William G LeFevre

Military
First Lieutenant William G. LeFevre of the 303rd Bomb Group, climbs into his B-17 Flying Fortress. A censor has obscured a piece of equipment attached to the aircraft. Was passed as published, but passed as censored afterwards; 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: '"Off to bomb the Nazis...", climbing into his Flying Fortress is 1st Lt. William G. LeFevre, of 6000 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Aged 28, he worked for the Sales Section, Firestone Tier & Rubber Co., 26E 16th Street Chicago. His mother, Mrs. media-407533.jpg FRE 4169 First Lieutenant William G. LeFevre of the 303rd Bomb Group, climbs into his B-17 Flying Fortress. A censor has obscured a piece of equipment attached to the aircraft. Was passed as published, but passed as censored afterwards; 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: '"Off to bomb the Nazis...", climbing into his Flying Fortress is 1st Lt. William G. LeFevre, of 6000 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Aged 28, he worked for the Sales Section, Firestone Tier & Rubber Co., 26E 16th Street Chicago. His mother, Mrs. Madge LeFevre is at 210 Kenyon Ave., Elkhart, Indiana. Lt. LeFevre is a graduate of Indiana University.' On reverse: Ministry of Information, Current Affairs Ltd, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps]. Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 4169 - First Lieutenant William G. LeFevre of the 303rd Bomb Group, climbs into his B-17 Flying Fortress. A censor has obscured a piece of equipment...

1-May-42 Assigned as Co-Pilot of B-17F #41-24584 [GN-Q] "Susfu", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho. 22-Oct-42 Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Co-Pilot of "Susfu"



Flew 23 Missions as a Co-Pilot to 1LT Edward J Broussard. Upgraded from Co-Pilot to Pilot on 4-Jul-43 and flew two missions as 1st Pilot. Completed his 24-Mission combat tour on 25-Jul-43. Was promoted to Captain after he completed his tour. Mission participations (UNDER CONSTRUCTION). See Biography events.

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

Aircraft

41-24584

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Susfu
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron
Lieutenant Fort W. Lipe of the 303rd Bomb Group, signals 'V for Victory' from the cockpit of his B-17 Flying Fortress (GN-T, serial number 41-24610 ) nicknamed "Joe Btfsplk II". Passed for publication 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: 'Lt. Fort W. Lipe, of the Air Corps, of Irving, Illinois was with the Owens-Illinois Glass Co. He is 23 and is engaged to Miss Edith Kesinger, of 314 North-St., Normal, Illinois. His greeting is silent, optimistic and emphatic. As O.P.S. he sends it in the V sign.' On

41-24610

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Joe Btfsplk II
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Assigned to Aircraft

Boise, ID, USA 1 May 1942 Assigned as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24594 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.

Other

Arrived in UK

Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK 22 October 1942 Arrived at Molesworth, UK aboard and as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24584 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS.

Other

Mission #1, 1LT William G. LeFevre, w/ B-17F 41-24584, 303BG/427BS

Lille, France 6 December 1942 Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24584 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the carriage and wagon works at Lille, France. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #2, 1LT William G. LeFevre, w/ B-17F 41-24584, 303BG/427BS - Aborted

Rouen, France 12 December 1942 Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24584 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #3, 1LT William G. LeFevre, w/ B-17F 41-24584, 303BG/427BS

Lorient, France 30 December 1942 Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24584 "Susfu", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK

Other

Mission #3, 1LT William G. LeFevre, w/ B-17F 41-24610, 303BG/427BS

Lorient, France 23 January 1943 Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24610 "Joe BTFSPLK", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Corrected initial assigment to location and Assigned to Aircraft location per 303BG records, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian; Mission Report of 23-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/011.pdf.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian; Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian; Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian; Mission Report of 6-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 8-Jan-2016. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Edward J. Bourssard crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-broussard.html

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 8-Jan-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Edward J. Bourssard crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-broussard.html

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 8-Jan-2016. Added Summary Biography; made connections to place, aircraft and missions (through 23-Jan-43) ; added known decorations per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Edward J. Broussard crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-427-broussard.html

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://303rdbg.com/rost-kl.html#K

William G LeFevre: Gallery (1 items)

First Lieutenant William G. LeFevre of the 303rd Bomb Group, climbs into his B-17 Flying Fortress. A censor has obscured a piece of equipment attached to the aircraft. Was passed as published, but passed as censored afterwards; 16 Dec 1942. Printed caption on reverse: '"Off to bomb the Nazis...", climbing into his Flying Fortress is 1st Lt. William G. LeFevre, of 6000 N. Clark Street, Chicago. Aged 28, he worked for the Sales Section, Firestone Tier & Rubber Co., 26E 16th Street Chicago. His mother, Mrs.

Object number: FRE 4169 - First Lieutenant William G. LeFevre of the 303rd...