Gordon John Blake
Military
Object Number - UPL 24464 - Captain Gordon J Blake 61FS, 56FG, 8AF. POW 18-Nov-44 Stalag Luft I.
Assigned to 61FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF. Completed Tour of Duty (ETD). Credited 2 x victories. During 2nd tour, Failed to Return (FTR) from strafing mission to Oil tanks in Frankfurt. A/C abandoned, baled out successfully Boppard, Germany, Prisoner of War (POW). 18-Nov-44. MACR 10333.
After the war Blake worked as a flying instructor at Perry-Warsaw Airfield, New York in the 1960s
Awards: AM (5OLC), POW, WWII Victory, EAME (2 x Battle Stars).
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft I, Barth, Germany
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Silver Springs, NY | 6 September 1921 | Son of John Calvin and Gertrude Alice [Chasey] Blake. |
|
Enlisted |
Elmira, NY, USA | 22 January 1942 | Elmira, New York |
|
Based |
Boxted | 23 August 1943 - 18 November 1944 | Assigned to 61FS, 56FG, 8AF USAAF. |
|
Other E/A Destroyed |
Germany | 8 March 1944 | E/A destroyed. 8-Mar-44. |
|
Other Promotion |
Boxted, Colchester, UK | 2 October 1944 | Promoted to Captain. |
|
Other Baled out POW |
56154 Boppard, Germany | 18 November 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) from strafing mission to Oil tanks in Frankfurt. A/C abandoned, baled out successfully Boppard, Germany, Prisoner of War (POW). 18-Nov-44. MACR 10333. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 18 November 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft I. |
|
Other Discharged USAAF |
1 December 1945 | Honourable discharge. | |
|
Died |
Wyoming, NY 14591, USA | 13 June 1974 | |
|
Other End Tour of Duty (ETD) |
England, UK | Completed Tour of Duty (ETD) | |
|
Other Promotion |
Boxted, Colchester, UK | Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. | |
|
Buried |
Wyoming Cemetery Wyoming, NY | Wyoming Cemetery Wyoming Wyoming County New York, USA | |
|
Other Flight Instructor |
Perry Warsaw Airfield |
Revisions
Information about Blake's post-war career from Allan Fink, and supported by records in Fink's flying log book, which reflect that Fink learned to fly under the instruction of Gordon Blake at Perry-Washington airfield in the 1960s
http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=42-22744&Submit=…
https://www.fold3.com/page/83527915_gordon_j%20blake/details/
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmpilot.asp?Pilot=Blake%2C+Gord…
http://wwii-pows.mooseroots.com/l/12737/Gordon-J-Blake
http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/p-47/p-47-encounter-reports.html
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94701850
http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=42-22744&Submit=…
https://www.fold3.com/page/83527915_gordon_j%20blake/details/
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmpilot.asp?Pilot=Blake%2C+Gord…
http://wwii-pows.mooseroots.com/l/12737/Gordon-J-Blake
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94701850
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 10333 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list
