Robert Thornton Coale
Military
47th BG - 97th BS - 12th AF
L to R: Robert K. Ritchie (P), Archie D. Mull (G), Robert T. Coale (G), Harold D. Hackett (RN)
This crew was shot down flying A-20K 44-577 (not the A-20B in photo) on 23 Feb 1945.
Ritchie was KIA. Coale was not onboard. Mull was captured. Hackett evaded and returned to duty.
Object Number - UPL 47532 - Robert K. Ritchie Crew 47th BG - 97th BS - 12th AF L to R: Robert K. Ritchie (P), Archie D. Mull (G), Robert T. Coale (G), Harold D. Hackett...
Assigned to 97BS, 47BG, 12AF USAAF. 60+ x combat missions. ETD
Awards: AM (3OLC), GC, NSDM, WWII Victory, EAME (4 x battle stars), AF Longevity Service Award.
Connections
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Units served with

- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment

- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Naples International Airport
![Ground personnel of the 51st Fighter Group, 10th Air Force work on a P-47 Thunderbolt (serial number 42-29264). Handwritten caption on reverse: '51 FG, 316 FS, [illegible].'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/max_650x650/public/freeman/media-457064.jpg?itok=ioboTQDC)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Grosetto Main

- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bastia – Poretta Airport
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Majestic, Alabama | 21 March 1924 | Son of Simeone and Jennie Mae [Bailey] Coale. |
Died |
Nacogdoches, Texas | 13 July 2017 | |
Bayview, Alabama | 213 Shore Avenue Worked for U.S. Pipe and Foundry | ||
Other Assigned to the 47th Bomb Group |
Capodochino Airfield, Italy | Completed a 60 mission tour |
Revisions
ContributorAl_Skiff
ChangesChanges to service number, biography and events
Contributor466thHistorian
ChangesCreated entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, events, unit associations, place associations and media associations
Sources
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/43992_07_0…
"47th Bomb Group" - Turner Publishing, page 73