William Roberts Hoopes
MilitaryElmo Maiden Crew
466th BG - 786th BS
Standing Left to Right: Bernard M. Atkins (TG), Vernon R. Hayden (WG), William R. Hoopes (B), Gustave J. Roussel (E), Guerino G. Petti (N), Herbert Rosenkoff (CP), William A. Thomason (TT), Elmo Maiden (P), Kenneth W. Chester (NG), Joseph R. Zebrowski (R/O)
B-24J-5-DT #42-51532 Code: U8-W
Photo taken on 27 December 1944 after crash landing at an airfield in Belgium.
Attlebridge Arsenal - Brassfield & Wassom
Assigned to 786BS, 466BG, 8AF USAAF. Leo Mower crew. Damaged by flak and fighters and landed in Sweden on 21-Jun-44 in B-24 'Lovely Lady's Avenger' 44-40093. Interned (INT) Sweden.
"Wasn't scheduled to fly the mission. One of gunners, Harry Melin, turned up with an injured hand and was unable to fire his guns. It was too late to find a replacement gunner." (Wasn't scheduled to fly the mission, means he wasn't on the mission, not that he replaced Melin. - Chris Brassfield, 466th BG Historian
Hoopes was not with the Mower crew when they were interned in Switzerland. There were only eight men aboard Lovely Lady's Avenger. Both Melin and Hoopes were absent. The other 8 men were interned until mid to late December. Hoopes was onboard with the Elmo Maiden Crew when they crash landed in Belgium on 27 December. Hoopes:
1. Couldn't be in two places at once
2. The interned crewmen were not returned to duty in the ETO.
Awards: AM (OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Connections
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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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 705741
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Hot Rock
- Unit: 445th Bomb Group 446th Bomb Group 703rd Bomb Squadron 705th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: That Red Headed Gal
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Lovely Lady's Avenger
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 786th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Chagrin Falls, OH | 25 August 1920 | |
Enlisted |
Houston, TX | 16 March 1942 | Houston, Texas |
Other Returned to Duty (RTD) |
Belgium | 27 December 1944 | Crash landing at an airfield in Belgium in B-24 42-51532, 27-Dec-44. RTD |
Other Discharged USAF |
31 May 1962 | Honourable discharge. | |
Died |
Harris County, TX | 26 September 1996 | |
Buried |
Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery Houston, Harris County, TX | 29 September 1996 | Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery Houston, Harris County, Texas |
Pasadena, TX, USA |
Revisions
466th BG Historian
"Attlebridge Arsenal" - Brassfield & Wassom, page 194-195
Unpublished memoir of Leo Mower - 466th BG Archives
https://www.fold3.com/image/626060202
https://www.fold3.com/record/60473203/william-r-hoopes-social-security-…
https://www.fold3.com/record/84819179/william-r-hoopes-wwii-army-enlist…
https://www.fold3.com/record/619559828/william-hoopes-1920-veterans-aff…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63290179/william-roberts-hoopes
https://www.fold3.com/image/626060202
https://www.fold3.com/record/60473203/william-r-hoopes-social-security-…
https://www.fold3.com/record/84819179/william-r-hoopes-wwii-army-enlist…
https://www.fold3.com/record/619559828/william-hoopes-1920-veterans-aff…
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/63290179/william-roberts-hoopes
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Unit roster in the book ATTLEBRIDGE ARSENAL by Wassom & Brassfield, page 347