Robert G Hagen

Military

Flew 34 missions on 'Take Me Home'. On 13 September 1944 Hagen flew as an observer, performing the duties of a tail gunner, when his aircraft was hit by flak on a mission to Merseberg, the damage took out two engines, and oil was leaking from a third.



The crew jettisoned their equipment and dropped their bombs to stay airborne, but they were soon forced to find a place to crash in Belgium.



The pilot and his and co-pilot were strapped in up front and the rest of the crew crouched down in the radio area at the back of the plane while they crash landed in Ciney, Belgium. A few members of the crew suffered minor injuries, unlike several of the fences they destroyed while going down.



Upon landing they discovered that the Germans had fortunately left the area five days earlier. The crew made their way to an Army hospital, possibly with the assistance of the Belgian underground, where their wounds were treated. They then hitchhiked to Paris on a weapons carrier.

Connections

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

Units served with

The insignia of the 379th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 20757806 / T-1525 / O-886936
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot, Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Operations Officer, Pilot

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Everybody's Baby
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 526th Bomb Squadron

Missions

  • Date: 13 September 1944
  • Official Description:

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Fargo, North Dakota 29 October 1921

Other

Crashed

13 September 1944

Died

30 March 2000

Buried

Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Revisions

Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources

Incorporated information from duplicate record

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

Recollections in Wayne Ehler's record

https://halifaxjd371kno.com/index.php/sovet-b-17g-43-37755-everybodys-ba...

Date
Contributorbob0820
Changes
Sources

Military documents from 1942-44

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / son: Arthur Robert; 379th Bomb Group Anthology pg 128