Thomas G Deavenport
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Thomas Deavenport was born in Dallas, Texas, on December 9, 1918. He was valedictorian of the 1935 spring graduating class at North Dallas High School. He graduated in 1939 at Southern Methodist University and won the S. D. Flanz award for his specialty in mathematics.
2nd Lt. Thomas Deavanport enlisted in the USAAF. He completed his navigator training, and joined the 66th Bomb Squadron, in the 44th Bomb Group, the "Flying 8 Balls", in the 8th Air Force, in Britain, 8 Mar 1942.
He was killed in action (KIA). 3 Jan 43, after a combat mission to bomb the U Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. His pilot on the mission was Lt. Erwin flying the B-24D, 41-23806, named, Bat Out of Hell. The airplane crash landed southwest of Haverfordwest, U.K. returning from it's target due to a fuel shortage, which caused the crash. Navigator Lt. Deavenport was badly injured in the crash and died of his wounds in a British hospital (KIA). 8 January 43.
Lt. Deavenport was 25 years old when he gave his life for freedom and his country.
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-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: - Bat Out Of Hell
- Unit: 44th Bomb Group 68th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Killed on Mission (KOM) |
Haverfordwest, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, UK | 8 January 1943 | Died of injuries on 8-Jan-43 as a result of a crash landing of the aircraft at Haverfordwest, UK on 3-Jan-43 upon return from a mission to St. Nazaire, France. The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) does not have a listing of his remains currently being interred in any American cemetery in Europe. It is possible that his remains were repatriated to the United States after the war. |
Born |
Dallas, Texas |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 17-Jan-2015. Added KOM event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A .Hey MBE; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Webb Todd, Losses of the 8th and 9th Air Forces Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey p. 61, 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties by Lundy p. 39-40, The 44th BG in WWII by MacKay and Adams p.27