Phil Errington Trimmer Jr
Military
Added individual photo
Object Number - UPL 20823 - Sgt Philip E. Trimmer, Jr - North Pickenham, May 1945
Barely 18, Phil Trimmer enlisted in the Air Corps in April 1944. Trained as a gunner, he was sent overseas and assigned to the 491st Bomb Group / 854th Bomb Squadron in England. He was on board B-24 "Belle Ringer" # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in Belgium on return from the 14 March 1945 mission to bomb the marshalling yards at Gütersloh, Germany.
A doctor, he disappeared in a flight accident, together with a Roland Bev Kelley. They had flown on 1 January 1969 in Trimmer’s Piper Cub to play some golf in Florida. After they took off from the Pompano Airpark on the flight back on 5 January, the weather was very bad and radio contact was lost with the Vero Beach station at 12:12. No trace was ever found of the plane or the two men on board.
Connections
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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: 491st Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 10105080 and O2022747
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group 854th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35847379
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group 854th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 32966605 and O-944688
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group 852nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 38554536
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group
- Service Numbers: 13084865 and 2061944
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Belle Ringer
- Unit: 491st Bomb Group 493rd Bomb Group 852nd Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 14 March 1945
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: North Pick
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Richmond City, Virginia, United States | 18 March 1926 | the son of Phil E. and Mattie L. Trimmer |
|
Enlisted |
Fort George Meade, Maryland, United States | 13 April 1944 | as a Private in the Air Corps |
|
Other |
near Florée, Belgium | 14 March 1945 | survived the crash of B-24 # 42-51195 when it crash-landed in Belgium |
|
Died |
off the coast, East of Melbourne, Florida, United States | 5 January 1969 | in an aviation accident, after take off from Pompano Airpark, Florida |
| Richmond, Virginia, United States |
Revisions
His first name was "Phil". I'm married to his Daughter, Deborah-lyn, and also know his son, Phil Errington Trimmer III.
NARA WWII Enlistments records
US 1940 Census
Personal research on Philip Trimmer (corrected the spelling of his first name : it's Philip with only one l)
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / WWW.491st.org roster
