Richard Thompson Carrington Jr
MilitaryBack L-R: SSgt. Walter C. Parkins (FG), TSgt. Philip E. Schmidlapp (TT), SSgt. Floyd M. Wingate (FG), TSgt. Arthur E. Brittain (RO), SSgt. Win R. Smalley (BT)
Front L-R: 1st Lt. Gordon K. Stallings (OBS/TG), Capt. Richard T. Carrington Jr. (AC/CP), Capt. Michael H. Smithwick (B), Capt. Raymond P. Ketelsen (P), 1st Lt. Robin Everett Taber (N)
384th Bomb Group collection
The Quentin Bland Collection.
Shot down 12 August 1943 in B-17 #42-3231 'The Inferno', Prisoner of War (POW).
Retired from the USAF with the rank of Colonel.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 13096046
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-567663
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner/Observer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-672340
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron Headquarters (384th Bomb Group)
- Service Numbers: O-728223
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 544th Bomb Squadron 545th Bomb Squadron Headquarters (384th Bomb Group)
- Service Numbers: O-404094
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot / Group Operations Officer / Squadron Commander
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Snuffy
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: The Joker
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Yankee Powerhouse II : Mary Kathleen
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: The Inferno
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 12 August 1943
- Date: 29 July 1943
- Date: 28 July 1943
- Date: 10 July 1943
- Date: 4 July 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Grafton Undermud
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Enlisted |
Salt Lake City, UT | 22 January 1942 | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Moosburg, Germany | 15 August 1943 | Stalag Luft III (dates are approximate) |
Died |
Tehachapi, CA | 3 December 2013 | Col. Richard Thompson Carrington, Jr. 1923 — 2013 Col. Richard Thompson Carrington, Jr., born March 1, 1923, passed away on Dec. 3, 2013. Married for 70 years to his wife Jewel, Richard was the father of Michael and Patrick, grandfather to seven, great-grandfather to two, and raised three grandchildren: Colin, Kaylee and Naomi. Richard served for over 27 years in the United States Air Force and retired with the rank of Colonel. He flew the B-17 in WWII and was shot down over Germany in August of 1943 and held as a POW at Stalag Luft III before being rescued in 1945 by a branch of Patton's army. After the war, Richard took a two-year break from service to attend college at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, returning to service in 1948. His flying career included the B-29 and B-47 at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., a tour at Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Omaha, Neb. as well as serving as an Air Force Representative for NATO. |
Buried |
Arvin, Kern County, California, USA | 7 December 2013 | Bakersfield National Cemetery Section 9 Plot 318 |
Other Shot Down/Captured |
Erfstadt, Germany | 12 August 1943 | When I last saw Capt Carrington's plane he was still under control and knew exactly what he was doing. I think it was one of the finest examples of personal bravery I had ever witnessed." - from another 384th BG pilot who had witnessed Carrington's plane drop out of formation and attacked by German Fighters. Carrington turned his plane into the attack and positioned the a/c as best as possible to bring his guns to bear on the enemy. |
Revisions
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Changed the label for a POW event to "Prisoner of War (POW)" per info in the "Summary biography".
https://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/person.php?PersonKey=640
http://www.ww2enlistment.org/index.php?page=directory&rec=1665318
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2228/images/31805_0002…
https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/240919369:7545?indiv=…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131564165/richard-thompson-carringt…
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 287 / MACR 287, http://384thbombgroup.com/_content/_pages/PersonnelSearch.php?LastName=… / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database