

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36186643 and O-811316
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Victor W Krueger

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36289442
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

James Nemeth

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32450063
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator, Gunner

Aircraft

42-52450

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 458th Bomb Group 754th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

Purmerend, Netherlands 6 March 1944 At about 5.15 pm on the 6th of March 1944 Liberator B-24H 42-52450 (K + no. 75 on the fuselage) of the 754th Bomber Squadron of the 485th Bomber Group USAAF was flying over Purmerend. It was obviously in trouble, because engine no.3 was out of action. The aircraft was returning from a raid on Berlin and had (probably) been hit by Flak or fighters [the US records say fighter]. The weather on that day was reasonably clear with a low layer of clouds. An eyewitness saw a number of crew members leave the aircraft by parachute. The aircraft went down in sort of a horizontal spin, stalled, and hit the ground nose-first. It crashed on land then owned by Mr. Bakker, Kanaaldike no.59. The engines went deep into the marshy soil of the meadow. Some local people were right on the spot before the Germans arrived. They found three men still inside the aircraft. According to the author the three were: Sowles Bengry Nemeth

Buried

Purmerend, Netherlands 16 March 1944 General Cemetery

Born

Mason City, Iowa, USA

Revisions

Date
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources

http://www.458bg.com/crew52ballard.htm

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII POW records

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3350 / MACR 3350, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces & Page 282 of the book LIBERATORS OVER NORWICH by Mackay, Bailry & Scorza, 2010, D790G4582010 &

href="http://www.458bg.com/crew52ballard.htm">http://www.458bg.com/crew52ballard.htm> / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Edwin E Sowles: Gallery (2 items)

Object number: UPL 22114 - Edwin Sowles - Iowa, 458th BG, KIA

Object number: UPL 7285 - Beverly Ballard Crew Shot down 6 March 1944...