Military
Morris F. Swavel Crew 390th BG - 568th BS - 8th AF Standing Left to Right: Frank C. Bobrowicz (RO), William L. Walker (FE), Alec Gwazdosky (WG), Robert J. Gibbs (WG), James T. O'Brien (TG), Daniel J. Miller (BTG) Kneeling Left to Right: Morris F. Swavel (P), Wilmer R. Goldfinger (CP), George Pietrucha (N), John Phelan (B)
William Walker’s name etched on the Walls of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium
William Walker was Left Waist gunner on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Radio Operator | 390th Bomb Group
Frank Bobrowicz was Radio Operator on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action ...
Military | Sergeant (Technician Fourth Grade) | Right Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Robert Gibbs was Right Waist gunner on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action ...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Wilmer Goldinger was Co-Pilot on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Flight Engineer | 390th Bomb Group
Alec Gwazdosky was Top Turret gunner on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action ...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Theodore Lipchitz was Navigator on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant (Technician Fourth Grade) | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Daniel Miller was Ball Turret gunner on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action ...
Military | Sergeant (Technician Fourth Grade) | Tail Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
James O'Brien was Tail Gunner on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Morris Swavel was Pilot of B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 390th Bomb Group
Philip Wade was Bombardier on board B-17 #42-39819, hit by Flak on return from the 13 April 1944 mission to Augsburg, Germany. Ditched in the Channel/North Sea, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium. Killed In Action (KIA).
Group
The 390th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Framlingham, Suffolk, between July 1943 and the end of the war in Europe. The Group was engaged in strategic missions until the invasion of Europe when its role became more of a tactical one. This...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 9/12/43; Kearney 24/12/43; Prestwick 15/1/44; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-A] Framlingham 17/1/44; Missing in Action [14m] Berlin 8/3/44 with Paul Quillin, Co-pilot: Harmon Jordan, Navigator: Jake Simonitsch, Bombardier: Ray Jabara,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 18/1/44; Gr Island 30/1/44; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-E] Framlingham 10/2/44; Missing in Action Kassel 30/12/44 with Duane Sweeny, Patrick Nolan, Ellis Ruane, John Satterwhite, Bill Beighan, Bill Frawley, John Cooklis, Lt Crockett...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 4/10/43; Gr Island 24/10/43; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-R] Framlingham 8/11/43. Missing in Action La Glacerie (33m) on 20 March 1944 with Richard L. Mann, Co-pilot: John E. Vaughan, Navigator: McKinnon Cameron, Bombardier: Walter J....
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 10/9/43; Scott 28/9/43; Assigned 568BS/390BG [BI-F] Framlingham 7/10/43. [ Waist gunner James P. Mallos was killed on board by Flak during the 7 January 1944 mission to Ludwigshafen (KIA) ] Missing in Action on its 35th mission,...
2 March 1944
The primary targets for this mission are: the railroad marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany; and the German air depot ar Chartres, France. The mission is composed of two entierly separate forces. 327 B-17s from 1st Air Division joined by 154 B-24s...
9 March 1944
Berlin is once again targeted by this mission as a secondary target. Primary target not listed in source data. All 3 Air Divisions despatch aircraft. There is very little fighter opposition. Mission Summary follows:
...
19 March 1944
V-Weapon sites in France are the targets for this mission. A combined force of 193 B-17s of 1st and 3rd Air Divisions are despatched. Mission Summary follows:
...
23 March 1944
The industrial areas of Brunswick, Munster, Osnabruck, and Achmer, Germany as well as the airfield at Handorf, Germany become the targets for a force of 768 heavy bombers despatched by all three Air Divisions. The bomber gunner claims on German...
26 March 1944
9 V-Weapon sites in the Pas-de-Calaise, France area and 7 V-Weapon sites in the Cherbourg, France area are the targets of this mission. A combined force of 573 heavy bombers from all three Air Divisions are despatched. Mission Summary follows:
...
27 March 1944
This mission might be likened to a "shotgun blast" as a combined force 714 heavy bombers are despatched form all three Air Divisions to attack 11 different German airfields and air depots in France. Mission summary follows:
...
1 April 1944
The industrial areas of Ludwigshafen was the traget for this mission, but the mission was frustrated by heavy cloud cover and navigational errors that resulted in the mission going haywire. 3rd Air Division and 2nd Air Division despatch heavy bombers....
8 April 1944
10 April 1944
11 April 1944
Military site : airfield
Built for the Eighth Air Force from 1942 to 43, Framlingham was home first to the 95th Bomb Group, before that unit moved to RAF Alconbury. From 1943 to 1945, it was operated by the 390th Bomb Group. The airfield was handed back to the RAF in 1945, and...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Dallas, Texas, USA | 22 December 1922 |
| Lived in | Ben Franklin, Texas | 30 June 1942 |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | English Channel, approx. 12 miles off the coast of Ostend, Belgium | 13 April 1944 |
|
in the crash of B-17 #42-39819 in the Channel, about 18km West of the entrance to the port of Ostend, Belgium |
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| Buried | Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial | |
|
No Known Grave Tablets of The Missing |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 December 2020 16:15:38 | 466thHistorian | Changes to highest rank, awards, events, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2238&h=19752107... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 June 2020 10:34:38 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, awards and events |
| Sources | ||
MACR 3947 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 June 2020 14:01:23 | ED-BB | Changes to service number, role, biography, awards, events, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 3947 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:28:29 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3947 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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