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Military
S/Sgt Norman G. Whitman during training at Aerial Gunnery School - Tyndall AAB - November 1942
B-17F Ser.# 42-30140 "KING MALFUNCTION II" 532d Squadron, 381st Bomb Group (H) Parked at a hardstand at Ridgewell AAF, June/July 1943
Graduated Aerial Gunner School Class 41-49 at Tyndall Field, Florida on 08 December 1942.
Painter crew (Pilot 1LT Jack Painter) One of original crews of 532d Squadron, 381st Bomb Group (H) - trained at Pyote Army Airfield - Pyote, TX - January - May 1943
Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 'Sweet Eloise' #42-30020 (A/C crash-landed upon arrival at Ridgewell 10 June 1943).
Shot down 17 August 1943 on B-17F #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 - Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379.
Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag VIIA in Moosburg, Germany; then moved to Stalag XVIIB Krems, Austria (Listed in Barracks 38B.)
Discharged 14 October 1945
“S/Sgt Whitman bailed out and got hung up in a tree in his parachute. He was found by 1LT Robert Nelson (Group Operations Officer & Co-Pilot) and S/Sgt Raymond Genz (RWG). Whitman fell out of his harness to the ground where it was thought he broke his ribs. The three men soon met up with S/Sgt Kellogg (BTG) who was wounded. Due to their injuries, S/Sgts Whitman and Kellogg agreed that they could not move any further. They turned themselves in to the Germans the next day. 1Lt Nelson and S/Sgt Genz continued to evade and returned to England in October.
Massachusetts
AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster/ EAME w/ 1 star/ POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Prisoner of War (POW).
South Carolina
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Bombardier, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Evaded.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
May - August 1943. Navigator, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Prisoner of War at Stalag...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
BTG, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. Wounded in the right leg while in the aircraft. Had met up...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
TG, Painter crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Possibly Evaded, EVD report not found.
Military | Captain | Co-Pilot ; Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Painter crew. Group Operations officer flying as the Deputy Group lead. 381st BG, 532nd BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Painter crew. 381st BG,532nd BS. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Killed in Action (KIA). Body found in the plane. Buried...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot; Observer | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Tail gunner, Observer, Painter crew. 381st BG, 432nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 17 August 1943 in B-17 #42-30140 'King Malfunction II'. Mission #20 "Black Tuesday" to the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 379. Prisoner of War at...
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 1/4/43; Pueblo 8/4/43; Smoky Hill 6/5/43; Dow Fd 23/5/43; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-N] Ridgewell 25/5/43 with Pilot: 1LT Jack Painter, Co-pilot: 2LT Everett Ragan, Navigator: 2LT William Keays, Bombardier: 2LT Lloyd Duke, Flight...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 15/4/43; Smoky Hill 25/4/43; Walla Walla 2/5/43; Smoky Hill 10/5/43; Dow Fd 26/5/43; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-V] Ridgewell 23/6/43; Missing in Action 6m Schweinfurt 17/8/43
...
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ...
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June...
Other location
Other location
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Boston, Massachusetts | 11 September 1917 |
| Based | Ridgewell | 10 June 1943 – 17 August 1943 |
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Arrived at Ridgewell on 10 June 1943 - 532d Squadron, 381st Bomb Group |
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| Prisoner of War | 17 August 1943 | |
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Stalag VIIA |
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| Died | Medford, Massachusetts | 19 February 1989 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 16 May 2021 03:11:24 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 May 2019 01:04:27 | lewis505 | Changes to biography, events and place associations |
| Sources | ||
S/SGT Norman Whitman at Gunnery School - Tyndall Army Airfield - November 1942 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2018 05:14:38 | ARowe95 | Changes to biography, events and unit associations |
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ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 November 2017 03:18:20 | ARowe95 | Changes to biography, events and place associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 November 2017 03:03:07 | ARowe95 | Changes to biography, awards, person associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 May 2015 05:15:35 | lewis505 | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
MACR 379; personal recollections of nephew SGM Chris Lewis |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 May 2015 05:10:35 | lewis505 | Changes to place associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 379 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:20:40 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 379 / Nephew, Christopher G. Lewis; MACR 379, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 145,-242-3 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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