Military
Crew chief T/Sgt Robert Leroy Gilbert, 336FS, 4FG.
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF as crew chief. Flew as B-17 passenger on 'Frantic' mission to service the escorting 4th FG Mustangs. B-17 42-38202 'BTO in the ETO' shot down by fighters [crashed near Swory] on 21-Jun-44 bailed out and evaded (EVD) capture with help from polish partisans.
Awards: AM, WWII Victory, EAME (6 battle stars), Good Conduct.
Group
Some of the pilots of the 4th Fighter Group had seen many hours of combat by the time they joined the 4th Fighter Group as they had volunteered with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Air Force. The three 'Eagle Squadrons' of RAF Fighter...
Squadron
The 336th Fighter Squadron was constituted by the War Department on 22 august 1942, and was activated at Bushey Hall, England, on 12 September. It had been designated as No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron, and was made up of American volunteers to the Royal Air...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 15/1/44; Gr Island 21/1/44; Assigned 729BS/452BG Deopham Green 10/2/44; Missing in Action Ruhland 21/6/44 with Lou Hernandez, Pilot, - enemy aircraft KOd #2 and #3, crashed Swory, near Biala, Podlaska, Pol. Missing Air Crew Report...
P-51 Mustang
One-time personal aircraft of Major James A Goodson.
Shot down by ground fire on 20 June 1944 - Goodson bailed out and became a POW.
P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. One-time personal aircraft of Capt James A Goodson.
...
P-51 Mustang
Lost 4 June 44 - Lt. Robert L Kakerback KIFA. Castle Camps/ 3mi E.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Robert L Gilbert Crew Chief assigned.
P-51 Mustang
Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. Personal aircraft of James A 'Goody' Goodson.
21 June 1944
Ruhland, Germany - The target, south of Berlin, bombed by 114 fortresses with an escort of 70 Mustangs went off as planned but not before the Germans destroyed 43 B-17's and damaged 26. Landed in Russia.
Military site : airfield
RAF Debden, construction of which began in 1935, is perhaps most famous as a Battle of Britain fighter airfield, partly responsible for the defence of London in 1940. In 1942 it was also home to three RAF 'Eagle Squadrons’ of volunteer American pilots...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Saginaw, MI, USA | 14 October 1921 |
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Son of Roy and Nellie A [Shimel] Gilbert. |
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| Enlisted | Detroit, MI, USA | 3 March 1942 |
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Detroit, Michigan |
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| Based | Debden | February 1943 – 2 September 1944 |
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Assigned to 336FS, 4FG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Evaded | Poland | 21 June 1944 – 17 August 1944 |
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Evaded (EVD) capture with help from polish partisans. |
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| Baled out | 21-536 Swory, Poland | 21 June 1944 |
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Flew as B-17 passenger on 'Frantic' mission to service the escorting 4th FG Mustangs. B-17 42-38202 'BTO in the ETO' shot down by fighters [ crashed near Swory ] on 21-Jun-44 baled out and evaded (EVD). |
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| Died | Saginaw, MI, USA | 27 October 2000 |
| Buried | November 2000 | |
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Cremated, Location unknown. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 17 March 2021 10:33:03 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
Removed # from A/C serial No. to aid clarity and consistency |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 March 2021 20:13:35 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added punctuation to the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 March 2020 18:13:22 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, biography, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 February 2020 04:33:31 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 August 2017 13:28:01 | Al_Skiff | Changes to nickname, service number, highest rank, role, biography, awards, events, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org/uploads/8/2/0/3/8203817/336_gi... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:23:43 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 10282 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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