8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Warren Russell Lobdell
Military
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495th FTG 552nd FTS P-47C 41-6203 DQ-H_ "The Flying Ute" (L) / "Windy" (R). Lt. Lobdell and friend posing for the camera.
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495th FTG 552nd FTS P-47C 41-6203 DQ-H_ "The Flying Ute" (L) / "Windy" (R). Seen on the wing is Lt. Warren E "Russell" Lobdell who used this a/c a number of times before being posted to his operational unit (358th FG 366th FS 9th AF). This a/c was previously Capt. Jack D Brown's UN-J with the 56th FG and as can be seen, retained his personal markings.
Assigned to 552FTS, 495FTG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 366FS, 358FG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission in P-47D 42-8415, Reported that he was low on fuel. Element leader, Erik Littlejohn, and he broke off to make the return flight to England. En route, with little fuel and at low altitude, they were bounced by four Me109s. Littlejohn broke left, Russell broke right, and that was the last he was seen. Crashed Maheru, France Killed in Action (KIA) 27-Jun-44 MACR 6227.
Awards: PH.
Service
Units served with
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358th Fighter Group
Group
The 358th Fighter Group flew seventeen missions with the Eighth Air Force from Leiston air base. At the beginning of February 1944 the Group were transferred to the Ninth Air Force in exchange for the 357th Fighter Group. With the Ninth, the Group went... -
495th Fighter Training Group
Group
The 495th Fighter Training Group, which operated in England from December 1943, trained P-47 Thunderbolt pilots. These pilots, who had received the basic training in the USA would be assigned to a training group to practise ETO operational procedures... -
366th Fighter Squadron
Squadron
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552nd Fighter Training Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-8415
P-47 Thunderbolt
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41-6203 'The Flying Ute / Windy'
P-47 Thunderbolt
Assigned to 63FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 1GTTF, 8AF USAAF. Transferred to 552FTS, 495FTG, 8AF USAAF.
Associated Place
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Atcham
Military site : airfield
Atcham, at some remove from other American Air Force bases in Shropshire, was used by USAAF to train pilots from June 1942, several months before the American Eagle Squadrons were combined to form the 4th Fighter Group. Pilots here were mainly trained... -
High Halden
Military site : airfield
Used as an RAF Advanced Landing Ground in 1943 with temporary runways and buildings. High Halden was then used as a Ninth Air Force Advanced Landing Ground, before being occupied by the 358th Fighter Group in 1944.
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Louisiana, USA | 6 December 1920 |
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Son of William Abram and Virginia 'Jennie' [Young] Lobdell. |
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| Lived in | East Baton Rouge Parish, LA, USA | 1941 |
| Enlisted | Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR), 9430 Jackie Cochran Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70811, USA | 10 June 1942 |
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Harding Field |
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| Pilot training | Victoria, TX, USA | August 1942 – 4 November 1943 |
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Flight training: Basic - Enid, OK Advanced - Foster Field Victoria, TX |
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| Fighter training | Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR), 9430 Jackie Cochran Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70811, USA | 4 November 1943 – 1944 |
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Fighter Familiarisation |
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| Based | Atcham | April 1944 – 15 June 1944 |
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Assigned to 552FTS, 495FTG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Based | High Halden | 15 June 1944 – 27 June 1944 |
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Transferred to 366FS, 358FG, 9AF USAAF. |
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| Died | 61380 Mahéru, France | 27 June 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) escort mission in P-47D 42-8415, Low on fuel headed for England. Bounced by 4 Me109s. Crashed Maheru, France Killed in Action (KIA) 27-Jun-44 MACR 6227. |
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| Memorialised | 61380 Mahéru, France | 1946 |
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Memorialised |
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| Buried | 422 N 19th St, Baton Rouge, LA 70802, USA | 1949 |
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Magnolia Cemetery |
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Revisions
