James F Shelly
Military ROLL OF HONOUR1-May-1942 Assigned as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 [GN-O] "Kali", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. 24-Oct-42 arrived on B-17F 41-24517 at Molesworth airfield in Cambridgeshire, England.
Killed in Action (KIA) 3-Jan-43 in B-17F-20-BO 'Kali' while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Aircraft was targeting U/B (submarine base) at St. Nazaire, France. 'Kali' encountered intense flak and fighter attacks and went down over the Atlantic. MACR 6141
Participate in 4 Operations (2 were Aborted) See Biography events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Kali
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 6 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 22 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Boise, ID, USA | 15 September 1942 | Assigned as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. |
|
Other Arrived in UK |
24 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS. | |
|
Other Mission #1, TSGT James F. Shelly, w/B-17F 41-24517, 303BG/427BS - Aborted |
Lorient, France | 22 November 1942 | Served as the Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, TSGT James F. Shelly, w/B-17F 41-24517, 303BG/427BS |
Lille, France | 6 December 1942 | Served as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the carriage and wagon works at Lille, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, TSGT James F. Shelly, w/B-17F 41-24517, 303BG/427BS - Aborted |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Served as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Killed when aircraft sustained damage from flak and fighter attacks and crashed into the Atlantic near the target. His remains were recovered later washed up upon the beach. |
|
Other Mission #3, TSGT James F. Shelly, w/B-17F 41-24517, 303BG/427BS - KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. The aircraft was attacked by German fighters and crashed into the Atlantic, and he was Killed in Action KIA. |
|
Buried |
50480 Blosville, France | His body was later washed up on the beach and he was buried in the United States Cemetery at Blosville, France. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) does not carry a listing for this airman as he is not interred in an American Cemetery in Europe under their purview. All the other airmen in this crew received the Air Medal and Purple Heart, so their is strong reason to believe that TSgt Shelly was also awarded these decorations. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Corrected initial assigment to location and Assigned to Aircraft location per 303BG records, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 19-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 19-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf
Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303NG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William H. Goetz crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-goetz.html
Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, William H. Goetz crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-goetz.html
Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added initial aircraft assignment and arrival in UK to Summary Biography; made connections to all mission participations based on my research of 303BG Mission Reports, 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 6141; added Burial event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th AIr Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE, added decorations based on deduction; Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Added crew position and made minor edits on biography.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 60