Military
Capt Oscar D O'Neil and crew of the 401st Bomb Sqn, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, beside Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 42-5070 'Invasion II'. England, 12 March 1943. Capt O'Neil crouched down centre front row.
T/Sgt Benedict 'Benny' Borostowski ball turret gunner on B-17F 42-5070 'Invasion II' 401BS 91BG 8AF.
" Sgt Jack Gaffney, [ San Bernardino, California ], has named his engine on a Boeing B-17 after his best back-home girl Judith sorry, but It's true- Judith will never receive from Dalton one-half of the loving care that her engine namesake does ". - Sgt Jack Gaffney of the 401st Bomb Sqn, 91st BG during his assignment as assistant crew chief on B-17F 42-5070 "Invasion II" (coded LL-A). In addition to his mechanic duties, Gaffney created "nose art" for seven different 91st BG Fortresses. He painted nose art for "Invasion II" (42-5070), "The Bad Egg" , "The Sky Wolf, Shamrock Special, Destiny's Child, Los Angeles City Limits, Sunkist Sue. Jack Paul Gaffney was born on Oct 16th, 1918 - passed away on July 17th, 2011. Sgt Benedict Borostowski Ball Turret Gunner climbs into his position for a photo in the background. NARA Ref 342-FH-3A12473-60295AC.
Assigned to 401BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 17-Apr-43 in B-17 42-5070 'Invasion II'. Plane was on fire when all crew parachuted to safety. Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 15519
Awards: PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner / Flight engineer | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 401BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 17-Apr-43 in B-17 42-5070 'Invasion II'. Plane was on fire when all crew parachuted to safety. Prisoner of War (POW) MACR 15519
Awards: AM (2OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Captain | Bomber pilot | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 401BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 17-Apr-43 in B-17 42-5070 'Invasion II'. Plane was on fire when all crew parachuted to safety. Prisoner of War (POW).
Awards: AM (OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 17/9/42; New Castle 11/10/42; Assigned 401BS/91BG [LL-A] Bassingbourn 14/12/42; Missing in Action 18m Bremen 17/4/43 with Capt Oscar O'Neill, Co-pilot: Bob Friehofer, Navigator: Capt Edwin Carmichael, Bombardier: Capt Edwin Bush,...
8 November 1942
Two Primary (P) targets are the objects of this mission: the German airfield of Drucat at Abbeville, France and the Atclier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille, France. 91BG despatches 15 B-17s to Abbeville and 301BG and 306BG despatch a combined...
17 April 1943
The largest mission to date, 117 B-17s, are despatched to bomb the primary target of the Focke-Wulf Aircraft factory at Bremen, Germany: 91BG (32); 303BG (29); 305BG (28) and 306BG (26). The German Luftwaffe is learning fast and mounts a fierce and...
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
Other location
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Lasalle, IL, USA | 11 February 1920 |
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Son of Joseph and Anna [Szymanski] Borostowski. |
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| Based | Bassingbourn | 1943 – 17 April 1943 |
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Assigned to 401BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Prisoner of War (POW) | Tychowo, Poland | 17 April 1943 – May 1945 |
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Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft IV. |
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| Shot down | Oldenburg, Germany | 17 April 1943 |
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Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 42-5070 'Invasion II. ' Plane was on fire when all crew parachuted to safety. |
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| Died | 11 April 2000 | |
| Buried | Saint Hyacinth Cemetery La Salle, IL | 15 April 2000 |
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Saint Hyacinth Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 19 August 2021 00:33:28 | acbernstein1 | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/55636/TheFirstofMa... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 March 2020 16:44:20 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, events and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/47349570 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 March 2020 00:27:32 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 March 2017 18:44:20 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, nickname, highest rank, biography, awards, events, person associations, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/32151287/?terms=42-5070 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:04:22 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15519 / MACR 15519, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 p. 105, The Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourn by Havelaar pp. 37-38 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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