Richard G Hackworth

Military

On 3 January 1943 while serving as Radio Operator in B-17F 41-24501 2 engines were shot out by flak over the target the U/B (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France. Pilot Ferguson flew the severly damaged plane out to sea but conditions worsened as another engine quit. Turning back to France with German fighters all over the plane, he gave the bail out signal. Navigator Greene and Bombardier Levy fell to their deaths in the surf. Gunners Kerbow and Arnold were killed by gunfire and chute failure. Ferguson chose the runway of a German fighter field to insure early capture.



POW

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 368th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Krems an der Donau, Austria 3 January 1943 - 30 May 1945 Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 30-May-45.

Revisions

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 16-Jan-2015. Added SN and crew position per MACR 15627; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Added POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database, Edited biography adding crew position.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 61, First Over Germany by Strong p. 60.