Jerry Bryan Payne
Military
388th BG - 561st BS - 8th AF
Most of these men were shot down on 20 Feb 1944
Maxbauer and Scuglik were not on the mission. Alcarese was WIA and made POW. The rest were KIA
Standing Left to Right: Joseph Scuglik (FE), James L. Ellis (WG), Albert R. Maxbauer (R/O), Grant G. Tucker (WG), Andrea Alcarese (TG), Joseph Pappaalardo (BTG)
Kneeling Left to Right: Jerry Payne (P), Carl E. Cole (CP), Clarence H.E. Swanson (B), J.J. Kelley (N)
Object Number - UPL 45741 - Jerry Bryan Payne Crew 388th BG - 561st BS - 8th AF Most of these men were shot down on 20 Feb 1944 Maxbauer and Scuglik were not on the mission. ...
On a mission to Poznan, Poland, B-17G #42-39894 'Barbara' left the formation due to a fuel leak and was shot down by fighters, exploded in mid-air, and crashed near Funen, Denmark on 20 Feb 1944. Killed in Action (KIA).
2nd Lieutenant Jerry B. Payne was born November 11, 1920. His next of kin were his wife, Catherine Payne, and his daughter, Joyce Payne. He was from Manhattan, Kansas.
On February 20, 1944, he was the Pilot of “Barbara,” B-17 tail #42-39894, of the 388th Bomb Group, 566th Bomb Squadron, when it went down over the island of Fuenen, Denmark.
He is buried with other members of his crew in a group burial at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Connections
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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: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33389045
- Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-691038
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18161373
- Highest Rank: Technician Third Grade
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-809531
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16088844
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade)
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Old 66 / Lady Margaret
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Jeannie
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Boomerang Barbara
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 20 February 1944
- Date: 13 February 1944
- Date: 30 January 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Holton, Kansas | 11 November 1920 | 2nd Lieutenant Jerry B. Payne was born November 11, 1920. His next of kin were his wife, Catherine Payne, and his daughter, Joyce Payne. He was from Manhattan, Kansas. |
|
Enlisted |
Fort Riley, Kansas | 30 March 1942 | |
|
Other 388th BG Combat Tour |
Knettishall Airfield, UK | 30 January 1944 - 20 February 1944 | Shot down and KIA on his 3rd combat mission |
|
Buried |
Louisville, KY | Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA Add to Map Plot I, 54 | |
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Assens, Denmark | 20 February 1944 | Jerry Byran Payne was born in 1922 in Hutchinson, Kansas. His NARA enlistment record states he enlisted at Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 30, 1942. It also states he had completed 4 years of high school, was married, and had been employed as a semi-skilled builder in the aircraft industry. He was accepted into the aviation cadet flight program, and trained as a pilot. When he completed this instruction, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, and assigned to operational training including combat procedures, formation flying, and navigation problems in the B-17 type aircraft. He was given a crew, and deployed to England in late 1943 for transitional training. After this he was assigned to the 561st Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomb Group, at that time flying from Knettishall, England. He flew his first combat mission on February 6, 1944 as pilot of B-17 # 42-31549, named "Miss Jeannie." This mission resulted in an abort for legal reasons. His next mission was on February 13, 1944, and was uneventful. The crew flew the next mission on February 20, 1944, - a bomb strike against Posen, Poland. Flak was light and inaccurate at the target, but on the inbound route, the formation was attacked over the Danish peninsula by a large number of enemy aircraft. In particularly aggressive attacks, the fighters stayed with the bombers into, over, and away from the target. On the outbound route, Payne radioed that his aircraft had a massive fuel leak and that he was diverting to another path home. The aircraft eventually made an emergency landing near Assen, Denmark. Accounts vary, some telling that the tail gunner parachuted to safety; others that he was in the crash, but survived. He was, in fact, the only survivor, and it is a matter of record that he was captured and sent to a German military hospital to be treated for serious wounds. All others were killed in the crash. The crew was recovered and buried on February 24 in the Assen Cemetery. After the war, several sets of remains were returned to the U.S. The remains of Lt Payne, Lt Kelley, and Sgt Zumbolo could not be individually identified, so the remains were buried in one grave at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Kentucky. They lie in Section 1, Site 54. |
Revisions
Updated Middle Name per MACR 2432 at Fold3.com.
SOURCE: https://www.fold3.com/image/28603178/28603178
Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography" - “Denmark” was misspelled.
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/506489621:61843?indiv…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3304421/_
http://www.388bg.com/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=388-I-PAY01-…
https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cm…
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=8939&h=112424&…
IDPF and/or crash report researched by Bill Beigel. IDPF donated to American Air Museum by Bill Beigel. For more information about this flyer, you may contact http://ww2research.com.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2432 / MACR 2432, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database