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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 27/2/44; Gr Island 15/3/44; Grenier 2/4/44; Assigned 711BS/447BG Rattlesden 8/4/44; Missing in Action Brux 12/5/44 with Tom Mandrell, Co-pilot: Bill Popovich, Navigator: Don McDougall, Bombardier: Okley Wheeler{Wounded in Action}, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Roy Jones, Radio Operator: Roy Wood, Ball turret gunner: Rae Womack, Waist gunner: Bob Garrett, Waist gunner: Joe Martin,Tail gunner: Alan Jones (10 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft caused severe damage, crashed SW of Giessen at Klein-Linden, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 4771.
Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Lost three engines on the return from a mission to Berlin that was recalled and crash landed near Friston, Sussex on 4 Mar 1944 in B-17G #42-31155. RTD. Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 447th Bomb Group
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 447th Bomb Group
Shot down 12 May 1944 in B-17 #42102395. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military site : airfield
Built for the Eighth Air Force in 1942, Rattlesden had three concrete runways, 50 hardstandings and two dispersed T2 hangars. Intended to be a twin-engine B-26 bomber base, it was originally a satellite for nearby Rougham, and first occupied from...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 12 May 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:09 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 4771 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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