Military
Bruce Alshouse recuperating at the Bournemouth “Flak House” (photo Alshouse family)
Completed 25 missions from 23 September 1943 - 6 March 1944. Shot down 24 September 1943 in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted and attacked by enemy fighters, the Fortress was riddled and number 3 engine set on fire. Five men died and Bruce Alshouse was among the five others who were picked up by Royal Navy motor torpedo boats and returned to base. MACR 778. After re-enlisting in November 1945, Alshouse served also in Korea. Awarded the DFC/ Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator
James Dalton was Navigator on board B-17 #42-30259 on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. James was picked up by a Royal Navy torpedo motor boat, but...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner
Francis De Cooman was Ball Turret Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. He was among the 5 men killed, 5 others were...
Military | Captain | Bombardier
Theodore Don was Bombardier on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. Theodore was among the 5 who were...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator
Michael Gillen was Radio Operator on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. Michael was among the 5 men...
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot / Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 September 1943 on a practice flight in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II'. Plane ditched in the North Sea. 5 Killed In Action; 5 rescued, Gossage among them - Missing Air Crew Report MACR 778. On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot
William Grier was Co-Pilot on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. William was among the 5 men killed, 5 were...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner
William Humphrey was Top Turret Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. 5 men died. William was among the 5...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner
Clyde Lovell was Left Waist Gunner on board B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II' on a 24 September 1943 practice flight to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted by enemy fighters and shot down. Ditched North Sea. Clyde was among the 5 men killed, 5...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Ralph Schulte enlisted in September 1942 and began an intensive course of study in aviation mechanics at the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command, Amarillo Army Air Field, Texas. He got his wings at Fort Myers, Florida in 1943 and was sent...
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 8/5/43; Smoky Hill 25/4/43; Kearney 27/5/43; Dow Fd 7/6/43; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-N] Thorpe Abbotts 10/6/43. Was flying on a practice flight 24 September 1943 to test PFF equipment and technique. Intercepted and shot down by enemy...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 30/3/43; Kearney 15/4/43; Wendover 2/5/43; Kearney 22/5/43; Dow Fd 6/6/43; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-J] Thorper Abbotts 8/6/43 STUD DUCK; renamed before crash landed base with Owen Roane (10 Returned to Duty) u/c collapsed 2/8/43;...
24 September 1943
The German airfield of Beauvais/Tille, France is the target fro a combined force of 72 B-26s freom 323BG (36) and 322BG (36). 66 aircraft are effective on the target. There are no losses, but 14 aircraft are damaged. The bomber gunners claim 1-0-0 of...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | 8 December 1923 | |
|
Forest Lake, Washington County, Minnesota, the son of Frank E. and Ruth (Mayhall) Alshouse |
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| Enlisted | 14 May 1942 | |
|
Fort Snelling, Minnesota |
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| Rescued in the North Sea | 24 September 1943 | |
|
by a Royal Navy torpedo boat after ditching of B-17 42-30259 |
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| Lived in | November 1945 | |
|
Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota |
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| Honorably discharged | 13 November 1945 | |
| Re-enlisted | 14 November 1945 | |
|
Saint Paul, Minnesota |
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| Buried | 2015 | |
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Bruce Alshouse rests at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri |
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| Died | 29 September 2015 | |
|
Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 04 May 2019 19:29:42 | lowbuckbob | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
TJDon archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 May 2019 03:24:02 | lowbuckbob | Changes to nickname |
| Sources | ||
TJDon archives |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2019 11:57:37 | ED-BB | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Changed some terms in the Biography. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2019 10:09:52 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename |
| Sources | ||
Put middle name in small letters |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 April 2019 10:09:18 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, biography, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 778 |
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| 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 / MACR 778 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self; MACR 778 |
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