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Military
Page 6 of German report KU-2601 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147892518 mentions that Ira Arnold was found cremated in the debris of the crashed plane and first buried on 30 July 1944 as “unknown” at the cemetery of Hassenhausen, 5km West of Bad Kösen…
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, Fance and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. Returned To Duty (RTD). Shot down by Flak on the Merseburg mission 29 July 1944 in AC #42-31537 "Buffalo Gal". Crashed Punschrau, Germany. On the William T. Fitzroy page at https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_bombgrp&view=personnel&id=1648&... , Fitzroy states he saw 12 Americans hanged and shot by the Germans on 29 July 1944 after bailing out. Among them were Ira Arnold, Robert Dykeman and Floyd Douglas from his crew. Page 6 of German report KU-2601 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/147892518 mentions that Ira Arnold was found cremated in the debris of the crashed plane and first buried on 30 July 1944 as “unknown” at the cemetery of Hassenhausen, 5km West of Bad Kösen... Killed in Action (KIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 100th Bomb Group
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. RTD. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 15220.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. Returned To Duty (RTD). Missing Air Crew Report -...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. Returned To Duty (RTD). Missing Air Crew Report -...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Bombardier / Togglier / Engineer | 100th Bomb Group
3 December 1943 crashed on base in B-17#42-39791 "Fletcher's Castoria" with Pilot Martin Tashjian. Then 27 December 1943 accident after landing B-17#42-37772 "Flying Jenny" (also Tashjian crew) during formation flight training. All returned. Shot down...
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Robert Dykeman was Co-Pilot on B-17G #42-31968 'Miss Irish'. On return from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France on 19 March 1944, the ship made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room. Returned to...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. Returned To Duty (RTD). Missing Air Crew Report -...
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Was Pilot of B-17 #42-31537 on the 29 July 1944 mission to Merseburg, Germany. Shot down by Flak and crashed near Punschrau, Germany. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Colonel | Pilot / Squadron Commander | 100th Bomb Group
John Gibbons was Pilot of B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returning from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. RTD. Missing Air Crew...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
Floyd Hartman was Navigator on board B-17#42-39791 "Fletcher's Castoria" which crashed on take-off on a non-operational flight 3 December 1943, with Pilot Martin Tashjian. He and the 8 other men on board Returned To Duty (RTD).
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
B-17G#42-31968 'Miss Irish' returned from a mission to Marquise/Mimoyecques, France and made an emergency landing at Raydon after taking a direct hit from an 88mm in the radio room on 19 March 1944. RTD. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 15220.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 19/11/43; Kearney 2/12/43; Presque Is 10/12/43; Assigned 332BS/94BG [XM-B] Rougham 23/12/43 FRIDAY THE 13TH; transferred 350BS/100BG [LN-S] Thorpe Abbotts 24/12/43; 349BS [XR- ]; ran out of gas on Ruhland mission 21 June 1944 with Lt...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 11/1/44; Savannah 21/1/44; Morrison 2/2/44; Assigned 350BS/100BG [LN-D] Thorpe Abbotts 3/2/44. Battle-damaged by Flak South of Calais, France on the 19 March 1944 mission to Mimoyecques, France. 19/3/44 with Pilot John P. Gibbons, Co...
19 March 1944
V-Weapon sites in France are the targets for this mission. A combined force of 193 B-17s of 1st and 3rd Air Divisions are despatched. Mission Summary follows:
...
29 July 1944
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Kent County, TX, USA | 7 March 1922 |
| Lived in | June 1942 | |
|
Muleshoe, Bailey County, Texas |
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| Killed | 29 July 1944 | |
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near Punschrau/Bad Kösen, Germany |
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| Buried | El Paso, TX, USA | 30 July 1944 |
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Cemetery of Hassenhausen, Germany |
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| Buried | ||
|
after the war, his remains were brought back to the US. Ira Arnold rests at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery, El Paso, Texas |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 02 September 2020 08:53:50 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, service number, role, biography, events, person associations, unit associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 15220 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 August 2020 14:20:14 | ED-BB | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Corrected typos and added details in Biography |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 13 December 2019 17:39:33 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Updated "Summary biography" for readability. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 May 2018 21:09:17 | jmoore43 | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Updated BIO data per Find-a-grave MEMORIAL ID 298265. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:13:27 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 7809 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Thompson, MACR 7809, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces |
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