William M Preston
Military
Standing L-R: 1Lt Nathan J Rosenblum, 1Lt Milton S Fonorow, Maj William R Calhoun, Capt Lloyd D Griffin, 1Lt William M Preston, 1Lt Walter C Swanson.
Kneeling L-R: S/Sgt Samuel L Edwards, T/Sgt William M Eason, S/Sgt Lynewood D Wiegand, S/Sgt Paul E Henderson, S/Sgt Robert Plummer, T/Sgt Vernon Schwartz.
Object Number - UPL 31587 - Lead crew on bombing mission to Huls, Germany pose In front of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. 303rd Bomb Group, England. 22 June 1943. Standing L-R:...
13-Jun-42 Assigned as Navigator of B-17F 42-5434 [PU-J] "Lady Luck" 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. The date of his arrival at Molesworth, UK nor the aircraft on which he arrived there could not be determined from 303BG records. His first combat mission was as Navigator of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on 14-Feb-43 but severe cold and terrible weather forces Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation.
March 18, 1943, went on mission to Vegesack, Germany, a strongly fortified shipbuilding region. B-17 42-5723 piloted by L. Griffin returned from mission with an excellent wheels up landing in a field about 4 miles from Molesworth. Crew suffered no injuries. Later crew flew B-17 42-5434 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 31 March 1943
- Date: 28 March 1943
- Date: 22 March 1943
- Date: 18 March 1943
- Date: 13 March 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
17 December 1916 | ||
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 13 June 1942 | Assigned as Navigator of B-17F 42-5432 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
|
Other Mission #1, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany. Severe cold and weather forced Wing Command to recall the entire 303BG formation. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS - Aborted |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 26 February 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie, RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 4 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rotterdam, Holland. RTB OK |
|
Other Mission #4, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Rennes, France | 8 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rennes, France, RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #5, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Amiens, France | 13 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Amiens, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #6, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS - RTD |
Bremen-Vegesack, Bremen, Germany | 18 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat construction yards at Vegedack, Germany. The aircraft sustained battle damage but the pilot wa able to fly it back ot England and made a wheels-up crash landing in a field. He was not injured and Returned to Duty. RTD. |
|
Other Mission #7, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany | 22 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5434 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #8, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Rouen, France | 28 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5434 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Roeun, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #8, 2LT William M. Preston, w/B-17F 42-5434, 303BG/360BS |
Rotterdam, Netherlands | 31 March 1943 | Served as Navigator on B-17F 42-5434 "Lady Luck", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the shipyards at Rotterdam, Holland. RTB OK. |
|
Died |
Louisville, KY, USA | 27 June 2001 | |
|
Buried |
Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery, Louisville, KY | Resthaven Memorial Park Cemetery, Louisville, Kentucky |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey, p. 91, 303rd web site
NARA verified DFC and AM w/3 oak leaf clusters and Officer Service Number.
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Made connections to Aircraft 425434 and Missions of 13-Mar-43, 18-Mar-43, 22-Mar-43, 38-Mar-43 and 31-Mar-43 per 303BG website. Gary Moncur, Historian: Mission reports of dates stated: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Added Mission #9 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 31-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/027.pdf
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Added Mission #8 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 28-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/065.pdf
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/025.pdf
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/024.pdf
Lee Cunningham 9-Mar-2016. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 13-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/023.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016 Correcting typos in Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2015. Correcting typos in Summary Biography.
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 8-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/021.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 4-Mar-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/019.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 26-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/017.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 14-Feb-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Lee Cunningham 28-Feb-2016. Added inital assignment info to Summary Biography; Made connections to Place, Aircraft (through 12-Mar-43) and Missions (through 12-Mar-43) per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Loyd D. Griffin crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/360griffin.html
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey, p. 91, 303rd web site
