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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42-40773
B-24 Liberator
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B-24 Liberator #42-40773 564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF, pilot Edward L Fowble and crew. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid, returning safely to Libya.
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B-24 Liberator #42-40773 564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF, pilot Edward L Fowble and crew. Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid, returning safely to Libya.
B-24 Liberator 42-40773 '773' 564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF, flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Capt Edward L Fowble, returning safely to Libya.
3rd Oct 43, in the aftermath of the Wiener Nuestadt raid A/C was damaged and leaking fuel. Parts were unavailable in Tunisia. The 389th was ordered back to Hethel so Capt Fowble attempted to divert to Morocco to make repairs. I for item (42-40773 I/K) crashed 1 mile short of Marrakesh, in first leg of return to Hethel from Tunis, due to fuel exhaustion with 12 aboard killed.
Service
Units
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389th Bomb Group
Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943... -
564th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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James Adovasio
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Crew member B-24 Liberator 42-40773 564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF, flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Capt Edward L Fowble, returning safely to Libya. (**** This needs verifying as there is no evidence in any reviewed source... -
Billy Apel
Military | Technical Sergeant | 389th Bomb Group
KNO in B24#42-40773 over Morocco from fuel exhausion during flight back to England having been TDY out of N. Africa. Apel is listed as a passenger. -
Philip Ardery
Military | Major General | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Silver Star/ 2 DFCs/ 4 Air Medals/ Croix de Guerre. ... -
Robert Bird
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, in B-24 Liberator 42-40773. ... -
Robert Egan
Military | Major | 389th Bomb Group
KNO in B24 42-40773 over Morocco from fuel exhausion during flight back to England . Major Egan was a passenger. 389th had been TDY to N. Africa. -
Edward Fowble
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Foble was piloting B-24 42-40687 on a training flight on 25 June 1943 when he was involved in a mid-air-collision with B-24 42-40774 "Heaven Can Wait" piloted by 1st Lt Harold James. Fowble managed to land the aircraft at Hethel. ... -
Edward LeJeune
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, in B-24 Liberator 42-40773. ... -
Ralph Peterson
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
KNO in B24 42-40773 over Morocco from fuel exhausion during flight back to England having flown missions TDY out of N. Africa. Oct 3 1943 -
Forest Phifer
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 389th Bomb Group
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, in B-24 Liberator 42-40773. Lt. Phifer was awarded the "Distinguished Flying Cross" for his valor in " Operation Tidal Wave " one of the most daring raids of WW2. Coming in at... -
Robert Savage
Military | Staff Sergeant | Engineer | 389th Bomb Group
KNO in B24#42-40773 over Morocco from fuel exhausion during flight back to England having flown missions TDY out of N. Africa. Collision on training mission in B24 42-40687, but landed safely back at Hethel June 25, 1943
Missions
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Operation Tidal Wave
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
Places
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Hethel
Military site : airfield
Construction of Hethel airfield began in 1941, and was finished in late 1942. The number of hardstandings was increased from the planned 36 to 50 in 1942, in order to accommodate a full heavy bomb group. The 320th Bomb Group occupied the base for ten... -
Presque Isle Army Airfield
Military site : airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Crashed | Presque Isle, ME, USA | 12 June 1943 |
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Landing accident, Presque Isle AAF, Maine, USA. Cat 3 damage, pilot John J McGraw. |
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| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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Flew on 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Capt Edward L Fowble, returning safely to Libya. |
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| Crashed | Marrakesh, Morocco | 3 October 1943 |
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3rd Oct 43, in the aftermath of the Wiener Nuestadt raid A/C was damaged and leaking fuel. Parts were unavailable in Tunisia. The 389th was ordered back to Hethel so Capt Fowble attempted to divert to Morocco to make repairs. I for item (42-40773 I/K) crashed 1 mile short of Marrakesh, in first leg of return to Hethel from Tunis, due to fuel exhaustion with 12 aboard killed. |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | |
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564th BS, 389th BG, 8th AF. TDY 9th AF. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 25 April 2015 20:46:33 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, description, events, unit associations, person associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.freewebs.com / http://www.b24bestweb.com / http://home.comcast.net |
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