Ross Cartee Bales

Military ROLL OF HONOUR
UPL 78266 UPL 78266 FDR's Potato Peeler Kids, 303rd Bg. KIA 14 May 1943 (except 2Lt. Browning who was KIA 31 March 1943)
STANDING LEFT TO RIGHT: Cpt. Ross C. Bales (pilot), 1Lt. Walter E. Dooley (Co-pilot), 2Lt. Paul M. Thomas (Navigator), 2Lt Carlton Browning (Navigator), KNEELING LEFT TO RIGHT: SGT. Homer T. Perkins (Waist Gunner), T/SGT. Raymond K. Winter Jr. (engineer), SGT. Jack D. Snell (Tail Gunner) S/SGT. Raymond H. Kilgore (Radio), S/SGT Joseph G. Zsampar (Ball Turret Gunner). MACR 15593

Cropped from image media-50533.jpeg (media id 46487)
https://www.fold3.com/image/32145766

Object Number - UPL 78266 - FDR's Potato Peeler Kids, 303rd Bg. KIA 14 May 1943 (except 2Lt. Browning who was KIA 31 March 1943) STANDING LEFT TO RIGHT: Cpt. Ross C. Bales...

Assigned to 359BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 14-May-43 in B-17 42-5243 'FDR's Potato Peeler Kids'. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 15593





Awards: AM (3OLC), PH.

Connections

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

Units served with

Official emblem of the 303rd Bomb Group approved 7 November 1942.

303rd Bomb Group

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

People

Walter Eppes Dooley

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-659676
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Raymond H Kilgore

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 6252886
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Rhude Mark Mathis

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-662289 and 18054662 on enlisting
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
Private Francis W. O'Reilly of the 303rd Bomb Group, puts on a parachute harness in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 28 Jan 1943. Printed caption on reverse: '"England is swell, but I'd rather have Brooklyn," is the message Private Francis W. O'Reilly sends to his parents at 472 Baltic Street, Brooklyn, N.Y. as he buckles on a parachute harness at an American Army Air Force station somewhere in England. Francis is 23 years old, was educated at St. Francis Prep School, and worked wit

Francis W O'Reilly

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 32197181
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Homer T Perkins

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18032511
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Aerial Engineer

Aircraft

42-5243

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: FDR's Potato Peeler Kids
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Caldwell, ID, USA 7 March 1920 Son of John Franklin and Eva Lorene [Cartee] Bales.

Died

Killed in Action (KIA)

North Sea 14 May 1943 Shot down 14-May-43 in B-17 42-5243 'FDR's Potato Peeler Kids'. Plane crashed into North Sea. KIA MACR 15593

Buried/ Commemorated

Netherlands American Cemetery Wall of Missing Netherlands American Cemetery Margraten, Netherland

Based

Molesworth 14 May 1943 Assigned to 359BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56296493/ross-cartee-bales

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Corrected S/N from MACR 15593 at Fold3.com.
Corrected label for KIA event.
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a connection to Molesworth airbase.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Updated birth info per Find-a-grave MEMORIAL ID 56296493.

Date
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from :
MACR 15593 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15593, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I p. 118 by Bishop & Hey, WW II National Memorial

Ross Cartee Bales: Gallery (2 items)

Object number: UPL 50533 - FDR's Potato Peeler Kids, 303rd Bg. KIA 14 May...