William Adams
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Radio Operator, Prisoner of War (POW).
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Thomas C Calhoun
Military
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The B-17F JOHNNY REB JR. or II (41-24443) crew on the October 21, 1942 97th BG Mission #16. Back row, from left to right : 1st Lt. Milton Marion “Milt” Stenstrom (Pilot), 1st Lt. Robert L. "Rob" Carlberg (Copilot), 1st Lt. Ewart Theodore "Sconnie" Sconiers (Bombardier), 1st Lt. Harold "Harry" "Shorty" Spire (Navigator). Bottom Row, from left to right: Sgt. James C. "Jim" Simmons (Tail Gunner), Sgt. Thomas C. "Tom" Calhoun (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. William A. "Bill" Adams (Radio Operator), Sgt. William E. "Bill" Schimke (Ball Turret Gunner), Sgt. John M. Hughes (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. Roy T. Nalley (Engineer / Top Turret Gunner). (Photo courtesy of Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack)
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Left Waist Gunner, Prisoner of War (POW).
Service
People
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Robert Carlberg
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 97th Bomb Group
Robert Carlberg was assigned to the 97th Bomb Group/414th Bomb Squadron, and was sent to England. Shot down on 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Co-Pilot on a mission to bomb U-Boat pens at Lorient/Keroman, France. The Fortress was hit... -
John Hughes
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Right Waist Gunner, Prisoner of War (POW). -
Roy Nalley
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Note : the 1930 US Census has his family's name wrongly spelled as Nally... This was corrected in the 1940 one > Nalley... A Top Turret Gunner, Roy Nalley was shot down on 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443, Prisoner of War (POW). -
William Schimke
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner, Prisoner of War (POW). -
Ewart Sconiers
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 97th Bomb Group
Lt Ewart Sconiers was Bombardier on B-17 #41-9089 'Johnny Reb', one of the 12 B-17s participating in the first heavy bomber raid of the 8th Air Force on 17 August 1942. The target were the shipyards of Rouen/Sotteville, France. ... -
James Simmons
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Tail Gunner, Prisoner of War (POW). After being held at Stalag Luft 1 (Barth, Germany), he was transferred to Stalag XIII (Hammelburg, Germany), where he was head of the escape committee. -
Harold Spire
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 97th Bomb Group
Note : In both the 1930 and 1940 Censuses, Harold and his parents are listed as Spires. All later documents, including his Enlistment records, his Escape & Evasion Report have him as Harold Spire... ... -
Richard Starks
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 97th Bomb Group
Richard Starks grew up in Woodford County, Kentucky. He attended the Midway High School and the University of Kentucky before enlisting in April 1941. After his enlistment, he was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma for primary training, starting to fly the... -
Milton Stenstrom
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 97th Bomb Group
Milton Stenstrom enlisted in April 1941 and followed pilot training. Assigned to the 97th Bomb Group/414th Bomb Squadron, he was sent to England. ...
Units served with
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97th Bomb Group
Group
The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the... -
414th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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41-24443 Johnny Reb II, Johnny Reb Jr
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 326BS/92BG Bangor 1-August-1942; transferred to 414BS/97BG Polebrook 24-August-1942; Missing in Action 21-October-1942 on mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient/Keroman, France. The Navigator, 1Lt Harold Spire provided the following... -
41-9089 Johnny Reb
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Sarasota 15/4/42. Assigned 414BS/97BG Polebrook 4/42. Flew on first 8th Air Force heavy bomber mission 17 August 1942 with Pilot Lt. Richard S. Starks (WIA 21/8/42); Co-pilot: Donald A. Walter (KIA 21/8/42); Navigator: Harold Spire;...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 15
21 October 1942
German U-Boat pens are Lorient, France are the Primary (P) targets for this mission along with the German airfield at Cherbourg, France. 93BG despatches 24-B-24s to Lorient, but cloud cover prevents them from bombing. The main attack force to Lorient...
Associated Place
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Polebrook
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Florida, United States | 9 July 1917 |
| Lived in | Douglas, Coffee County, Georgia, United States | 1940 |
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with his wife Stellamae Calhoun |
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| Lived in | Bibb County, Georgia, United States | 1942 |
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at the time of his enlistment |
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| Enlisted | Ft McPherson, Atlanta, Georgia, United States | 12 February 1942 |
| Captured | Quimper, France | 21 October 1942 |
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after the ditching of B-17F 41-24443 off the coast of Brittany, France and being rescued by a French fishing boat which brought him and 8 other crew members to shore |
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| Prisoner Of War (POW) | Braunau, Austria | 21 October 1942 – June 1945 |
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held at Stalag XVIIB - Braunau-Gneikendorf, Near Krems, Austria - |
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| Re-enlisted | Keesler Field, Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | 6 November 1945 |
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as a S/Sgt in the Air Corps |
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| Buried | Woodlawn Cemetery, Perry, Taylor County, Florida | 1974 |
| Died | June 1974 | |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 23 April 2020 00:54:36 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 November 2017 11:03:08 | ED-BB | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
Connected with BTG William Schimke |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 November 2017 11:00:44 | ED-BB | Changes to role, biography and events |
| Sources | ||
NARA WWII Enlistment Records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 December 2014 14:50:22 | ED-BB | Changes to service number |
| Sources | ||
NARA WWII Enlistment records : Serial Number 34199059 and not 34299059. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 November 2014 19:53:21 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Corrected typo in POW event. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 November 2014 19:52:16 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to awards and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Added POW event. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 28 October 2014 19:53:32 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to service number, biography, events, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 28-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th AIr Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW Database. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:25:50 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1, pp 38-39 by Bishop and Hey |
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