Thomas Paxton Sherwood
Military
Object Number - UPL 34516 - Lt Thomas Sherwood
Co-pilot, Mullane crew. 381st BG, 535th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 13 April 1944 in B-17 42-31357 "Our Desire". Mission to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, GE. MACR 3865. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft I.
Midway, PA.
Graduate of the Randolph Field Flying Cadet Class of 42-B. Left for Europe on September 1st, 1942 as a member of the 305th Bomb Group, 422nd Bomb Squadron, as an Operations Officer working directly under Lt Col Curtis Lemay. One of only two American pilots who gave Beam Approach Training for blind landings in the early part of WWII. After the BAT program was disbanded, he opted to go to the 381st BG, 535th BS as the Chief Instrument Flight Instructor. Transferred to combat flying and completed 28 missions.
Sherwood was founder of the 381st Bomb Group Association, and played a key role in getting a memorial to the 381st Bomb Group placed at Ridgewell in the 1980s.
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: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Air base
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- 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: 381st Bomb Group 535th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 535th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 3rd Air Division 305th Bomb Group Can Do
- Service Numbers: O-17917
- Highest Rank: General
- Role/Job: Commanding General
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 535th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 535th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-682504
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Our Desire, Man o War II
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 535th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 13 April 1944
Places
- Site type: Memorial
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Johnstown, Pennsylvania | 27 August 1914 | |
|
Enlisted |
Harrisburg, PA, USA | 11 July 1941 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War |
13 April 1944 - 13 May 1945 | Stalag Luft I | |
|
Died |
30 September 2006 | ||
|
Based |
Grafton Underwood | 305th BG 422nd BS Operations Officer | |
|
Based |
13 April 1944 | 381st BG 535th BS Chief Instrument Flight Instructor | |
|
Buried |
Pleasantville Cemetery Alum Bank, PA |
Revisions
Brought together information from duplicate records including information drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / www.381st.org/UnitHistory/Data/Roster.aspx / 305th Bomb Group Roster
Further information provided by Thomas Paxton Sherwood's son John, and the digital archive created for his father at http://tpsarchives.com/
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- MACR 3865;
- Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
ARowe95
381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999; MACR 3865 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia
