Joseph Donald Weaver
MilitaryJoseph Weaver was on a local training flight on board B-26 #41-17961 on 27 December 1943. Flown by Lt Robert C. Fry, the plane was involved in a landing accident at Froome airfield - Station 236, near Antrim, Northern Ireland. Weaver and four others returned. Assigned to the 386th BG/554th BS (9th Air Force), Joseph was Radio Operator/Mechanical Gunner and had flown on 51 missions with the Lt Fry crew. He was on B-26 #42-96184 on the 6 August 1944 mission (his 52nd one and the first with the Payne crew, replacing the regular radio operator gunner who had completed his tour) to bomb fuel dumps in the Domfront region, Calvados, France. Hit by Flak, the plane crashed in the Channel, 1 mile off the coast at Trouville-sur-Mer. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 7875. Joseph Weaver was made prisoner (POW) and was interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow/Tychowo, Poland.
Connections
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Units served with
![Lieutenant James T. Wilson and Lieutenant Robert J. Owen of the 386th Bomb Group in the cockpit of their B-26 Marauder. Image stamped on reverse: 'Not to be published.' [stamp], 'Ministry of Information 19 Aug 1943.' [stamp] nand '279545.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'AT THE US MARAUDERS BASE. The B-26 Marauders, American super medium bombers are operating now from bases in Britain. This series of pictures shows various scenes at the airfield where the ground crew and the fliers work together](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-380230.jpg.webp?itok=rq3kY4oi)
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Ninth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Air base
- Unit Hierarchy: Unit
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Other
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 386th Bomb Group 554th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14102783 and O-804892
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center)
- Service Numbers: 34336934
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center 322nd Bomb Group 452nd Bomb Squadron Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center)
- Service Numbers: 18038921 at enlistment, then O-728069
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Instructor (Pilot)
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center)
- Service Numbers: 19094562 at the time of enlistment, later O-737420
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot / Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center Headquarters & Headquarters Squadron (No 3 Combat Crew Replacement Center)
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Little Easton
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
28 August 1923 | ||
|
Enlisted |
8 October 1942 | as a Private in the Air Corps | |
|
Other made prisoner (POW) |
6 August 1944 | Bailed out of B-26 #42-96184, landed in parachute in the Calvados Department, France | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
6 August 1944 | Interned at Stalag Luft 4 in Gross Tychow/Tychowo, Poland. Camp evacuated on 6 February 1945 and POWs force-marched to Fallingbostel (Stalag Luft XIB), Germany. Moved from there due to the advance of the Russian troops, Joseph Weaver and other POWs were liberated by British troops, probably in Gudow, Germany, 2 May 1945. NARA WWII POW records : "Returned to Military control 12 June 1945." | |
|
Died |
1 February 1996 | ||
|
Born |
|||
|
Buried |
Revisions
Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.
Added a connection to Stalag Luft 4 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Corrections to POW data.
Corrected middle initial of Captain Fry (C instead of G)
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces Vol. I, p. 442