Harold C Smelser
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Image used with the permission of Major Harold C. Smelser's son, Laurence Smelser.
Object Number - UPL 30417 - Major Harold C. Smelser
Shot down 23 November 1942 in B-17 41-24503 'Pandora's Box' while serving as the mission Command Pilot for 91BG on the mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St Nazaire, France. Killed in Action (KIA).
Connections
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Units served with
- 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: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-727075
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 36305914
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17015920
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-433981
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Bombardier, Bombardier; Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19039467
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Pandora's Box
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 324th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 23 November 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 17 November 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 9 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Cemetery
- Known as: Brittany Cemetary
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Île d'Houat, France | 23 November 1942 | Killed when the aircraft was attacked by German fighters and crashed into the sea near the Ile d'Houat, France, His remains were never recovered. |
|
Other Commemorated |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 30-Nov-2014. Added KIA event per MACR 16162; added Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record.
Lee Cunningham 5-Nov-2104. Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 16162; American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC).
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 16162 / MACR 16162, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. One by Bishop and Hey, p. 48 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
