On 4-Mar-43 in B-17F 41-24512 'Rose O' Day', 91BG/322BS while serving as Radio Operator the aircraft was repeatedly attacked by German fighters and seen to have the #2 engine on fire. The surviving crew, including SSGT Griffin were ordered to bale out over the southern tip of Texel Island, Holland, but most came down in the sea and were lost. SSGT Griffin was fortunate to come down on land and was captured as a Prisoner of War (POW). The aircraft crashed into North Sea just west of the southern tip of Texel Island, Holland.
Service
Units served with
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Group
The 91st Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated at Harding Field, Louisiana on 15-April-1942 and went to MacDill Field, Florida for the first phase of training from 16-May-1942 to 25-June-1942. The Group was then assigned to 2nd Air Force at Walla...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Assigned 322BS/91BG [LG-N] Bangor 1-Sep-42; Bassingbourn 29-Sep-42; Missing in Action (MIA) 7+m Hamm 4-Mar-43. Aircraft sustained repeated attacks by fighters and crashed into the North Sea just of the southern tip of Texel Island, Holland. The crew...
Missions
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4 March 1943
After several weather-caused aborted attempts in attacking the marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany, the 8th Air Force is finally successful in attacking this target. A total of 71 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (20); 303BG (18); 305BG (12) amd 306BG (21)....
Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Now home to a museum all about the aifield and its USAAF residents (http://www.towermuseumbassingbourn.co.uk/) , Bassingbourn opened in 1938 as part of the RAF's pre-war expansion programme. The RAF continued to use it until late in 1942 when its long...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Prisoner of War (POW) |
Krems an der Donau, Austria |
4 March 1943 |
Held at Stalag 17B, Braunua-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 23-Jan-45.
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