Russell Gilbert Kahl
MilitaryOn 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Pilot the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 42-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target at Lille, France. He parachuted to safety and was captured. Prisoner of War (POW)
POW
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 369th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17024209 / O-442297
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group
Missions
- Date: 13 January 1943
Places
![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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Shipman, Illinois, United States | 25 May 1920 | |
|
Enlisted |
Jackson, Mississippi, United States | 12 July 1941 | as an Aviation Cadet in the Air Corps |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 13 January 1943 - 4 June 1945 | Held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia (now Poland) later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 4-Jun-45. |
|
Died |
Oxford, Mississippi, United States | 8 August 2000 |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 20-Jan-2015. Corrected TN in Biography to 42-24498 per MACR 15634.
Lee Cunningham 20-Jan-2015. Added decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; Edited Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 8th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; added crew position and SN per MACR 15634.
306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey, p. 63, MACR 15502 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia