William Albert Armstrong

Military

Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 29 x combat missions. Bill Trimble crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in B-17 42-40002 19-Jun-44; force landed Le Pouyau. Evaded capture (EVD) - MACR 6001. Liberated at Angoulême, France on 1 September 1944.

See the page with details about his evasion at

https://www.evasioncomete.be/farmstrwa.html

Awards: AM, PH, WWII Victory, EAME (1 x Battle Star).

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

A pathfinder B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 44-8258) of the 401st Bomb Group. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: '48258 14 A, Mount Farm.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-36895
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

A crashed B-17 Flying Fortress of the 401st Bomb Group. Image via R Bowers. First handwritten caption on reverse: 'Home on two engines.' Second handwritten caption on reverse: '"Breezing Home" IY-D, 42-40002. 401 BG.'
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Breezing Home
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

22 July 1911 Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa, United States

Other

Evaded

Le Pouyau, France 19 June 1944 - 1 September 1944 Failed to Return (FTR) Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield in B-17 42-40002 19-Jun-44; force landed Le Pouyau. Evaded capture (EVD) MACR 6001

Based

Deenethorpe 19 June 1944 Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF.
Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA

Died

Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Added address for his page at website www.evasioncomete.be

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 6001 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database