William L Cherry

Military

While serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on 6 September 1942 in B-17 41-24516 the aircraft lost 2 engines off Londonderry after flight from Newfoundland. Landed in shallow water and all crew members walked ashore.



Killed in Action (KIA) 6-March 1943, B-17F 42-5129 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Aircraft was a on bombing raid to Hamm where 2 fighters attacked plane flown by Captain William Friend. Flames seen from aircraft as it crashed into the North Sea.

Connections

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

Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.

306th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

41-24516

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Meltin Pot
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Ditching

Magilligan Point, Limavady, Limavady BT49, UK 6 September 1942 Aircraft B-17F 41-24516 ost two engines en-route to Thurleigh and was ditched into the sea at Magilligan Point, Northern Ireland. All ten crew walked ashore,.

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

North Sea 4 March 1943 Aircraft B-17F 42-5129 was shot down by German fighters into the North Sea. His remains were never recovered.

Revisions

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 13-Nov-2014. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 2749 on 41-5129; Associations within existing data for 41-24516.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & th Air Forces p. 30-31 , Germany and Beyond by Strong p. 72