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B-17 Flying Fortress
Insignia associated with the 360th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
Insignia associated with the 303rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force.
Delivered Cheyenne 26/12/42; Salina 11/1/43; Morrison 14/2/43; Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO-L] Thurleigh 2/3/43; transferred 360BS/303BG [PU-D] Molesworth 25/9/43; 7m Missing in Action Bremen 29/11/43 with Capt Carl Fyler, Co-pilot: Bob Ward, Navigator: George Molner, Bombardier: Jim Petrolino, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bill Addison, Waist gunner: Martin Stachowiak, Waist gunner: George Fisher later repatriated (7 Prisoner of War); Radio Operator: Ray O’Connellnever found, Ball turret gunner: Ray Ford, Tail gunner: Joseph Robert Sawicki, foto-Nellins Egge (4 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft, crashed Dreiangel-Harpstedt, 15 miles SW of Bremen, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 1657. MUMSIE aka DARK HORSE.
Group
The 303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on 3-Feb-1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon. They assembled at Gowen Field, Idaho on 11-February 1942 where it conducted flight training until 12-Jun-1942. The Group then moved to Alamogordo Field, New...
Squadron
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Sergeant | Photographer | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
George Chester Fisher served as a waist gunner with the 303rd Bomb Group out of Molesworth, England. On 29 November 1943, he was flying in B-17 42-29498 'Dark Horse' when it was shot down.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Captain | Pilot | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Prisoner of War (POW).
Awards: POW
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Navigator | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned to 360BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. Carl Fyler crew. Failed to Return (FTR) Bremen in B-17 42-29498 'Dark Horse'; shot down 29-Nov-43. Prisoner of War (POW). MACR 1657
Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), BSM, PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Killed in Action (KIA).
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 29 November 1943 in B-17 #42-29498 'Dark Horse', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
29 November 1943
This is another massive raid on Bremen, Germany by a force of 360 B-17s. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 182 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division that included: 94BG (40); 95BG (20); 96BG (41); 100BG (20);...
Military site : airfield
Molesworth was one of the early stations used by the Eighth Air Force in the UK, first occupied by the 15th Bomb Squadron’s Douglas Bostons in June 1942. Built in 1940 and extended and improved in 1942, Molesworth is most associated with the 303rd...
Military site : airfield
Built for RAF use in 1941-42, Thurleigh was initially used by RAF Bomber Command before being handed over to the Eighth Air Force. Its runways and hardstandings were improved, and the B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group began using the base. It was their...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 29 November 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 28 November 2020 22:47:41 | jmoore43 | Changes to mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Added a connection to the 8th AF mission #140 for 29 Nov 1943. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 17 October 2020 20:38:05 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space before the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 November 2016 19:16:41 | bombercommand | Changes to nicknames, description, person associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
MACR 1652 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:22 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 1657 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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