XII Bomber Command
Command
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MacDill Air Force Base
Military site : airfield
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Col. Wilson R. Wood CO of the 323rd Bomb Group and 454th Bomb Squadron
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Jim Mulholland, back row, second from right
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Top Row left to right: Bill Anderson Tail Gunner, Charles Rucker Ball Turret, Bobby Wade Armorer, Jim Mulholland Upper (Local?), John Weixel Radio G. Second Row left to right: Mel Owens Navigator, Joe (Learpolla?) Pilot, Leon Smith Engineer, Bob (Larbe?) Co-Pilot, Vernon (Maulenbelt?) Bombadier MacDill Field, Tamp FL Dec. 1944
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Crew photo taken during training at MacDill Field, Florida (February–April 1944). This crew later joined the 708th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bomb Group (H) Original caption: "FRONT ROW – WALT ZUBA, 'WILLIE' WOHNSEN, ROGER DENNIS, BOB HARRIS "BACK ROW – HESS, PAUL COLLINS, LES LUND, LONNIE McDONALD, LOWELL SIMMONS, BILL BESTE" (Courtesy of Major Paul J. Collins)
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Douglas N. Taylor, on the right and kneeling with crew members, either McDill Field, Tampa, FL or Drane Field, Lakeland, FL, early 1943
Detailed history
Researcher Denny Cole, quoted in The Tampa Tribune:
"The importance of MacDill Field cannot be overstated from a military history standpoint...A large number of crews from the storied 8th Air Force, which lost more than 26,000 men during World War II, trained there."
English Heritage's record description
Not yet known
Service
Units
People
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Allen Diefendorf
Military | Colonel | Fighter Pilot | 367th Fighter Group
Allen J. Diefendorf was a graduate of Class 43-J, Foster Field, Texas. After further training in California, he sailed to England on the HMS Aquitania. He docked at Glasgow on July 24th, and joined the 367th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force. He arrived... -
Irving Lerman
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier-Navigator | 387th Bomb Group
Irving Lerman was shot down in B-26 41-31698 on 2 March 1944. Killed in Action. -
Arthur Poston
Military | Technical Sergeant | Bombardier | 91st Bomb Group The Ragged Irregulars
Killed in Action (KIA) 19 May 1943 in B-17 #41-24483 'Spirit of Alcohol'. He went to Bassingbourn from MacDill Field about November/December 1942. He was on his 17th mission. The pilot (Lt. Baxley) told his parents in a letter that they were...
Aircraft
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41-11913 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 41-11913, was the original 9th Air Force, 98th Bomb Group, and 343rd Bomb Squadron's, B-24D, named, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, after the Walt Disney movie characters. The aircraft's nose art depicted the Disney princess, Snow White,...
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 21 April 2015 10:59:39 | Lucy May | Created entry with name, latitude, longitude, construction date and history |
| Sources | ||
Basic entry created. |
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