Kenneth Leonard Karlson

Military

Kenneth Karlson was Left Waist Gunner on B-17 #42-3453, downed by enemy fighters on the 14 October 1943 mission to Schweinfurt, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW)

Connections

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Units served with

339th Bomb Squadron

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

96th Bomb Group

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

People

Gregory Clement Drobinko

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 32421887
Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Marshall Simpson Hamer

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 35662827
Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner

Edward Owen Jones

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 16067300 at enlistment, then O-676959
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Bombardier

Jerry Vance LeFors

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 18086878 at enlistment, then O-683032
Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Silas Simmons Nettles

Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
Nationality: American
Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
Service Numbers: 14090954 at enlistment, then O-798019
Highest Rank: Colonel
Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

42-3453

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Unit: 94th Bomb Group 333rd Bomb Squadron

Missions

Three B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 94th Bomb Group are attacked by a Nazi Fighter aircraft during a mission. Printed caption on reverse of print: 'A-62641 USAF: Nazi fighter plane attacking Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" during a bomb run over enemy installations somewhere in Europe, 10 September 1944. 100th[sic] Bomb Group, 3rd Bomb Division. U.S. Air Force Photo.'

VIII Bomber Command 115

Date: 14 October 1943

Places

Snetterton Heath

Site type: Airfield
Known as: Station 138

Stalag XVII-B

Site type: Prisoner of war camp
Known as: Stalag 17b, Krems an der Donau, Austria

Events

Event	Date	Description
Born	20 October 1920	Bristol, Day County, South Dakota
Other captured	14 October 1943	after bailing out of 42-3453 over Schweinfurt, Germany
Other Prisoner of War (POW)	14 October 1943	Interned a Stalag XVIIB near Krems, Austria. NARA WWII POW records: "Returned to Military Control 1 June 1945."
Died	5 May 2008
Born		Minneapolis, Minnesota
Buried		Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Revisions

Date20 Apr 2023 20:18:29

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Capitalized the words "Waist Gunner" in the "Role/job" field.

Date9 Feb 2019 09:53:54

ContributorED-BB

Changes

Sources

MACR 831
NARA WWII POW records

Date5 Jul 2017 11:18:15

ContributorLucy May

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 831 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=81159

Date27 Sep 2014 18:17:56

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Snetterton Falcons pg 61 & 76