John E Carpenter Jr
MilitaryGraduated from Texas A&M University in 1940 as engineer. Called up in ROTC in 1941. Graduated first in class in Navigator school and sent to England. Served under Curtis Lemay.
Shot down 16-February-1943 in B-17F 41-24611 'Boomerang' while serving as Navigator. The aircraft was attacked by enemy fighters after bombing the target at St. Nazaire, France and crashed near Pleucadeuc, France. Killed in Action (KIA)
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Boomerang
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 422nd Bomb Squadron
Missions
![B-24 Liberators of the 44th Bomb Group fly over countryside. Image stamped on reverse: 'Planet News.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 16 Feb 1943.' [stamp] Printed caption on reverse: '7-12 Liberator planes of U.S. Bomber Command in flight at the start of an operational patrol from their base "somewhere in England". And February 17th 1943 PN'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379113.jpg.webp?itok=PMFn3r3H)
- Date: 16 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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Born |
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Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Pleucadeuc, France | 16 February 1943 | Killed when aircraft was shot down and crashed near Pleucadeuc, France. |
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Buried |
Buried in the Brittany American Cemetery, Plot G, Row 12, Grave 10. |
Revisions
Bob Ricks. John E. Carpenter was my mother's only sibling. I grew up looking at his picture on my grandmother's dresser. I inherited all of his military papers and his A&M senior saber. I visited his grave in France in 2000 and again in 2014. My wife and I also visited the memorial in Molac France to the men of the Boomerang and the Hun Hunter that died over Molac on February 16, 1943. The Boomerang actually crashed into the lake and sunk. John's body was on board and was retrieved by two Frenchman that rowed out looking for survivors. We saw the lake and we were given a part from the Boomerang that had been found in the lake long after war's end.
Lee Cunningham 19-Feb-2015 . Added SN and KIA event per MACR 16236; Added decorations and Burial event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Added crew position and minor edits to Biography based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
MACR 16236 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database