Alan Richard Willis
Military
452nd BG
B-17G-15-BO #42-31373 "Flakstop"
Standing Left to Right: Lloyd J. Freeman (BTG), Francis Shaffer (R/O), Fred Richmond (WG), George L. James (TG), Paul A. Chaffe (WG), Donald A. Porter (FE/TTG)
Kneeling Left to Right: Charles F. Wagner (P), Alan R. Willis (CP), Henry H. Gladys (B), Clyde J. Martin (N) 466th Bomb Group collection
Chris Brassfield
Object Number - UPL 21971 - Charles F. Wagner Crew 452nd BG B-17G-15-BO #42-31373 "Flakstop" Standing Left to Right: Lloyd J. Freeman (BTG), Francis Shaffer (R/O), Fred...
Shot down by fighters on the return from a mission to Klein Machnow, Berlin and crashed near Staphorst, Holland on 6 Mar 1944 in B-17G #42-31373 'Flak Stop'. Evaded.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 731st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-684435
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Flakstop
- Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 731st Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 6 March 1944
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Ormskirk, Ormskirk, Lancashire, UK | 10 June 1918 | |
|
Other Evaded Capture |
4300 Waremme, Belgium | 6 March 1944 | |
|
Other Shot Down |
7951 Staphorst, Netherlands | 6 March 1944 | "When I jumped I missed the bomb bay doors by an inch or so. I counted to ten...leaving out 3 through 9, and pulled the rip cord! To my rather frantic surprise, nothing happened. The snap cords pulled open the pack, but the pilot chute and the neatly folded pile of white nylon just lay there on my chest. Thinking, "It's not supposed to work this way!", I grabbed handfuls of material and fed it into the wind. Then it worked and the chute soon opened with a shoulder rending jerk." |
| Binghamton, NY, USA | 146 Hawley Street |
Revisions
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2916 / MACR 2916, Losses of teh 8th & 9th Air Forces, son / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database