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B-17 Flying Fortress
Extract from Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) for Corporal Leonard M Gilkey of the 390th Bomb Group researched by historian Bill Beigel. The file contains copies of primary documents that discuss the return of personal effects, circumstances and causes of death, and memorialisation of the fallen airman. If you require access to the full, unedited file please contact Bill Beigel via his website, www.ww2research.com, or the AAM Team at aamwebsite@iwm.org.uk
Delivered Cheyenne 17/3/44; Kearney 5/4/44; Grenier 14/4/44; Assigned 570BS/390BG [DI-F] Framlingham 20/4/44; Missing in Action Dusseldorf 9/9/44 with Bob Gallagher, Co-pilot: Merrill Redda, Ball turret gunner: Joe Costa,Tail gunner: Len Gilkey (4 Killed in Action); Navigator: Chas Yandell, Bombardier: Ed Marshall, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Pfc Bill Ballard, Radio Operator: Andy Hayes, Waist gunner: Ed Kuseck (5 Prisoner of War); flak, engine on fire which set off explosion and aircraft spun in on bank of Ennepe Dam, S of Hagen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 8916.
Group
The 390th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Framlingham, Suffolk, between July 1943 and the end of the war in Europe. The Group was engaged in strategic missions until the invasion of Europe when its role became more of a tactical one. This...
Squadron
Military | Private First Class | Top Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Ennepe Dam on 9/9/44 in B-17 #42102594
POW
Military | Corporal | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed near Ennepe Dam in B-17 #42102594
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Crashed near Ennepe Dam in B-17 #42-102594, Killed in Action (KIA).
...
Military | Corporal | Tail Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed near Ennepe Dam in B-17 #42102594
...
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator | 390th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Ennepe Dam on 9/9/44 in B-17 #42102594
POW
Military | Corporal | Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 390th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Crashed near Ennepe Dam on 9/9/44 in B-17 #42102594
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 390th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Crashed near Ennepe Dam in B-17 #42102594
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Crashed near Ennepe Dam on 9/9/44 in B-17 #42-102594. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military site : airfield
Built for the Eighth Air Force from 1942 to 43, Framlingham was home first to the 95th Bomb Group, before that unit moved to RAF Alconbury. From 1943 to 1945, it was operated by the 390th Bomb Group. The airfield was handed back to the RAF in 1945, and...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 9 September 1944 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:10 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 8916 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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