Squadron
The insignia of the 532nd Bomb Squadron, 381st Bomb Group.
Flight Officer Val J. Crofts B-17G 42-97511 "Egg Haid"
Staff Sgt. Leslie Coan Alexander, United States Army Air Corps 1943-1945
Macgregor Crew of "Sleepy Time Gal" Back Row (L-R): James C. Schomberg (CP), John Kre Jr.(N), Alexander Stepanich (B), Jack M. Macgregor (P), Charles F. Hodges (Eng/TT). Front Row (L-R): John C. Marinace (RW), Lloyd G. Roedding (BTG), Leslie C. Alexander (TG), Alfred L. Kazen (LW), not pictured John J. Smith (RO).
The McGregor crew of "Sleepy Time Gal."
Major Normand E. Klare, Pilot, 381st Bomb Group, 532nd Bomb Squadron
Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) Roy Calvine Robbins , 381st Bomb Group, 532nd Bomb Group.
"Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 8th Air Force flying toward the oil plant at Merseberg, Germany, 11/25/44, in one of the many attacks against Nazi oil sources. 381st Bomb Group." Closest to camera is B-17G 'Patches' aka 'Flak Magnet' VE-N 43-37675 of 532nd BS 381st BG and unidentified MS coded 535nd BS Fortresses.
"Two Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" of the 381st Bomb Group, en route to bomb enemy installations in Europe, are only part of the attacking formation. Far in the distance, appearing as tiny specks in the sky, other Fortresses roar toward the target." - B-17F 42-29506 'Full Boost!' 532, 381BG, 8AF
"The U.S. 8th AF joined the other Allied Air forces in a simultaneous attack of vast proportions on Feb. 22, 1945. Targets were communications lines at key points throughout Germany. Heavy bombers flew lower than usual to increase accuracy and confuse the enemy's defences. This picture shows B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 8th AF heading for Germany's main rail line and junctions of supply and reinforcement routes of the German Armies. More than 1400 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the 8th AF, escorted by 800 Republic Thunderbolts and North American P-51 Mustangs, attacked similar targets in Central Germany."
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
4 March 1944
The industrial areas in the suburbs of Berlin, Germany are the primary targets for this mission. All three Air Divisions despatch formations. However, the despatch from 2nd Air Division aborted the mission because of severe weather in the assembly area...
| Station | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Based | Ridgewell |
Military | Corporal | Sheet Metal Specialist | 381st Bomb Group
Entered service 2 Aug 1942. Discharged 5 Oct 1945.
Military | Flight Officer | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Shot down 24 May 1944 in B-17 #4238010. Prisoner of War (POW). Held at camp : Stalag Luft III Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria
POW
Military | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Hughes, M. Crew
Military | Major | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Led 381st 13 January, 1945, bombing raid using a 303rd BG radar equipped B-17 G. A/c was hit with flack losing 2 engines, hydraulic tank and many electrical wires. Made a no-brake landing at Valencienne, France, using parachutes to stop the plane.
Military | Radio Operator Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
December 1943 - September 1944
Military | Cook | 381st Bomb Group
Military | 381st Bomb Group
Military | Major | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Alexander crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS, 8th AF. Shot down 25 July 1943 in B-17 #42-30153 "Worry Wart". Mission #12 to the Focke-Wulf factory at Hamburg. MACR 131. Flak damaged, vibrating violently over the English Channel, turned 180 degrees back to...
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
MacGregor J. Crew
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Duncan crew. 381st BG, 532nd BS. Shot down 1 December 1943 in B-17 #42-29506 'Full Boost!'. Mission #46 to the chemical plant at Leverkusen, Germany. Diverted to the steel works at Solinger, Germany. MACR 1578. Killed in Action (KIA)....
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/3/44; Kearney 14/4/44; Grenier 29/4/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-M] Ridgewell 22/5/44; 30+m battle damaged Cologne 16/10/44 with Chas Reseigh; two minutes before bombs away a flak hit smashed cockpit and nose comp. Pilot Reseigh...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 14/4/44; Hunter 27/4/44; Grenier 11/5/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-H] Ridgewell 22/5/44; Missing in Action 51+m Bremen 3/2/45 with John Anderson (Killed in Action); Co-pilot: Leon Wall, Navigator: Paul Gayori, Bombardier: Carl Forbes...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/1/44; Gr Island 18/2/44; Grenier 22/2/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-K] Ridgewell 3/4/44; Missing in Action 37+m Altenbeken 26/11/44 with Kyle Smith, Radio Operator: Lester Colson, Ball turret gunner: Gustavo Contreras (3 Killed in...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 31/1/44; Kearney 10/2/44; Grenier 6/3/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-A] Ridgewell 25/3/44; Missing in Action {2+m} Ludwigshafen 27/5/44 with Andy Stuart, Bombardier: Chas Eisen, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Fred Harrison, Waist...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 16/2/44; Kearney 24/2/44; Presque Is 4/3/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-V] Ridgewell 25/3/44; Missing in Action Bordeaux 19/6/44 with John Doyle, Co-pilot: Julian Prokopovitz, Navigator: Dick Richards, Flight engineer/top turret gunner:...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 21/2/44; Gr Island 3/3/44; Grenier 24/3/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-O/D] Ridgewell 6/4/44; 47+m Returned to the USA Bradley 28/5/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 31/5/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 24/2/44; Gr Island 3/3/44; Grenier 24/3/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-O] Ridgewell 6/4/44; 47+m Returned to the USA Bradley 29/5/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 18/11/45. SLEEPY TIME GAL....
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/12/42; Salina 9/1/43; Morrison 12/2/43; Homestead 18/2/43; Assigned 365BS/305BG [XK-V] Chelveston 2/3/43 YE WHITE SWAN; transferred 532BS/381BG [VE-A] Ridgewell 22/8/43; Missing in Action Leverkusen 1/12/43 with Jason Duncan,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 5-Jan-43; Gt Falls 31-Jan-43; Denver 2-Feb-43; Salina 11-Feb-43; to Marrakesh, via ATC 14-Mar-43; Assigned 360BS/303BG [PU-D] Molesworth 21-Mar-43; transferred BAD 1 Burtonwood 22-May-43; 532BS/381BG [VE-D] Ridgewell 7-Sep-43; 6+m...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 12/2/43; Walker 23/2/43; Smoky Hill 28/3/43; Presque 8/4/43; Assigned 413BS/96BG Grafton Underwood 18/4/43 MOOR-FIDITE; Andrews Fd 13/5/43; Snetterton 12/6/43; transferred 532BS/381BG [VE-E] Ridgewell 16/7/43; Missing in Action...
None
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 February 2015 15:10:18 | rossingtonj | Changes to type |
| Sources | ||
Type added |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:42:50 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Units in the UK from ETOUSA Station List, as transcribed by Lt. Col. Philip Grinton (US Army, Retired) and extracted by IWM; air division data from L.D. Underwood, based on the 8th Air Force Strength Report of 6th August 1944, as published in 'The 8th Air Force Yearbook' by Lt. Col. John H Woolnough (1980) |
||
