Robert L Brandon
Military ROLL OF HONOURMissing in Action (MIA) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Pilot. Participated in mission on 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall. Planes were weatherbound for 3 days there. Took off on the January 7, but weather closed in and Pilot Brandon was forced to return to St. Eval. One landing attempt was unsuccessful and plane pulled up to make a second attempt but was never seen or heard from again. According to 306th BG Squadron Diaries 1942-45 p. 8 , the January 3 mission was Brandon's first. 10KIA MACR 16102.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group
Places
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Brittany Cemetary
![A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group wave to Picture Post Girls in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 41-24471) nicknamed "Four of a Kind" at Thurleigh in December 1942. Image stamped on reverse: '"Picture Post" [stamp], 'Passed for Publication 11 Dec 1942.' [stamp], '238038.' [Censor no.] Handwritten in censor's blue pencil on reverse: 'American Flying Fortress crew are introduced to the girls they will meet at Picture Post Xmas Party.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379028.jpg.webp?itok=6Gc6iR0j)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
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Other Killed on Mission (KOM) |
Saint Eval, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27, UK | 7 January 1943 | Missing in Action (MIA) 7-Jan-43 in B-17F 41-24469 while serving as Pilot. Participated in the 3-Jan-43 mission to St. Nazaire but forced to land at RAF St. Eval on return because of weather. On 7-Jan-43 an attempt was made to fly the aircraft back to Turleigh, but weather closed in and pilot returned to St. Eval, made one abortive attempt to land and then flew off, never to be seen again. Crashed into the Celtic Sea. |
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Born |
Texas | ||
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Other Commemorated |
Saint-James, France | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 18-Jan-2015 Added aircraft TN and crew position to Description per MACR 16102.
Lee Cunningham 18-Jan-2015. Added SN per MACR 16102; added KOM event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th AIr Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; added decoration and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 16102, Combat Chronology Supplement p. 205, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs by Bishop and Hey Vol. 1 p. 62 WWII Memorial web site. 306th BG Squadron Diaries 1942-45 p. 8 Combat Chronology lists middle initial 'E', other sources have it as 'L'