Allen Michael Fitzgerald
MilitaryAllen Michael Fitzgerald (also mentioned as Michael Allen Fitzgerald) was a Right Waist gunner in the 305th Bomber Group / 364th Bomber Squadron. Shot down 4 April 1943 in B-17 #42-5232 'Available Jones'. EVADED. Jumping right before Radio Operator Jack Luehrs as the last ones to bail out of the stricken Fortress, Fitzgerald landed in the Rouen, France area and was helped by French citizens who gave him civilian clothes and food and put him in contact with an evasion organization. Jack Luehrs reports that he and Alexander met in Etables-sur-Mer and that they were separated later, each taken in charge by other underground members. Fitzgerald was hidden for a night in a château in the village of Vaudreuil by Claude Raoul-Duval. The latter, together with his wife, rode with Fitzgerald on bicycles to the railway station at Saint-Pierre-de-Vaudray, where Fitzgerald rejoined his pilot Morris Jones. Both men were then led by the couple and the two young girls who had taken charge of Jones, and all took a train to Paris. Fitzgerald was hidden there in various places while the organization made plans to evacuate him to Brittany, in the north of the country with the aim to take him by a British Navy boat to England. Leaving Paris by train on 30 April, Fitzgerald reached Saint Quay-Portrieux, north of Saint-Brieuc and was sheltered, among other places, in the château de Bourblanc where the proprietress, Countess Roberta de Mauduit, lodged him from 3 to 24 May 1943. The plan to evacuate Fitzgerald and other evading airmen by boat had to be abandoned and Fitzgerald and other evaders were guided back to Paris where they arrived on 6 June. Helped by many other French patriots, Fitzgerald was ultimately led to Toulouse by train, from where he and other evaders took a train to Foix near the Spanish border. From there mountain guides led them through the Pyrénées into Andorra. After three days of arduous walk across the mountains, the group reached Andorra la Vella. From there, Fitzgerald and fellow American evader 1st Lt Edward J. Spevak, walked further toward Spain, crossing the border on 25 July 1943. They arrived in Manresa, took a train to Barcelona, where they went to the British Consulate. Taken into custody by the diplomatic corps, they stayed 3 days in Barcelona and were then driven to Madrid, arriving there on 28 July. They stayed a week in the British Embassy there before being lodged in a hotel during 4 days. They were then driven to Gibraltar, which they reached on 9 August. Fitzgerald and Spivak left Gibraltar by air on 11 August 1943, arriving the same day at Saint Mowgan in England.
See the full story of Allen Fitzgerald's evasion at www.evasioncomete.be >>> Fiches
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 39303959
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18026632 and O-726136
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12044600
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15071759
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17027987 and O-437774
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Available Jones
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 364th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 4 April 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
30 July 1918 | ||
Other Evaded capture (EVADED) |
4 April 1943 - 28 July 1943 | Helped in his evasion by French patriots and Résistance members | |
Died |
18 November 2000 | ||
Born |
|||
Buried |
Revisions
MACR 15592
Escape & Evasion Report E&E 60
Personal research for website www.evasioncomete.org
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15592 / MACR 15592, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p 99 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database