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Military
Killed on Mission (KOM) in B17F 41-24469 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Participated in mission of 3 January 1943 to submarine yards at St. Nazaire, France that was successful but this was one of 3 planes of the 306th forced to land at RAF Station St. Eval, Cornwall. Planes were weatherbound for 3 days there. Took off on the January 7, but weather closed in and Pilot Brandon was forced to return to St. Eval. One landing attempt was unsuccessful and plane pulled up to make a second attempt but was never seen or heard from again.
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 367BS/306BG Westover 16-Aug-42; Thurleigh 2-Oct-42; on return from St Nazaire 3-Jan-43 landed RAF St Eval, Cornwall. Next day on t/o for Thurleigh, Bed. in poor weather crashed into the Celtic Sea near RAF St. Eval 7-Jan-43. 10KIS No MACR...
Military site : airfield
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Maine | |
| Killed on Mission (KOM) | Saint Eval, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27, UK | 7 January 1943 |
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Killed when aircraft crashed into the Celtic Sea near RAF St. Eval while attmepting to return to Thurliegh |
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| Commemorated | Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | 1945 |
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Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 January 2015 21:06:57 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to role, biography, awards, events, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 18-Jan-2015. Added SN per MACR 16102; added KOM event per "Losses of the 8th & 9th AIr Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; added decoration and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; added crew position and minor edits to Description. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:05:12 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Combat Chronology Supplement p. 206, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs by Bishop and Hey Vol. 1 p. 62 WWII Memorial web site. 306th BG Squadron Diaries 1942-45 p. 8 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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