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Ellera Corwin, 2nd Lieutenant
Ellera volunteered for military service as the US entered the war, and aimed to serve in the Army Air Corps. Eventually he went through navigator school, completed it, and served on the B-17 numbered 42-5262 (PU-F) 303BG/360BS.
9-Feb-42 Assigned as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK. 303BG records do not indicate that he was in the original complement of aircraft and crews of the 303BG at Molesworth, UK in October 1942. It seems likely that he was part of a replacement crew and was processed through one of the Combat Crew Replacment Centers prior to his assigment with the 303BG.
Shot down over the Bay of Biscay on March 6th, 1943, Ellera survived substantial shrapnel wounds and was ocean-bound on a liferaft until he and the surviving B-17 crewmen were picked up.
An excerpt of mission #20 to Lorient, France, from the 303rd Bomb Group's website, 303rdbg.com:
"Lt Plocher reached a life raft where Lt's Corwin and Kahlden, with their life jackets on, were bobbing in the water. Lt Plocher boarded the life raft and pulled the other two aboard. They then spotted the other life raft with five crewmen aboard. They managed to tie the two rafts together. As the sun began to set, the crew heard an aircraft. A German fighter spotted them and flashed its landing lights before veering away. Around midnight, all of the crew shivering from the cold and wet after floating for 12 hours, saw a light sweeping the water some distance away. A loud and clear English speaking voice asked who we were. Again the voice spoke and was recognized as having a German accent. The German vessel approached the rafts and lowered a 30-foot ladder. Lt Plocher was the last crewman to make the climb. The seven surviving crewmen spent the next 26 months as POWs. Wounded Tail Gunner, S/Sgt Tornow, was repatriated by the Germans."
Participated in 3 Operations (NO aborts) See Biogrpahy events.
Service
Units served with
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Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
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Aircraft
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 27-Oct-42; Bury 6-Dec-42; Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-F] Molesworth 29-Jan-43; Missing in Action Lorient 6-Mar-43. Shot down by enemy aircraft, crashed into the Bay of Biscay, off Penmarch Point. 2KIA 8POW Missing Air Crew Report 15536.
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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F-5-VE 42-5723 [PU:D] was delivered Long Beach 30-Sep-42; Tulsa 4-Oct-42; Wayne 5-Nov-42; Salina 27-Nov-42; Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-D] at Molesworth, UK 13-Feb-43; battle damaged over Vegasak on 18-Mar-43 crash landed with wheels up in field four...
Missions
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26 February 1943
After 10 days of weather related delays of the bomber offensive, a mission is organised with the port facilities of Emden, Germany as the primary target. However, Emden is obscured by cloud cover and all formations divert to attack the port facilities...
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27 February 1943
With weather and cloud cover continuing to frustrate bombing efforts against targets in Northern Germany, VIII Bomber Command decides to mount a raid against the harbour facilities at Brest, France. A total of 60 B-17s are destached: 91BG (18); 303BG ...
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6 March 1943
German U-boats continue to attack convoys headed fro Great Britain in the North Atlantic with good success. Many of the U-boat packs operate from St. Nazaire, Lorient and Brest, France, so destroying harbour facilities at these locations remain a...
Associated Place
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Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
Events
Event |
Location |
Date |
Born |
Minnesota, USA |
1917 |
Minnesota
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Assigned to Aircraft |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK |
9 February 1943 |
Assigned as Navigator on B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS at Molesworth, UK.
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Mission #1, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS |
Wilhelmshaven, Germany |
26 February 1943 |
Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the naval facilities and U-Boat pens at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. RTB OK
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Mission #2, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS |
Brest, France |
27 February 1943 |
Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5723, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the port area and U-Boat pens at Brest France. RTB OK.
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Based |
Molesworth |
6 March 1943 |
Mission #3, 2LT Ellera J. Corwin, w/B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS - POW |
Lorient, France |
6 March 1943 |
Served as Navigator of B-17F 42-5262, 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. Aircraft was shot down by fighters but the pilot managed to ditch the aircraft into the Bay of Biscay. He and 7 other airmen were able to get in rafts and were eventually captured by the Germans. Two other crew were KIA in the attack.
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Prisoner of War - Camp 1 |
Moosburg, Germany |
7 March 1943 – 13 October 1943 |
Held at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Bavaria until 13-Oct-43, then relocated to Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems) Austria until liberted by American forces on 15-Apr-45.
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Last Report Date - Discharged |
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8 June 1945 |
Evacuated to the United States and Discharged.
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Prisoner of War - Camp 2 |
Krems an der Donau, Austria |
13 October 1945 |
Held at Stalag 17B, Braunau-Gneikendorf (near Krems), Austria until liberated by the 3rd Army (Patton) on 15-Apr-45.
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