Dell W Kettering

Military
media-20421.png UPL 20421 Original USAAF photo caption : “Left to right : S/Sgt. Richard V. Fetroe, La Fayette Ind.; S/Sgt. Ralph F. Harms, Mt. Shasta, Calif.;T/Sgt. Chas. Kimtantes, Clarksville, Pa.; T/Sgt. Dell W. Kettering, Monmouth, Ill.; T/Sgt. Louis B. Kirkpatrick, Steelville, Mo. and S/Sgt Herschel H. Leist, Bocyrus, Mo., all of whom received Air Medals.” [ Sgt Leist is only partially shown at extreme right - Awards ceremony in North Africa – photo sent on 3 March 1943 through Evaluation Unit, AAF from 9th Combat Camera Unit, Cairo, Egypt. ]
NOTE : Two last names are misspelled : It’s Fetrow instead of Fetroe and it should be Kimtantas in place of Kimtantes.

Added photo in relation with research about Lt Epting's crew on B-24 # 41-23740

Object Number - UPL 20421 - Original USAAF photo caption : “Left to right : S/Sgt. Richard V. Fetroe, La Fayette Ind.; S/Sgt. Ralph F. Harms, Mt. Shasta, Calif.;T/Sgt. Chas....

Dell Kettering was on board B-24 41-23740 of the 93rd Bomber Group / 409th Bomber Squadron when it was being ferried from Port Lyautey, French Morocco to England on 25 February 1943. Short of fuel, the pilot, Lt Jacob (Jake) B. Epting, had to crash-land it near Tiztoutine, Spanish Morocco. All 15 men on board, crew and passengers, safe. Kettering and the others were arrested and brought to Spain, where they were detained for some weeks before being released and returned to their unit in England.



Dell Kettering participated in the 1 August 1943 mission to Ploesti with Pilot Major Kenneth O. Dessert on B-24 41-24105.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 93rd Bomb Group.

93rd Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Thomas J Baker

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron

Kenneth O'Reilly Dessert

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-23730, 4037A
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot, bombardment squadron operations officer, squadron commander, Chief of Manning Section, base director of operations & training, Executive Officer, Mobilization Plans, Directorate of Plans, Deputy A-3, Caribbean Air Command.

Lyman L Dulin

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Master Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ground crew

Jacob Burress Epting

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 14042973 and O-434752
  • Highest Rank: Captain
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Alex B Halbridge

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Engineer

Aircraft

41-23740

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Red Ass
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron

41-24105

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: Tupelo Lass
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 409th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Monmouth, Illinois 13 December 1916

Died

3 December 1968
Monmouth, Illinois, United States

Buried

Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park, Hayward, California, United States

Revisions

Date
Contributorgeneral ira snapsorter
Changes
Sources

Ploesti Sortie Reports, 93rd Bomb Group

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

SSDI (Social Security Death Index)
Personal research on the Jake Epting crew

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Dugan & Stewart 'Ploesti'

Dell W Kettering: Gallery (3 items)

Object number: UPL 20419 - Lt Jacob (Jake) B. Epting Jr ( photo from http:/...

Object number: UPL 20421 - Original USAAF photo caption : “Left to right : S...