John J Suitch

Military
media-49210.jpeg UPL 49210 Lt. John Jay Suitch, pilot of B-24 J liberator #42-100374. Shot down after successfully bombing Gothaer Waggon Fabrik AG in Gotha on February 24, 1944. Their plane, already crippled and flying on two engines, next suffered a catastrophic explosion up front and Lt. Suitch gave the order to bail out. Two members of the crew did not survive the descent to the ground. The parachutes of Lt. Suitch and the navigator, Lt. Eckard, were damaged or malfunctioned, and both men were killed by the impact. S/Sgt. Ulmer, the tail gunner, had failed to get out of the plane. Nancy Wilson

Nancy Wilson (bombardier_daughter)

Object Number - UPL 49210 - Lt. John Jay Suitch, pilot of B-24 J liberator #42-100374. Shot down after successfully bombing Gothaer Waggon Fabrik AG in Gotha on February 24,...

Pilot of B-24 J # 42-100374. Shot down by fighters just after bombing the mission target at Gotha, Germany and crashed SW of Gotha on 24 Feb 1944. Bailed out, but did not survive. Possibly descended too fast due to flak holes in parachute.



PH

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Two airmen of the 466th Bomb Group.

2nd Air Division

  • Unit Hierarchy: Division
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Combat organisation
A pathfinder B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-51681) of the 453rd Bomb Group flies in formation with a fellow Liberator of the 453rd and and a pathfinder Liberator of the 445th Bomb Group. Image via Alan Rowsell.

445th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

42-100374

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Suitch's Bitch
  • Unit: 445th Bomb Group 700th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Signal Squares on the airfield at Tibenham, B-24 Liberators of the 398th Bomb Group are visible in the background. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Tibenham Signal Squares.'

Tibenham

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Tivetshall

Events

Event Location Date Description

Died

Herbstein, Germany 24 February 1944 Bailed out of burning B-24 Liberator but died in his descent to the ground.

Born

Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Buried

Buried

Prisoner of War (POW)

Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial 24 February 1944

Revisions

Date
Contributorbombardier_daughter
Changes
Sources

Nancy Wilson

Date
Contributorbombardier_daughter
Changes
Sources

Nancy Wilson

Date
Contributorbombardier_daughter
Changes
Sources

Nancy Wilson

Date
Contributorbombardier_daughter
Changes
Sources

Nancy Wilson

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2562 / MACR 2562, ABMC, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

John J Suitch: Gallery (3 items)

Object number: UPL 49210 - Lt. John Jay Suitch, pilot of B-24 J liberator #42...

Object number: UPL 49213 - Crew of B-24 J liberator #42-100374 (Suitch's...

Object number: UPL 49239 - Bombardier (Robert J Peterson), James A Murphy (co...