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B-17 Flying Fortress
Crew of 124441 - Francis X
Assigned 326BS/92BG at Bangor 31-Jul-42; Transferred to 326BS/97BG Polebrook 12-Aug-42. Missing in Action 21-Oct-42 while on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient . 6KIA 4POW. FRANCIS X.
P 2Lt Francis Schwartzenbeck (KIA) CP 1Lt William L. Tingle (KIA)
N Capt Joe H. Gray, Jr. (KIA); B 2Lt Harry R. Erickson (POW)
E/TTG TSgt William T. Lynch (KIA); RO Sgt Kenneth K. Laud (POW)
BTG Sgt Mitchell Small (KIA): WGSgt Kenneth V. Maeran (POW)
WG Sgt Ned R. Herzstam (POW); TG Sgt George Whitham, Jr. (KIA)
Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft on fire, flying about 500 ft above the ground, and reported that no one had bailed out.
Group
The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the...
Squadron
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 97th Bomb Group
As a bombardier, Erickson occupied the glass cabin in the B-17's nose. It was his job to release the bombs accurately over the target.
...
Military | Captain | Navigator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Navigator. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis' as a Waist Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW)
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17F 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Radio Operator. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
On 12 August 1942, a fire in a/c B-17E 41-9115 forced crew to bail out during a training flight.
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as a Waist Gunner. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Captain | Pilot / Intelligence, S-2 Officer | 379th Bomb Group
On 14 August 1942, a fire in B-17E #41-9115 forced crew to bail out during a training flight. All Returned to Duty (RTD)
...
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Ball Turret Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17F 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Co-Pilot. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 97th Bomb Group
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 41-24441 'Francis X' while serving as Tail Gunner. Killed in Action (KIA)
21 October 1942
German U-Boat pens are Lorient, France are the Primary (P) targets for this mission along with the German airfield at Cherbourg, France. 93BG despatches 24-B-24s to Lorient, but cloud cover prevents them from bombing. The main attack force to Lorient...
Military site : airfield
Polebrook was laid down for RAF Bomber Command use in 1940-1941. Built by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, it had short runways which were lengthened for USAAF heavy bomber use. The RAF used the base for operational trials - including of B-17 Flying...
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 12 February 2020 16:35:13 | Emily | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Information from the journal of Ben Rushing (97th Bomb Group, and a friend of Harry Erickson), transcribed by his family on their blog |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 February 2018 10:31:37 | Lucy May | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Corrected 'George Whitman Jr' to 'George Whitham Jr': https://abmc.gov/node/546480#.Wo_tE01LGM8 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 October 2016 07:14:13 | ngilmore | Changes to media associations |
| Sources | ||
From family archive |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 November 2014 21:06:28 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 17-Nov-2014. Formatted Description for crew and edited entry for consistency; Added MIA event details. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 October 2014 18:22:29 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 27-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A Hey MBE; "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story" Roger A Freeman & David Osborne; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:02 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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