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Military
1st Lt William W Trimble, 401BG.
Page 251 of the 401st Bomb Group unit history. Many of the 8th Air Force Groups produced an unofficial unit history in the months after the war ended in Europe but before they were redeployed out of the ETO (European Theater of Operations). Resembling a college yearbook, unit histories were an unofficial – and often tongue-in-cheek – record of the unit’s time based in the UK. They include photo montages showing different aspects of base life. Often the servicemen in the photos are unnamed. The American Air Museum hopes that by adding unit histories to the website as individual pages, the men in the photos will be identified and associated to their person entries. Many included lists of personnel and a mailing address, providing a means for servicemen to keep in contact with each other after the war. These lists are now incredibly useful records of where US airmen in England in 1945 called their home.
Colonel William W Trimble, 401BG.
1st Lt William W Trimble, 401BG.
Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 29 x combat missions. Crashed near Lesperre on 19-Jun-44 in B-17 42-40002 'Breezing Home'. Evaded EVD. See the page with details about his evasion at https://www.evasioncomete.be/ftrimblww.html
Awards: DFC (OLC), AM (4OLC), PH, POW, AFCM, WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
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). See the page with details about his evasion at...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
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...
Military | Chief Master Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. Bill Trimble crew.
Awards: DFC, WWII Victory, EAME (1 x Battle Star).
Post war: Served in Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
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. Prisoner of War (POW) EVD MACR 6001
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 401st Bomb Group
Enver Cury was Bombardier on board B-17 42-40002 'Breezing Home' of 401st Bomb Group / 615th Bomb Squadron on the 19-Jun-44 mission to the Bordeaux-Mérignac airfield. Hit by Flak, the Fortress had one motor on fire, two other ones out of action,...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 401st Bomb Group
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 - See the page with details about his...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 401st Bomb Group
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 - See the page with details about his...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
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
...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Co-Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
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. Back in England on 17 August 1944.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner, Top Turret Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. Shot down 19-Jun-44 in B-17 42-40002 'Breezing Home'. Evaded for two months, then was captured and became a Prisoner of War (POW). Moved to a hospital in Angoulême by the Luftwaffe and a few weeks later was freed...
Group
The 401st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deenethorpe, Northamptonshire, from November 1943 to June 1945. Starting their missions at that time meant the focus was very much on the coming invasion attempt of France planned for the following...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 17/2/44; Kearney 22/2/44; Grenier 6/3/44; Assigned 710BS/447BG Rattlesden 13/3/44; transferred 615BS/401BG [IY-E] Deenethorpe 23/3/44 FRECKLES!; Missing in Action Munich 31/7/44 with Jay Ossiander, Co-pilot: Roy Cooper, Navigator:...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 1/11/43; Cheyenne 16/11/43; Kearney 19/11/43; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-D] Deenethorpe 29/12/43. Involved in parking accident at Little Staughton on 1 January 1944. 42-40002 lost brake hydraulic pressure while taxiing and struck...
Military site : airfield
Deenethorpe was a base purpose-built for American heavy bombers, with the Class A regulation 2,000 and 1,400-yard runways. All the buildings on site,such as the accommodation and administrative blocks, were temporary. In December 1943, several local...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Monroe, Louisiana, USA | 27 November 1917 |
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Son of William W Sr and Eula Elva [Medaries] Trimble. |
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| Enlisted | September 1942 | |
| Training | Maxwell Field, Montgomery, AL | November 1942 |
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Pre Flight training - Maxwell Field Montgomery, AL |
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| Pilot training | Union City, TN | 1943 |
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Primary Flight training - Union City, TN |
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| Pilot training | Greenville, MS | 1943 |
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Basic Flight training - Greenville, MS |
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| Pilot training | George Field, Lawrenceville, IL | April 1943 |
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Advanced Flight training - George Field Lawrenceville, IL. (Commissioned 2Lt) Apr-43 |
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| Operational training | Lockbourne AAF, Columbus, OH | May 1943 |
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B-17 transition - Lockbourne AAF |
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| Based | Deenethorpe | 1944 – 19 June 1944 |
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Assigned to 615BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Evaded | Le Pouyau, France | 19 June 1944 |
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Crashed near Lesperre on 19-Jun-44 in B-17 42-40002 'Breezing Home'. Evaded EVD |
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| Died | San Antonio, Bexar County, TX | 23 February 2005 |
| Buried | Mission Burial Park North San Antonio, Bexar County, TX | 27 February 2005 |
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Mission Burial Park North |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 April 2022 08:38:15 | ED-BB | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added address for his page at website www.evasioncomete.be |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 30 October 2021 14:56:10 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/312834195 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 29 October 2021 20:43:54 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, suffix, service number, highest rank, biography, awards, events, person associations, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/312834195 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:28:52 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 6001 / MACR 6001, http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=350 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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