John D Bledsoe

Military

Joined squad 14 October 1942. Shot down 14 May 1943 in B-24D 41-23819 'Rugged Bunny' while serving as Navigator. Prisoner of War (POW) imprisoned at Stalag Luft 3 and moved to 49-11.

POW

Me 109 probable 3/22/43

Connections

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

Units served with

B-24 Liberators of the 44th Bomb Group line up for takeoff at Shipdham in 1943. The 'Flying Eight-Ball' emblem of the 68th Bomb Squadron is visible on the nose of the leading aircraft. Image stamped with field press censor, 1943. Press Agency photograph- original printed caption has been removed.

68th Bomb Squadron

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

Aircraft

41-23819

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Rugged Buggy
  • Unit: 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs 68th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Zagan, Poland 14 May 1943 - 8 June 1945 Held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia (now Poland) moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 8-Jun-45.

Born

Clinton, Massachusetts, USA

Revisions

Date18 Feb 2015 22:25:18
ContributorLee8thbuff
Sources

Lee Cunningham 18-Feb-2015. Added SN and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Edited biography based on :"Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date27 Sep 2014 18:15:49
ContributorAAM
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15509 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Webb Todd, MACR 15509, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1 by Bishop & Hey p. 119, picture of plane p. 118, NARA POW records .