Oscar F Forester Jr

Military

10-Jul-42 Assigned as the Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.



Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24608 'Yehudi' while serving as Navigator. Aircraft crashed into the sea off the Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. Prisoner of War (POW). Evacuated to United States with last date in service in December 1945. Paricipated in 6 Operations (3 were aborted) See Biography events.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

Official emblem of the 303rd Bomb Group approved 7 November 1942.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

B-17 Flying Fortresses, including (VK-H, serial number 41-24606) nicknamed "Werewolf", of the 303rd Bomb Group. On reverse: US Army Examiner [Stamp].
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Werewolf
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 401st Bomb Group 91st Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Yehudi
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Assigned to Aircraft

Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA 10 July 1942 Assigned as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yehoodi", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Other

Arrived in UK

Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK 12 October 1942 Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS. The first B-17 of the 303BG to arrive in England.

Other

Mission #1, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted

Lorient, France 22 November 1942 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #2, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24606, 303BG/359BS

Saint-Nazaire, France 23 November 1942 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24606 "Werewolf", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #3, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted

Rouen, France 12 December 1942 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical failures forced him to abort the sortie. RTB OK.

Other

Mission #4, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted

Romilly-sur-Seine, France 20 December 1942 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie.

Other

Mission #5, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS

Lorient, France 30 December 1942 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Loreint, France. RTB OK.

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Moosburg, Germany 3 January 1943 - 12 June 1945 Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 12-Jun-45.

Other

Mission #6, 2LT Oscar F. Forester, Jr., w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - POW

Saint-Nazaire, France 1 March 1943 Served as Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. Aircraft was shot down but he managed to bale out and was captured as a Prisoner of War (POW)

Revisions

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Correcting typos in misson #6 event.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 23-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/004.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added 303BG assignment and arrival in UK of Summary Biography; made connections to all mission participations per 303BG website Mission Reports, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2015. Added SN per MACR 15720; added decoration; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website information; Added POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Added crew position and crash location to Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9ht Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, 3 Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 60-61 which shows him as POW, NARA site verifies POW