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Military
A bomber crew of the 388th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-5906) nicknamed "Sandra Kay". Printed caption on reverse: '61482 AC- Crew of the 562nd Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, beside the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress "Sondra Kay". England, 11 August 1943. Front row, left to right: T/Sgt Herman J Ball (FE), Milwaukee, Wisc; S/Sgt George R Martin (BTG), New Albany, Ind; S/Sgt Joshua M Lewis (TG), Cumberland, Md; S/Sgt Otto V Kloza (WG), Milwaukee, Wisc; T/Sgt Paul D Gomis (R/O), Reading, Penn; S/Sgt Francis H Curry (WG), Roswell, New Mexico; Back row, left to right: 2nd Lt Frank N Broach (B), Irving, Texas; 2nd Lt Albert (NMI) Rubin (CP), Chicago, Ill; 2nd Lt Henry O Cox (P), Crossville, Tenn; 2nd Lt Willis E Eddy (N), Battle Creek Mich. US Air Force Photo.' Made corrections to the caption, adding crew positions and changing the plane name from "Sandra Kay" to "Sondra Kay"
B-17 #42-5906 "Sondra Kay" of the 388th BG - 562nd BS crashed near the fence line on 9 September 1943 at Upper Cilgee Farm in Powys, Wales. All 10 members of the Henry Cox Crew were KIA
Killed on mission returning from mission to Bordeaux and La Pallice in B-17 #42-5906 'Sondra Kay'. Rain squalls dispersed the 388th BG. A/C crashed at Pembridge south of RAF Shobdon. 16 September 1943
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Henry Jr. was a graduate of the 1940 class of Cumberland County High School. Two classmates, and football team members, graduating from CCHS in 1938, Ben H. West Jr. and Cecil G. Buttram were killed in action. AMM 3rd Class Ben H. West Jr. enlisted Dec...
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 30/4/43; Sioux City 13/5/43; Smoky Hill 11/6/43; Dow Fd 15/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 17/6/43; following Regensburg shuttle mission suffered battle damaged over Bordeaux on return trip to base 24/8/43, with Lloyd...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 30/4/43; Sioux City 7/5/43; Dow Fd 15/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG [--E] Knettishall 16/6/43; suffered battle damaged at La Pallice, Fr. 16/9/43 with Henry Cox, Co-pilot: Albt Rubin, Navigator: Bob Leaventhal, Bombardier: Frank...
16 September 1943
This mission is composed of two elements: Bomb Groups from 1st Bomb Division and Bomb groups from 3rd Bomb Division. The first element is a combined force of 147 B-17s from: 91BG (18); 303BG (19); 305BG (16); 351BG (19); 379BG (19); 381BG (20); and...
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Crash site
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Maryland, USA | 1 July 1913 |
| Enlisted | Baltimore, MD, USA | 5 September 1942 |
| 388th BG Combat Tour | Knettishall, Diss IP22 2TH, UK | 17 July 1943 – 16 September 1943 |
| Died | Llanyre, Llandrindod Wells LD1 6NG, UK | 16 September 1943 |
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On this date while returning from a mission to Bordeaux, the Cox Crew, low on fuel and in bad weather, crashed at Upper Cilgee Farm in Powys, Wales. All 10 crew were KIA |
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| Buried | Cumberland, MD 21502, USA | 1948 |
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Hillcrest Memorial Park • Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland, USA |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 15 February 2020 22:28:24 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2017 03:11:41 | 466thHistorian | Changes to middlename, service number, highest rank, events, person associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=photoImage&id=388-P-C-... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:17:37 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Combat Chronology Supplement p. 363, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey p. 285 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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