We are currently working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September 2022
You will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive while this takes place.
You can find out more about our plans here
Military
Capt. Bruce Dero Barton, Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sly’ while serving as pilot on return from target Romilly-sur-Seine, France 20-Dec-42. Co-pilot was 2nd Lt. Arthur J. Reynolds. Aircraft was DBR and salvaged. No injuries reported in crash. Awards: SS, DFC (OLC), AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
Alleged to be Chief Sly II 42-5139 of 91st BG. VIII BC ... that is Lt, Bartons crew the crew called Chief Sly and Sgt Marshall B Haugen is top left Sgt Haugen and I went to radio school and gunnery school tgether and this is the 322nd Bomb Squadron Bruce D. Barton, Pilot (leaning with elbow on the plane. Sitting in the door of the Jeep - Lester B. Snook, Waist Gunner
Bruce Barton crew in front of B-17 42-5139 'Chief Sly II', 322BS, 91BG.
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sly’ while serving as pilot on return from target Romilly-sur-Seine, France 20-Dec-42. Co-pilot was 2nd Lt. Arthur J. Reynolds. Aircraft was DBR and salvaged. No injuries reported in crash.
Awards: SS, DFC (OLC), AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
Military | Captain | Navigator | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sky' while serving as Co-Pilot on return from target Romilly-sur-Seine, France. 20-Dec-42. Crew escaped injury in landing; however, Burnett was injured in a battle with fighters...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Bruce Barton crew. 20-Dec-42 crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sky' on return from target Romily-sur-Seine. Crew escaped injury in landing. RTD
Awards: DFC, AM (2OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (1 x Battle Star).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 390th Bomb Group
Marshall Haugen was Radio Operator on 322nd Sqdn's 'Chief Sly' and 'Chief Sly II' and flew over with the 91st BG in the September of 1942.
...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 332BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Bruce Barton crew. 25 x combat missions. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sky' on return from target Romily-sur-Seine 20-Dec-42. Crew escaped injury in landing. RTD
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Waist gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sky' on return from target Romily-sur-Seine 20-Dec-42. Crew escaped injury in landing. RTD
Awards: AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. 20-Dec-42 crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sly' on return from target Romily-sur-Seine. Crew escaped injury in landing. RTD
Awards: WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist gunner | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. Crash landed in B-17 41-24439 'Chief Sly' on return from target Romily-sur-Seine 20-Dec-42. Crew escaped injury in landing. RTD
Awards: AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24439 'Chief Sly' was delivered Dow Fd 2-Sep-42; Assigned 322BS/91BG [LG-Q] 6-Sep-42; Bassingbourn 29-Sep-42; battle damaged 20-Dec-42 on mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. Crash-landed Parsonage Farm,...
18 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at Lorient and La Pallice, France are the Primary (P) targets for this mission. However, those at St. Nazaire, France are attacked by 21 B-17s of 303BG when they are mistaken for those of Lorient. The force attacking Lorient is composed...
22 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at Lorient, France are the Primary (P) target of this mission. A combined force of 68 B-17s despatched from 91BG (18), 303BG (18) 305BG (23) and 306BG (9) against the target but a 10/10 could cover prevents all but 11 from 303BG from...
20 December 1942
The German Air Depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France is the Primary (P) target for a combined force of 80 B-17s despatched by 91BG (17), 303BG (21); 305BG (23) and 306BG (19). 60 B-17 are effective on the target, but 7 are MIA and 1 is DBR.
...
4 February 1943
The marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany are again designated as the primary target for this mission follwing the abortive attempt of 2-Feb-43. However, weather and extreme cold frustrate this operation also. The main attacking force consists of 65 B-17s...
16 February 1943
The port area and U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are designated as the primary target of this mission of 71 B-17s and 18 B-24s. B-17s are from 91BG (18); 303BG (15); 305BG (18); 306BG (20) of these 59 are effective on the target and 6 are lost....
26 February 1943
After 10 days of weather related delays of the bomber offensive, a mission is organised with the port facilities of Emden, Germany as the primary target. However, Emden is obscured by cloud cover and all formations divert to attack the port facilities...
4 March 1943
After several weather-caused aborted attempts in attacking the marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany, the 8th Air Force is finally successful in attacking this target. A total of 71 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (20); 303BG (18); 305BG (12) amd 306BG (21)....
6 March 1943
German U-boats continue to attack convoys headed fro Great Britain in the North Atlantic with good success. Many of the U-boat packs operate from St. Nazaire, Lorient and Brest, France, so destroying harbour facilities at these locations remain a...
8 March 1943
The railroad marshalling yards at Rennes and Rouen, France are the primary targets for this mission. A formation comprised of 67 B-17s: 91BG (14); 303BG (19); 305BG (16) and 306BG (18) is despatched to bomb at Rennes. Conditions are good with no cloud...
13 March 1943
The railroad marshalling yards at Amiens/Longeau, France are the primary target for this mission but the rail line at Romescamps, the German airfield at Abbevile/Drucat and two other targets of opportunity are also bombed. 80 B-17s are despatched: 91BG...
Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Greenville County, SC | 27 March 1919 |
|
Son of Michael David and Lottie Mae [Hunt] Barton. |
||
| Enlisted | 2 July 1941 | |
|
Charlotte, North Carolina |
||
| Based | Bassingbourn | 1942 – 1943 |
|
Assigned to 322BS, 91BG, 8AF USAAF. |
||
| Died | Georgia | 12 July 1969 |
|
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46465470/bruce-dero-barton |
||
| Buried | Graceland West Cemetery and Mausoleum Greenville, Greenville County, SC | 15 July 1969 |
|
Graceland West Cemetery and Mausoleum |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 March 2022 09:29:32 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/record/83977681/bruce-d-barton-wwii-army-enlistmen... |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 March 2022 02:46:14 | Andrew Barton | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46465470/bruce-dero-barton |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 August 2021 08:18:37 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography, awards, events, person associations and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46465470/bruce-dero-barton |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 August 2021 22:53:32 | acbernstein1 | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.91stbombgroup.com/Dailies/322ndjan1943.html |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 October 2020 18:26:36 | Andrew Barton | Changes to service number and biography |
| Sources | ||
Correction to bio |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 October 2020 18:18:56 | Andrew Barton | Changes to awards |
| Sources | ||
Added awards |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 25 October 2020 17:33:02 | Andrew Barton | Changes to highest rank and biography |
| Sources | ||
Corrected chief sky to sly |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 December 2014 20:44:32 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to biography, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 6-Dec-2014. All information and changes from "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:04:48 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol.1 by Bishop and Hey p. 55, Plane Names and Fancy Noses : The 91st BG by Bowden pp.49-51 pictures and accident account |
||
