Kenneth Eccleston
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 20 December 1943 in B-17 #42-31084. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster
David Frank Holliman
Military
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563rd Bomb Squadron crew in front of B-17 42-30193 "Hardluck".
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A bomber crew of the 388th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-30193) nicknamed "Hard Luck". Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Eceleston crew.' Kenneth L. Eccleston Crew 388th BG - 561st BS Standing Left to Right: Kenneth L. Eccleston (P), Riley F. Bisonette (CP), John K. Dorsett (N), Milton Fletcher (B) Kneeling Left to Right: David L. Ceely (TG), Norman D. Gallagher (FE), Joseph J. Molinari (BTG), David F. Holliman (WG/FE), George B. Doyle (R/O), Ivan Clark (WG) Gallagher left the crew after 5 missions. He was later KIA flying with the Sundstrom Crew on 9 April 1944. Hollman took over as flight engineer. Bisonette flew six additional mission as pilot of his own crew.
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563rd Bomb Squadron crew in front of B-17 42-30193 "Hardluck". See Media entry UPL 20795 for listed crew members' entries.
Shot down 20 December 1943 in B-17 #4231084. Killed in Action (KIA).
AM w/ 3 Oak Leaf Cluster
Flew his first 3 missions (plus 3 aborts) as a waist gunner. Flew the remainder of his tour as Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
Service
People
Units served with
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388th Bomb Group
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran... -
561st Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-30193 Hard Luck
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 24/4/43; Sioux City 8/5/43; Smoky Hill 9/6/43; Dow Fd 14/6/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 15/6/43. ... -
42-30362
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 23/5/43; Gore 25/5/43; Kearney 5/6/43; Dow Fd 1/7/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 7/7/43; Missing in Action Beaumont Sur Oise 9/9/43 with Adalbert Porter, Harry Thompson, Vernon Adams, John Moffitt, John Ash, Ralph Mallicote,... -
42-31084
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 16/9/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 9/10/43; Missing in Action Bremen 20/12/43 with Ken Eccleston, Co-pilot: Pete Schou, Navigator: John Dorsett, Bombardier: Tom Tollin, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Joe Molinari, Radio... -
42-3291 Miss Mac
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 30/4/43; Dow Fd 13/6/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 14/6/43; on training mission 12/7/44 with Major Boardman Reed, Co-pilot: Major Melvin Buckner, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Paul Weathers, Radio Operator: Ora Kelsey, pass... -
42-5908
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 30/4/43; Smoky Hill 6/5/43; Sioux City 19/5/43; Smoky Hill 10/6/43; Presque Is 14/6/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 16/6/43; Missing in Action 29/7/43 with Heywood Curling, Co-pilot: John Greene, Navigator: Bill Koffman,...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 74
17 July 1943
The railroad industry at Hannover, Germany and the aircraft industry at Hamburg, Germany were the intended targets for this mission but weather caused the mission to be cancelled. The element sent to Hannover was a combined force of 207 B-17s from:... -
VIII Bomber Command 75
24 July 1943
Three targets in Norway are the primary targets for this first mission flown by 8th AIr Force to Norway. They are the nitrate works at Heroya and the port areas at Trondheim and Bergen. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (22)... -
VIII Bomber Command 78
28 July 1943
The German aircraft industry at Kassel (Fieseler works) and Oscherleben, Germany are the primary targets of this mission. 182 B-17s from: 91BG (20); 92BG (17); 303BG (20); 305BG (21); 306BG (24); 351BG (21); 379BG (19); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are... -
VIII Bomber Command 81
12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb... -
VIII Bomber Command 89
2 September 1943
This mission was composed of five elements. The first element was combined force 55 B-17s despatched from: 92BG; 305BG, and 306BG to bomb German airfields in NW France. The mission is recalled due to weather and the bombers return without dropping... -
VIII Bomber Command 91
6 September 1943
This mission was planned as massive attack of 338 B-17s on the industrial areas of Stuttgart, Germany and would be supported by a formation of 69 B-24s flying a diversion. This would be the first action from the UK for the B-24 Groups that had recently... -
VIII Bomber Command 92
7 September 1943
Two German airfields, one at Brussels, Begium and the other at Bergen, Holland, and the V-Weapons sites around Watten, France are the primary targets for this mission. ... -
VIII Bomber Command 94 OPERATION STARKEY
9 September 1943
This mission has been named OPERATION STARKEY. It is planned as a coordinated attack of multiple bomber elements upon multiple targets and incorporates fighter escort as a rehearsal of what may be required to support an invasion of the Continent. It is... -
VIII Bomber Command 104
27 September 1943
The industrial areas of Emden, Germany are the targets for this two-element mission. The first element is a combined force of 141 B-17s despatched from 3rd Bomb Division and include the 94BG (19); 95BG (22); 96BG (21); 100BG (20); 385BG (18); 399BG (20... -
VIII Bomber Command 106
2 October 1943
This mission is composed of three elements, two or which are directed at the industrial areas of Emden, Germany and the other at the German airfield at Woensdrecht, Holland. The first element is a formation of 163 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division which...
Associated Place
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Knettishall
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Vidulius, Georgia, USA | 1919 |
| Lived in | Toombs County, GA, USA | 1942 |
| Enlisted | Atlanta, GA, USA | 23 May 1942 |
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Fort McPherson |
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| Killed in Action (KIA) | Bremen-Vegesack, Bremen, Germany | 20 December 1943 |
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Flak at the Target area was very intense and every plane suffered battle damage. Lt. Eccleston, in a/c 42-31084, was lost due to this flak; and, when last seen at 1212 hours, he was going down with his bomb bay doors open and on fire. |
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| Buried | 1945 | |
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Tablets of The Missing |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 December 2017 00:56:22 | 466thHistorian | Changes to middlename, nickname, highest rank, role, biography, events, person associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=388-M047&dat... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:07:01 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
ABMC; MACR 3154 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3154 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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