Martin E Plocher
Military
Object Number - UPL 26222 - Colonel Martin E Plocher, POW
9-Feb-42 Assigned as Pilot with crew to B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. 303BG records do not indicate that he was in the original complement of aircraft and crews of the 303BG at Molesworth, UK in October 1942. It seems likely that he and his crew were a replacement crew and were processed through one of the Combat Crew Replacment Centers prior to their assigment with the 303BG.
Shot down 6 March 1943 in B-17 42-5262, 303BG/360BS while serving as Pilot. The aircraft crashed into Bay of Biscay after a FW-190 attack that knocked out engines 1 & 2. Copilot and LWG killed instantly. The other 8 survived in leaky rafts for 12 hours before a German boat hauled them aboard to become Prisoner of War (POW)s. 1LT Plocher was captured near Brest, France. MACR 15536
Participated in 4 Operations (1 was Aborted) See Biography events.
POW
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1943
- Date: 27 February 1943
- Date: 26 February 1943
- Date: 14 February 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 9 February 1943 | Assigned as Pilot, with crew, to B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. |
|
Other Mission #1, 1LT Martin E. Plocher, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. Severe cold and weather forced Wing Command to recall the entier 303BG formation. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, 1LT Martin E. Plocher, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, 1LT Martin E. Plocher, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Brest, France | 27 February 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the port area and U-Boat pens at Brest France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 1 |
Moosburg, Germany | 6 March 1943 - 13 October 2043 | Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria until 13-Oct-43, then relocated to Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria until liberted by American forced on 15-Apr-45. |
|
Other Mission #4, 1LT Martin E. Plocher, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Brest, France | 6 March 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft was shot down by fighters but 1LT Plocher managed to ditch the aircraft into the Bay of Biscay. He and 7 other airmen were able to get in rafts and were eventually captured by the Germans. Two other crew were KIA in the attack. |
|
Other Prisoner of War - Camp 2 |
Krems an der Donau, Austria | 13 October 1943 | Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria until liberated by the 3rd Army (Patton) on 15-Apr-45. |
|
Other Last Report Date - Discharged |
12 June 1945 | Evacuated to the United States and Discharged. | |
|
Born |
Revisions
NARA file verified Air Medal and officer number after the USAF became a separate branch. His Air Medal was awarded in 1950.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Corrected Assigned to Aircraft year date.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Last Report Date event per NARA WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added POW-Camp 2 event per NARA WWII POW database and historical records of Stalag 7A.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 6-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/020.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 27-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/018.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 26-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 14-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Personnel Roster: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added CCRC into to Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Added Participations statement to Summary Biography per http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 27-Feb-2016. Made connections to Place, Aircraft and Missions; Added Assignment statement and Participations statement to Summary Biography per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, 303BG Personenl Roster; http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunnungham 3-Jul-2015. Added Decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added unit and crew position ot Description per MACR 15536.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15536, 3 Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. 1, pp. 88-89 by Bishop & Hey , 303rd web site mission report
