Rufus C Litton
Military ROLL OF HONOUR15-Sep-42 Assigned as an Aerial Gunner to the 303BG/359BS at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas. Not placed with a regular combat cerw at the time. Date of arrival in the UK, not in 303BG source data.
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24608 'Yehudi' while serving as Left Waist Gunner. Aircraft crashed into the sea off of Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. Sgt Litton's body washed up on shore. Participated in 3 Operations (1-Aborted) See Biography events.
Purple Heart
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
- Nicknames: Yehudi
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Mission #2, SGT Rufus C. Litton, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1942 | Assigned as Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 41-24608, "Yehoodi" on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazarie, France. The aircraft was shot down and he was Killed in Action (KIA) |
|
Other Assigned to Group |
Biggs Field, TX 79918, USA | 15 September 1942 | Assigned to the 303BG/359BS as an Aerial Gunner at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas. Not assigned to a combat crew at the time. |
|
Other Mission #1, SGT Rufus C. Litton, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Assigned as the Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 41-24608, "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS to replace SSGT Lloyd E. Wagner who had be given the crew position as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. The mission was to bomb the German air Depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, SGT Rufus C. Litton, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Assigned as Left Waist Gunner on B-17F 41-24608, "Yehoodi" on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Belle Île, France | 3 January 1943 | Killed when aircraft sustained severe damage from flak over the target and crashed into the sea near Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. |
|
Born |
Kentucky | ||
|
Buried |
Buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery, Plot D, Row 4, Grave 54. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Group event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added inital assigment to 303BG/359BS and mission participations per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html
Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 15720; added decorations and Burial event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Added crew position and crash location to Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor