Frederick Leroy Shantz

Military

Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 29 x combat missions. Bill Trimble crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in B-17 42-40002 19-Jun-44; force landed Le Pouyau. Evaded capture (EVD) MACR 6001. Back in England on 17 August 1944.

See the page with details about his evasion at https://www.evasioncomete.be/fshantzfl.html

Awards: AM (3OLC), PH, WWII Victory, EAME (1 x battle Star).

Connections

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

Units served with

401st Bomb Group

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

615th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

People

Enver Charles Cury

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 13054628 / O-670027
Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
Role/Job: Bombardier

William Whittfield Trimble

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: O-36895
Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

A crashed B-17 Flying Fortress of the 401st Bomb Group. Image via R Bowers. First handwritten caption on reverse: 'Home on two engines.' Second handwritten caption on reverse: '"Breezing Home" IY-D, 42-40002. 401 BG.'

42-40002

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Breezing Home
Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron

Places

Bomber crews from the 401st Bomb Group look over P-51 Mustang, FT-T, serial number 43-12172, of the 353rd Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, at Deenethorpe airfield. One of their B-17 Flying Fortresses is in the background. Printed caption on reverse of print: '...401st Bomb Group look over a North American P-51 Mustang at an 8th Air Force base in England, 27 December 1943.'

Deenethorpe

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Benefield

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA	31 May 1915	Son of Fred and Cleo Shantz.
Other Evaded	Le Pouyau, France	19 June 1944 - 14 August 1944	Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in B-17 42-40002 19-Jun-44; force landed Le Pouyau. Evaded capture (EVD) MACR 6001
Died	Tucson, Pima County, AZ	3 March 1985
Buried	Holy Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum Tucson, Pima County, AZ	6 March 1985	Holy Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum Tucson, Pima County, Arizona
Based	Deenethorpe	19 June 1944	Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date13 Apr 2022 08:54:07

ContributorED-BB

Changes

Sources

Added address for his page at website www.evasioncomete.be

Date30 Oct 2021 19:11:36

ContributorAl_Skiff

Changes

Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/28653034
https://www.fold3.com/image/189376597
https://www.fold3.com/image/538994764
https://www.fold3.com/record/625377872/fred-shantz-1915-veterans-affair…
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=957
http://401bg.org/Main/History/Crews/Details.aspx?CrewId=13501
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/68424568/frederick-leroy-shantz

Date27 Sep 2014 18:10:20

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 6001 / MACR 6001, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=957 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database