Military
Gossage crew
Michael Gillen was Radio Operator on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. Michael was among the 5 men who were rescued by Royal Navy torpedo boats and spent the night with them on the French coast. Returned to duty. MACR 778. He was later assigned to the Donald H. Moede crew and completed his tour.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Completed 25 missions from 23 September 1943 - 6 March 1944. Shot down 24 September 1943 in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted and attacked by enemy fighters, the Fortress was riddled and...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator
James Dalton was Navigator on board B-17 #42-30259 on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. James was picked up by a Royal Navy torpedo motor boat, but...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
Francis De Cooman was Ball Turret Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. He was among the 5 men killed, 5 others were...
Military | Captain | Bombardier
Theodore Don was Bombardier on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. Theodore was among the 5 who were...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot / Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 September 1943 on a practice flight in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II'. Plane ditched in the North Sea. 5 Killed In Action; 5 rescued, Gossage among them - Missing Air Crew Report MACR 778. On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
William Grier was Co-Pilot on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. William was among the 5 men killed, 5 were...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner
William Humphrey was Top Turret Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. William was among the 5...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner
Clyde Lovell was Left Waist Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. Clyde was among the 5 men killed, 5...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Ralph Schulte enlisted in September 1942 and began an intensive course of study in aviation mechanics at the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, Amarillo Army Air Field, Texas. He got his wings at Fort Myers, Florida in 1943 and was sent...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 8/5/43; Smoky Hill 25/4/43; Kearney 27/5/43; Dow Fd 7/6/43; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-N] Thorpe Abbotts 10/6/43. Was flying on a practice flight 24 September 1943 to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted and shot down by enemy...
24 September 1943
The German airfield of Beauvais/Tille, France is the target fro a combined force of 72 B-26s freom 323BG (36) and 322BG (36). 66 aircraft are effective on the target. There are no losses, but 14 aircraft are damaged. The bomber gunners claim 1-0-0 of...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | New York City, New York | 9 September 1919 |
|
the son of Patrick and Catherine Gillen |
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| Lived in | 1942 | |
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Hudson County, New Jersey |
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| Enlisted | 27 July 1942 | |
|
Newark, New Jersey |
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| Rescued in the North Sea | 24 September 1943 | |
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by a Royal Navy torpedo boat after ditching of B-17 42-30259 |
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| Honorably discharged | 9 October 1945 | |
| Buried | 2002 | |
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Michael Gillen rests at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, Arneytown, Burlington County, New Jersey |
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| Died | 27 May 2002 | |
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Wrightstown, Burlington County, New Jersey |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 04 March 2020 01:05:46 | 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 |
| 03 May 2019 17:00:25 | lowbuckbob | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
TJDon archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 April 2019 08:24:16 | ED-BB | Changes to biography, awards, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 778 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:20:13 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self; 100th Bomb Group Foundation Directory, 2000 - 2001; MACR 778 |
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