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Military
"Lt. Robert N. Austin, Campbell, N.Y., flying for the Ninth U.S. Air Force in North Africa, illustrates a scene that takes place all over the world when taps are blown and American soldiers pull out snapshots and photos of sweethearts and wives for one last look before sliding down into the blankets."
Assigned to 344BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti in B-24 41-24198; Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 166
Awards: PH.
Military | Major | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Wallace C. Taylor was a B-24 command pilot assigned to the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force in the USAAF in WWII. He flew the B-24D bomber named, The Vulgar Virgin, 41-24198, on the famous bombing mission to destroy...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...
B-24 Liberator
- The B-24D, 41-24198, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron, was one of 2 B-24Ds in the MTO based at Benghazi, Libya, with identical nose art pictures, and both named, The Vulgar Virgin, this one, 41-24198, flown...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Bradford, NY | 12 March 1918 |
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Son of Floyd Lee and Ida Jane [Havens] Austin. |
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| Lived in | Campbell, NY | October 1940 |
| Enlisted | Buffalo, NY | 30 April 1941 |
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Buffalo, New York |
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| Based | Benina | 1943 – 1 August 1943 |
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Assigned to 344BS, 98BG, 9AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Tatarani, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) Ploesti in B-24 41-24198; Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 166 |
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| Buried | Hope Cemetery Campbell, Steuben County, NY | 1948 |
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Memorialised |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 26 December 2020 20:34:13 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, service number, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/29417965 |
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