George Albert Pietrucha
Military
390th BG - 568th BS - 8th AF
Standing Left to Right: Frank C. Bobrowicz (RO), William L. Walker (FE), Alec Gwazdosky (WG), Robert J. Gibbs (WG), James T. O'Brien (TG), Daniel J. Miller (BTG)
Kneeling Left to Right: Morris F. Swavel (P), Wilmer R. Goldfinger (CP), George Pietrucha (N), John Phelan (B)
Object Number - UPL 46164 - Morris F. Swavel Crew 390th BG - 568th BS - 8th AF Standing Left to Right: Frank C. Bobrowicz (RO), William L. Walker (FE), Alec Gwazdosky (WG),...
Flight with 42-97556 to the 390th BG, German intruder shot him down before dawn. Crew wounded in action.
Killed in Action (KIA). B-17 42-32026 ''Tis a Mystery'. Apparent icing caused ditching in North Sea enroute to bomb Kassel,
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
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-679137
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hells Bells
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Tis A Mystery
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Rovin’ romona ii/big friend
- Unit: 390th Bomb Group 568th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group
Missions
- Date: 1 April 1944
- Date: 27 March 1944
- Date: 26 March 1944
- Date: 23 March 1944
- Date: 19 March 1944
Places
![A bomber crew of the 390th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress ( serial number 42-31027) nicknamed "Honey Chile" and their dog and monkey mascots "Scrappy" and "Joe". Image stamped on reverse: ‘Fox.’ [stamp], ‘passed for publication 25 Oct 1943.’ [stamp] and ‘289774.’ [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: ‘AERIAL MASCOTS OF FORTRESS CREWS. PH/MoN. As frisky and friendly a pair of aerial mascots as you'll find in Britain are "Scrappy" and "Joe", pup and monkey team belonging to the](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-380433.jpg.webp?itok=L7HbOA_i)
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Parham
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Station 138
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Newark, NJ | 22 April 1919 | |
| Newark, NJ | 16 October 1940 | ||
|
Other 390th BG Combat Tour |
Framlingham Airfield, UK | 2 March 1944 - 1 April 1944 | |
|
Other Killed In Action |
Glemham House, Great Glemham, Suffolk, UK | 12 April 1944 | Pietrucha had recently been trained as a DR Navigator for a PFF lead crew and had transferred to the Donald M. MacGregor Crew. They were repositioning on the night of 12 April from Snetterton Heath to Framlingham to lead the next days mission to Leipzig. On approach to Framlingham they were attacked by an intruding German ME 410 nighfighter. Pietrucha appears to have been killed by gunfire from the attack. The a/c crashed on the property of Glemham House. In a tragic irony Pietrucha's original crew would be KIA on the Leipzig mission a few hours later. |
|
Buried |
East Orange, NJ | Holy Sepulchre Cemetery East Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, USA Plot Sec 2 Tier L2 Lot 38 Grave |
Revisions
Combat Chronology Supplement, Snetteron Falcons p. 125 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2375/images/40050_5203…
http://5085.sydneyplus.com/final/portal.aspx?lang=en-US
"Eighth Air Force Bomber Stories" - Ian McLachlan & Russell J. Zorn, pages 60-62
Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database