Stanley M Kissenberth

Military

On May 1, 1943, assigned target was the uboat yards at St. Nazaire and an error on return took the group over heavily defended Brest. The B-17 #42-29649 was attacked by fighters and caught on fire. The pilot landed at Cornwall, the BTG Maynard 'Snuffy' Smith was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on this day. 3 parachuted out of the burning plane and were lost. Pages 107 and 109 in Strong's book states this was Kissenberth's first mission after being wounded in the thigh two months before. Ironically, both missions were to St Nazaire and May 1st he was again hit by flak in the same leg. This was his last combat mission.



Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster - first in the 306th to earn the Oak Leaf Cluster to the PH

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.

306th Bomb Group

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

Aircraft

42-29649

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 423rd Bomb Squadron

Places

Revisions

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Contributorjmoore43
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Added an association to Thurleigh, the home base for the 306th BG.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Added some punctuation to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity.

Date
Contributorjmoore43
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Added a connection to the A/C #42-29649 listed in the "Summary biography".

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ContributorAAM
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306th BG/ 423rd BS Thurleigh 111 Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 113-4, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp. 105-9 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia