Peter E Crowe

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

At 06.50 hours 23 May 1944 B-17's of 351st BG from Polebrook, were forming up for a pre D-Day raid on Epinal Marshalling yards in France. A mistake in planning or timing led them to form up in the same area as B-24's from 458th BG. with disastrous results. Whilst trying to avoid a B-24, 1Lt. Peter E. Crowe in B-17, 42-97325 (Lucky Penny), of 508 Sqn, turned on it's side before slicing through another B-24 flown by Lt. K.C. Barton. No one survived on this plane.

The B-17 with it's nose and two engines gone went into a slow spin, miraculously, three gunners managed to parachute to safety before the aircraft crashed onto marshland at Hoxne. In 1972 an engine from Lt. Crowe's aircraft was recovered and restored and is now displayed in the 390th BG Museum at Parham.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 351st Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Lucky Penny
  • Unit: 351st Bomb Group 508th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed in Action

23 May 1944

Revisions

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ContributorRayWells
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Contributorjmoore43
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Sources

Added a connection to the 8th AF Mission #364 for 23 May 1944.

Date
Changes
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
Combat Chronology, p.120;
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia

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ContributorLucyd
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