Harry Irwin Jr

Military

Killed In Service. 27 May 1943 in an accident at Alconbury, ground crew were loading bombs into B-17s for the next day's mission when several bombs detonated. 19 were killed and 14 injured.



The explosions killed 19 airmen, severely injured 20 others, damaged 11 B-17's, and totally destroyed 2 others. The two B-17's destroyed were #42-29685 & #42-29706.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 95th Bomb Group.

95th Bomb Group

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

Aircraft

Ground crew of the 95th Bomb Group attend to an explosion caused whilst loading bombs into a B-17 Flying Fortress at Alconbury. Aircraft pictured are: B-17F (serial number 42-29808) and B-17F (serial number 42-29706) nicknamed "Passion Flower" (after the Disney character from 'Bambi')- both were written off as a result of the explosion. Printed caption on reverse: 'A-25287 AG Planes 3 and 4 (later) in foreground were damaged beyond repair. The scene of the explosion, which ocurred as bombs were loaded in

42-29685

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 412th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed In Service (KIS)

Alconbury, Huntingdonshire District, Cambridgeshire, England 27 May 1943

Born

Buried

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added an association to the A/C #42-29685 per the casualty list in the A/C description section.
Added an association to Alconbury per info in the "Summary biography".

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Updated Role and Added S/N and "Summary biography" per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 56290952.
Added KIS and Buried events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 56290952.
SOURCE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56290952/harry-irwin

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Corrected the name by moving "Jr" from the middle name field to the suffix field.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://95thbg.org/95th_db_pages/left_formation_code/gethonoroll.php