Ivan Woodrow Scott

Military
media-19637.jpeg UPL 19637 Ivan Woodrow Scott

private investigation

Object Number - UPL 19637

Prisoner of War (POW) crashed near Dusseldorf on 10 Jan 45 in B-17 43-38668



On 10 January 1945, his B-17 from the 568th Bombardment Squadron was lost to flak during an attack on Dusseldorf-Cologne.



A/C 43-38668 (Skinner crew) received, at 1221, a direct hit by flak at Dusseldorf between #1 and #2 engines and went into a 30 degree dive in an attempt to extinguish the fire. A/C leveled off at 25,000 feet for a short time then the left wing came off, and A/C went into an uncontrolled dive with A/C 151 reporting observing it hitting the ground in a mass of flames. No chutes were reported by any observing A/C.

The B-17 plane was on fire and the crew continued to drop their bombs rather than break out of formation. Flak got the plane just as went into the target. I could see the flames licking back from the engine. When I glanced back again the left wing was wrapped in flame. They hung onto their bombs and stayed in formation. When we reached the target the wing looked like a giant bonfire, but they got their bombs on the objective. Every man in the formation was hoping for a miracle to put those flames out. Then they pulled away and started down.

According to reports, he held the plane together long enough to complete the mission before going down.

Listed as Missing in Action (MIA) were:

1st Lt. Horace Mathew Skinner

1st Lt. James D. Hannaman

2nd Lt. Stanford A. Kay

2nd Lt. Ivan Woodrow Scott

S/Sgt. Charles F. Pasch

S/Sgt. William H. Wylie

Sgt. Mark W. Hertz

S/Sgt. James L. Craig

Sgt. Ward C. Gillespie

According to a German report: Report on Downing of an American Aircraft, Downing No: KU 3608 dated 10 January 1945, 1st Lt. Horace Mathew Skinner, 2nd Lt. Ivan Woodrow Scott, S/Sgt. William H. Wylie and S/Sgt. James L. Craig survived the downing of B-17G s/n 43-38668.

This was 390th Bombardment Group Mission #241.

After he was shot down over Germany, he was taken Prisoner of War. Ivan was captured by the Nazis, and was sent to Stalag Luft 1 near Barth, Prussia where 4,707 other American POWs were held. Ivan's capture was first reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross on January 10, 1945, and the last report was made on March 11, 1946. The average duration of imprisonment was 363 days.

Ivan was POW for 4 months at Stalag Luft 1. He released at 24 June 1945 Ivan returned to the States. After coming back to the states he became employed by American Airlines as Ramp Agent in Cincinnati, Ohio.

He was later transferred to Willow Run Airport as Manager of Air Freight in Detroit, and again to Detroit Metropolitan Airport as Manager of Marketing Where he was employed for Thirty-one years.

While living in Michigan, Ivan and family were active members of Forest Avenue Baptist Church where he served as Sunday school teacher, usher and lay Chairman of Deacon Board.

Ivan was an avid golfer, spending many Saturdays on the course with fellow American Airlines friends. He loved to travel and boasted of flying around the world several times.

Upon retirement, he and his wife moved to Ft. Myers Florida, where they spent twenty-five years. Ivan changed sport to tennis and became an avid player. He also loved to fish on Sanibel Island. While in Ft. Myers, both he and his wife enjoyed serving at McGregor Baptist Church. In 2003, they returned to Michigan, living at Henry Ford Village, Dearborn.



On 23 May 2007 Ivan Woodrow Scott (woody), 89, of Dearborn, Michigan passed away after losing his battle with cancer.

Ivan Woodrow Scott and Mary Lee Scott (Hill) have two sons Gerald Scott (Peggy) of Dearborn and Jeffrey Scott (marti) of Ypsilanti, they have four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.





Connections

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

Units served with

The insignia of the 390th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 335444050
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 182271123
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-772358
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18226368
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-2060304
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War

10 January 1945

Revisions

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

Private investigation

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia;
- MACR 11580;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

private investigation

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

private investigation

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

private investigation

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

private investigation

Date
Contributorrzoontjens
Changes
Sources

private investigation

Ivan Woodrow Scott: Gallery (5 items)