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Military
Joined Sqd 10 April 1942. ETO/Flight Echelon 2 October 1942. On 15 February 1943, B-24 41-23800 'The Captain and the Kids' was hit by flak at the start of a bomb run putting an engine out of action. FW 109s put out another engine then over the sea a 3rd engine burst into flames. Cpt Cramer made a wheels up landing at Sandwich Flats on Kent coast. 3 were Killed in Action (KIA) but 7 were returned successfully.
Promoted to C.O. 14 May 1943.
Detached Service/Benghazi 26 June 1943.
Killed in Action (KIA) 2 July 1943 (Lecce). Pilot: Peterson.
DFC, 3 Air Medals, Purple Heart
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti...
Squadron
B-24 Liberator
B-24D 41-23800, 44th Bomb Group, 68th Bomb Squadron was despatched in 15-Feb-43 to bomb the port area of Dunkirk, France. The aircraft lost one engine to flak, and another to enemy fighter attacks on the return. When nearing the Kent coast another...
15 February 1943
The port area of Dunkirk, France and any merchant vessels there are designated as the primary target of this mission. A total of 23 B-24s are despatched: 44BG (17) and 93BG (6). 21 are effective on the target, but 2 from 44BG are listed MIA and another...
Military site : airfield
Shipdham was built in 1941-1942, the first US heavy bomber airfield in the English county of Norfolk. It was a standard design, with T2-type hangars and a domestic site dispersed to the south east. Improvements were carried out to increase the number...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Washington DC | |
| Returned to Duty (RTD) | Sandwich, UK | 15 February 1943 |
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Aircraft sustained damage from flak and fighters on mission to Dunkirk, France, but managed to make a wheels up landing at Sandwich Flats, Kent. |
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| Died | 2 July 1943 | |
| Buried | Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky | |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 November 2017 11:39:47 | Lucy May | Changes to biography, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 17-Feb-2015. All additions and changed to information based on "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 / http://8thairforce.com/44thbg/search/perlastname.asp |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:26:08 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Webb Todd, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey, p.77, National WWII web site, 44th BG Roll of Honor and Casualties by Lundy pp. 48-49 |
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