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Military
Missing in Action (MIA), presumed Killed in Action (KIA). B-17G A/C #43-38115, 'Reluctant Lassie,' was hit by a bomb or bombs, dropped from an A/C flying in the higher element, lead group, at bombs away and exploded. 8 of crew were Killed in Action (KIA), 1 Prisoner of War (POW). Target was Bielefeld, Germany. Crashed at 1415 hrs, near Wellenkotten. Debris hit A/C #43-38480, bringing it down with 7 Killed in Action (KIA) and 2 Prisoner of War (POW).
Group
The 493rd Bomb Group was the last Eighth Air Force Group to become operational, flying their first combat mission from Debach, Suffolk, on D-Day, 6 June 1944. The Group was known as "the Fighting 493rd", named by their Commanding Officer Colonel Elbert...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/6/44; Lincoln 14/7/44; Grenier 11/8/44; Assigned 860BS/493BG [NG-J] Debach 13/8/44; Missing in Action Bielefeld, Ger 30/9/44 with Dan Treece, Co-pilot: Jim Welsh, Bombardier: Stanton Gage, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ernie...
Military site : airfield
Debach was one of the last Eighth Air Force heavy bomber bases to be completed. It was built by the 820th Engineer Battalion (Aviation) between late '43 and early '44. Pronounced locally as 'Deb-idge', the base was built to a class A standard with...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Chicago, Illinois, USA | |
| Killed in Action (KIA) | Germany | 30 September 1944 |
| Died | 30 September 1944 | |
| Buried | Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, The Netherlands, (Wall of the Missing) |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 November 2021 19:01:20 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Removed some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 12 November 2021 18:44:23 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added some punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:09:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Helton s Hellcats, A Pictorial History of the 493rd BG, pub 1998 MACR 9429, href="http://493bgdebach.co.uk/roster_list.php">http://493bgdebach.co.uk/roster_list.php>; Losses of 8th AF, vol.4 / MACR 9429 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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