8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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42-102485
B-17 Flying Fortress
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388th BG Tail Marking
Delivered Cheyenne 8/3/44; Gr Island 2/4/44; Dow Fd 28/4/44; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 12/5/44; Missing in Action Dessau 28/5/44 with Art Codding, Co-pilot: Roger Withers, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bob Berg, Radio Operator: Clyde Waite, Ball turret gunner: Ken Joye, Waist gunner: Larry Brown,Tail gunner: Jim Mulder (7 Prisoner of War); Navigator: Don Chiles, Bombardier: Delmar McBeth, Waist gunner: Tom Roskowick (3 Killed in Action); flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, near Meertensdijk, Hol. Missing Air Crew Report 5316. BARE ESSENTIAL.
Service
Units
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388th Bomb Group
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran... -
562nd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Robert Berg
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42102485. Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Lawrence Brown
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42102485. Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Donald Chiles
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 388th Bomb Group
Assigned to 562BS, 388BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Dessau 28-May-44 in B-17 42-102485 flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, Holland. Took 20mm cannon shell to chest killed instantly. 28-May-44 Killed in Action ... -
Arthur Codding
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Assigned to 562BS, 388BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Dessau 28-May-44 in B-17 42-102485 flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, Holland. 28-May-44 Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 5316. Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Kenneth Joye
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42102485. Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Delmar McBeth
Military | Staff Sergeant | Bombardier | 388th Bomb Group
Assigned to 562BS, 388BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Dessau 28-May-44 in B-17 42-102485 flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, Holland. Took 20mm cannon shell to face killed instantly. 28-May-44 Killed in Action(KIA... -
James Mulder
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102485, Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Thomas Roskowick
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
Assigned to 562BS, 388BG, 8AF USAAF. 13 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Dessau 28-May-44 in B-17 42-102485 flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, Holland. Took 20mm cannon shell to lower back, mortally wounded. Taken to luftwaffe... -
Clyde Waite
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42-102485, Prisoner of War (POW). POW -
Roger Withers
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down 28 May 1944 in B-17 #42102485. Prisoner of War (POW). POW
Missions
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361
22 May 1944
From diary of Lt. David W. Leblanc: "Was up at four for a mission to Kiel, Germany. I went as first pilot and Rocky as my co-pilot. Every thing went along swell except at target. Flack was moderate but extremely accurate. Two ships in the lead squadron... -
364
23 May 1944
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367
24 May 1944
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370
25 May 1944
First mission. Up at 5:00 AM and back at 11:00. Good hit on marshaling yards. Our plane was hit but no-one in our crew was hit. -
373
27 May 1944
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376
28 May 1944
Places
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Knettishall
Military site : airfield
Knettishall was built to Class A standard for an American Bomb Group that would be bringing up to forty heavy bombers with them in three or four Squadrons. The 388th Bomb Group, which stayed at Knettishall for their entire service in the ETO, flew B-17... -
United Airlines Modification Center
Other location
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Delivered | Cheyenne, WY, USA | 8 March 1944 |
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Delivered Cheyenne AAF 8-Mar-44. |
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| Assigned | Knettishall, Diss IP22 2TH, UK | 12 May 1944 |
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Assigned 562BS, 388BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Groenekanseweg, Netherlands | 28 May 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) Dessau 28-May-44 flak set off fire, crash landed Groenekaseweg, Holland. 7 x POW, 3 x KIA MACR 5316 |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 December 2017 19:14:32 | 466thHistorian | Changes to nicknames, markings, events, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.388bg.info/servlet/Controller?pageType=detail&id=42-102485&da... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 December 2017 13:59:09 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-102485&Submit6=Go |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:09 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 5316 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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