Victor Gilbert Hand
Military ROLL OF HONOURhttp://www.303rdbg.com/news/2012-02-19.html (The Molesworth Pilot; 303rd Bomb Group Newsletter)
1-May-42 Assigned as and Aerial Gunner of B-17 41-24619 [GN-S] "S-for-Sugar", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. 25-Oct-42 Arrived at Molesworth, UK aboard "S-for-Sugar". Apparently he and the crew were re-assigned to B-17 41-24607 [GN-W] "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS, no explanation was found in the records of 303BG on their website.
Shot down 23-Jan-43 in B-17 41-24607 "Jerry Jinx" while serving as Right Waist Gunner. Aircraft sustained damage from flak over the target of Lorient, France and crashed into the Bay of Biscay. Killed in Action (KIA). Crew position verified from crew records of the 303rd Bomb Group website, Gary Moncur, historian.
Participated in 7 Operations (1 was aborted) See Biography events.
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: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-414648
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 23 January 1943
- Date: 13 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Cambridge American Military Cemetery
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Lorient, France | 23 January 1493 | Killed when aircraft sustained damage from flak over the target at Lorient, France and crashed into the sea. His remains have never been recovered. |
Born |
Mississippi | 29 March 1923 | |
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Boise, ID, USA | 1 May 1942 | Assigned as an Aerial Gunner on B-17 41-24619 "S-for-Sugar", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. |
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 25 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth, UK as an Aerial Gunner aboard B-17F 41-24619 "S-for-Sugar", 303BG/427BS. |
Other Re-assigned to Aircraft |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 21 November 1942 | Re-assigned with crew to B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS. Reason not found in available 303BG records. |
Other Mission #1, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS |
22 November 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. | |
Other Mission #2, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS |
Lille, France | 6 December 1942 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the carriage and wagon works at Lille, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France. RTB OK |
Other Mission #4, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS - Aborted |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Right Waist Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #5, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24610, 303BG/427BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Left Waist Gunner of B-17F 41-24610 "JoeBTFSPLK, 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #6, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS |
Lille, France | 13 January 1943 | Served as Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the Lille Fives Locomotive Works at Lille, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #7, SGT Victor G. Hand, w/B-17F 41-24607, 303BG/427BS - KIA |
23 January 1943 | Served as Right Waist Gunner of B-17F 41-24607 "Jerry JinX", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft was shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed into the Bay of Biscay, France and he was killed. KIA | |
Died |
Bay of Biscay | 23 January 1943 | |
Other Commemorated |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing Cambridge American Cemetery | |
Buried Memorialised |
Biloxi City Cemetery Biloxi, Harrison County, MS | Biloxi City Cemetery Biloxi, Harrison County, Mississippi |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 23-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/011.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 13-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/010.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Re- Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Ehle H. Reber crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-reber.html
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Arrival in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Ehle H. Reber crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-reber.html
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Ehle H. Reber crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-reber.html
Lee Cunningham 8-Feb-2016. Added initial assignment, arrival in UK event, and Operations participation to Summary Biography; made connections to all Aircraft and Missions per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Ehle H. Reber crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-reber.html
Lee Cunningham 21-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 15473; Added Role per 303rd Bomb Group website, Gary Moncur, historian; Added decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15473 / MACR 15473, Roster / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database