Military
Marvin W Garber
Shot down on his 10th mission by fighters on the return from a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. MACR #2248. KIA.
NOTE: "Black Widow" #42-7542 was a stand-in for the damaged "Sad Sack" #41-29147, which had been commanded by Lt. Garber. "Sad Sack" crew was assigned to "Black Widow," a sister ship from 707 squadron. Sad Sack had been damaged when landing gear collapsed during a non-combat flight on 28 Jan 44, and was later declared beyond repair.
Comment in MACR 2248 about Lt Marvin Garber:
“Pilot was keeping Aircraft up for crew to bail out.”
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return from a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot, Navigator | 446th Bomb Group
On 4 Feb 1944 shot down near Bray Sur Somme France. "Black Widow" (42-7542) was the replacement ship for "Sad Sack" (41-29147) which was damaged in a crash on a noncombat flight about a week before the 4 Feb 44 mission.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return form a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. POW.
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return from a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow. ' Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. POW.
The pilot kept the aircraft up for others.
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return fom a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. KIA.
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Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return form a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. KIA.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return form a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow'. Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR, Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters on the return form a mission to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt on 4 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7542 'Black Widow. ' Plane crashed SE of Albert, FR. POW.
According to John Fletcher, tail gunner,
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Navigator on "Sad Sack" (41-29147); Ball turret gunner on "Black Widow" (42-7542) | 446th Bomb Group
"Boots" joined up with the Army Air Force at Mac Dill Field, Tampa, FL, while visiting his older brother, Herman Stewart in 1942. Although he had no college degree, he scored high enough on tests to become an enlisted navigator. He was initially based...
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 446th Bomb Group, who came to be known as "the Bungay Buckaroos" after the name of their Suffolk base, flew B-24 Liberators on strategic, support and interdictory missions over Europe. The Group led the Eighth Air Force and 2nd Bomb Division on the...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
Black Widow was shot down by an FW-190A piloted by German Ace Waldemar Radener, who had a total of 23 confirmed kills, including 12 heavy bombers. The particular incident is listed among Radener's confirmed claims in a table from German federal...
B-24 Liberator
Originally assigned to 44th Bomb Group, 66th Bomb Squadron; transferred to 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron where it was damaged on landing Bungay, England 29 Jan 1944.
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4 February 1944
The railroad marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany were focus of this mission, but other railroad marshalling yards in the area were attacked as well. Weather and navigational errors frustrate target acquisition.748 heavy bombers were despatched in a...
Military site : airfield
From late November 1943, the three bases of Bungay, Seething and Hardwick were the stations of the 20th Combat Wing of the Eighth Air Force. The base had previously housed individual squadrons of the 310th Bomb Group (Twelfth Air Force) and of the 93rd...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Estherville, Iowa, USA | 15 March 1921 |
| Enlisted | Lafayette, IN, USA | 8 April 1942 |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | France | 4 February 1944 |
| Died | France | 4 February 1944 |
| Buried | Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery | 8 September 1949 |
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PLOT Section 82, Site 111 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2020 17:46:50 | Scotsman | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Correspondence with Ray Bowden of the USAAF Nose Art Research Project, and also from an account of the 4 Jan 44 mission in Jansen's History of the 446th Bomb Group. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 August 2020 17:47:37 | Scotsman | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Noting that Sad Sack was damaged in landing on 29 Jan 44 which would have likely resulted in replacement by Black Widow for mission on 4 Feb 44. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 August 2020 17:07:36 | Scotsman | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Acknowledgment that there is some uncertainty as to whether the actual aircraft show down was Sad Sack or Black Widow, The crew was photographed with the Sad Sack but ship misidentified on 446 BG webpage as Black Widow. MACR reports the aircraft under Lt Garber's command shot down was Black Widow and tail number correct. Most parsimonious explanation is that Sad Sack crew in entirety transferred to Black Widow which was a newer aircraft, prior to mission. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 August 2020 16:44:00 | Scotsman | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Previously mentioned crew photograph where crew correctly identified. My uncle, Francis Stewart, was a member of Lt. Garber's Crew, but the aircraft was Sad Sack, not Black Widow. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 August 2020 16:40:13 | Scotsman | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Photograph of aircraft clearly identifiable as Sad Sack, but mislabeled as Black Widow. I am convinced that Lt. Garber was pilot of the Sad Sack when shot down 4 Feb 44. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 January 2020 18:25:44 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added MACR 2248 information to the "Summary biography". |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 January 2020 21:28:21 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
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Added the MACR #2248 to the "Summary biography" per info on Fold3 website. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 January 2020 18:10:05 | jmoore43 | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Added a connection to an 8th AF mission. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 11 January 2020 14:54:03 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number |
| Sources | ||
Changed S/N to eliminate extra wording. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 September 2019 20:49:30 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number and person associations |
| Sources | ||
Added connections to all of Marvin Garber's crew. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 September 2019 20:06:41 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Added burial plot info per Find-a-grave MEMORIAL #37332251. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 September 2019 19:59:10 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number |
| Sources | ||
Adedd officer S/N from recods for "WWII Army Casualties: Indiana" at the National Archives. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 May 2019 19:39:41 | jmoore43 | Changes to unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Added a connection to 8th AF. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 January 2018 04:16:07 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
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Deleted duplicate "Enlisted" entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 January 2018 04:12:42 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
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Associated Marvin's burial to the correct cemetery entry. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 January 2018 04:09:52 | jmoore43 | Changes to place associations |
| Sources | ||
Accociated the location of the Air Base in Elngland with Marvin. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 January 2018 04:05:39 | jmoore43 | Changes to media associations |
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Associated my photo uploaded from Ancestry.com. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2016 23:08:50 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Mission data was found on fold3 website. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 03 February 2016 18:01:58 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
World War II Enlistment records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 January 2016 04:26:40 | jmoore43 | Changes to service number, biography and events |
| Sources | ||
Find-A-Grave memorial # 37332251 and WW II Enlistment records. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 January 2016 04:12:52 | jmoore43 | Changes to middlename |
| Sources | ||
Find-A-Grave memorial #37332251 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:19:48 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2248 / MACR 2248, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces; The History of the 446th Bomb Group, pg 50 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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