Kermit David Wooldridge
Military
UPL 75713
UPL 75713
Lt Kermit Wooldridge, B-17 pilot, in the cockpit. Oct. 2, 1943. 379th Bomb Group, 525th Bomb Squad
Cropped from image media-37761.jpeg (media id 37730)
Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo daughter of Lt Kermit Wooldridge
Object Number - UPL 75713 - Lt Kermit Wooldridge, B-17 pilot, in the cockpit. Oct. 2, 1943. 379th Bomb Group, 525th Bomb Squad
The typed WWII Diary of his twenty five missions is at
https://sites.google.com/view/wooldridge-diary-wwii-pilot/home
Kermit D. Wooldridge was a high school drop out living in Texas in 1934. His disabled parents could not control him. Forging his mother's signature, he joined the U.S Army at 16 and served with the 7th Cavalry for several years. On 24-Dec-41, just after Pearl Harbor, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. Wooldridge was very smart, and began training immediately as a pilot of the B-17. After 500 hours of flight time, and 17 months of class work, he arrived with the 379th Bomb Group at Kimbolton, England in May, 1943. After his first mission, 29-Jun-43, he began typing the accounts of his missions on small sheets, later bound into a diary. He was one of the lucky ones - he returned from his 25 required missions.
After the war, he remained in the U.S. Army, serving in the Korean war in Anti Air Craft Artillery as an officer. He retired after twenty five years as a Lt. Colonel.
Lt Kermit Wooldridge was pilot on this mission over Hanover. Germany. It was his 2nd mission and his plane also lost a gas tank, the number 2 engine, the elevator and control cables It had over four hundred bullet holes. Wooldridge would fly this ship, 42-29886 on a total of nine missions. He lost both his Navigator and Bombardier on this mission, Both bailed out over the North Sea. The account of his mission from his WWII diary is https://sites.google.com/view/wooldridge-diary-wwii-pilot/2-hanover-ger…
He served twenty five years, retiring in 1958 as a Lt Colonel.
Awards: DFC (2OLC), AM (3OLC), BSM, WWII Victory, EAME (Battle star), UN and Korean medal.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-676341
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37285481
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 96th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Gay Cabelleros
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Wilder Nell II
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 92nd Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 326th Bomb Squadron 334th Bomb Squadron 525th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Scheherazade
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Tender Tit Tillie / Ragin' Red II
- Unit: 379th Bomb Group 487th Bomb Group 525th Bomb Squadron 837th 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.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-408505.jpg.webp?itok=zJwHCUjh)
- Date: 14 October 1943
- Date: 17 July 1943
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Lawton, Oklahoma | 26 October 1917 | |
|
Enlisted |
11 September 1948 | ||
|
Other Discharged USAF |
28 February 1958 | Honourable discharge. | |
|
Died |
Tampa, FL | 28 September 2004 | |
|
Buried/ Commemorated |
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington, Arlington County, VA Section F Site 46-D-4 | ||
|
Enlisted |
|||
|
Based |
Kimbolton | Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. | |
|
Other Discharged USAAF |
Honourable discharge. | ||
|
Other Pilot training |
Cochran Field, Macon, GA | Basic training at Cochran Field class 1942-K. |
Revisions
By Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo, daughter of Lt Kermit Wooldridge from USAAF records and his WWII Diary.
Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo, daughter of Lt Wooldridge. This is the new mission 2 from the NEW GOOGLE SITES website of the Diary of Lt Kermit Wooldridge. Old Classic website is no longer available, but NEW SITE has entire Diary of his 25 missions as a B-17 pilot. The HOME PAGE is https://sites.google.com/view/wooldridge-diary-wwii-pilot/home
NEW GOOGLE SITES WEBSITE DEVELOPED BY FRANCES WOOLDRIDGE BEKAFIGO, DAUGHTER OF LT KERMIT WOOLDRIDGE
I changed the number of missions flown to 25 based on his personal diary. He does not write an account of the first Schweinfurt mission on Aug 17, 1943 in the diary, I did find a record showing he aborted that mission, but am not sure if he took off or not.
Also he does not write an account for Villa Coublay on Aug 24.
His 8th mission was flown on Aug 27, 1943, target Watten. His diary lists the date as 8-37-43 so he had a typo.
His diary gives accounts of 25 missions flown and they are all numbered at the top of each mission, from 1 to 25.
I had a typo on the year for Pearl Harbor, i changed it from 1942 to 1941
Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo, daughter of Lt Kermit Wooldridge. Mission account from his WWII Diary.
Information on Lt Kermit Wooldridge is being provided by his daughter, Frances Wooldridge Bekafigo. Sources: Military records and his WWII Combat Diary of his 25 missions flown during WWII.
The diary has been donated to the Library of Congress and can be accessed online at https://sites.google.com/site/ww2pilotsdiary/
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / daughter, Frances, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol I by Bishop & Hey p. 204
