Robert L Ransom

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Robert Ransom was shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24470 'Sons of Fury' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. Killed in Action (KIA). Target was the U/Bote (submarine) base at St. Nazaire, France.

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group
  • Service Numbers: O-726189
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 369th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 20318675 at enlistment, then O-724014
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 369th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 20460324
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 369th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-430570
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group
  • Service Numbers: 6296272
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Engineer / Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Sons of Fury
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Enlisted

6 November 1940 Kelly Field, Texas

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

English Channel 3 January 1943 Killed when aircraft was ditched into the English Channel and then strafed by German fighters. His remains have never been recovered.

Other

Commemorated

Saint-James, France Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Brittany American Cemetery.

Born

New Mexico

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Corrected died event date.

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 16427

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 16427
NARA WWII Enlistment records
ABMC website

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 16-Jan-2015. Added SN, crew position and KIA event per MACR 16427; Added decorations and Commemorate event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, AIrcraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited biography adding crew position and loss details per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, MACR 16427, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 61