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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/2/43; Gore 7/3/43; New Castle 6/4/43; Dow Fd 12/4/43; Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO-T] Thurleigh 19/5/43; Missing in Action Wilhelmshafen 21/5/43 with Floyd Field, Navigator: Dick Clausen, Radio Operator: Phil Zimmerman, Ball turret gunner: Morriece Moodybody recovered from sea 8/7/43, Waist gunner: Gus Retkofskybody recovered from sea 16/8/43 (5KIA-drowned); Co-pilot: Erwin Efird, Bombardier: Harry YoungWounded in Action, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Roy GoodwinWounded in Action, Waist gunner: Harry CromerWounded in Action,Tail gunner: Fortunato GelfoWounded in Action (5 Prisoner of War); all rescued by German seaplane and flown to hospital in Heligoland; flak KO’d two engines, ditched North Sea. Missing Air Crew Report 16018.
Group
Constituted as 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Jan 1942. Activated on 1 Mar 1942. Trained for combat with B-17's. Moved to England, Aug-Sep 1942, and assigned to Eighth AF Eighth Air Force in September 1942 Station 111 Thurleigh. During combat,...
Squadron
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Prisoner of War (POW). Shot down on his 5th mission. He was in Stalag Luft III. From a letter he wrote to his parents in 1943: 'We were shot down up over the North Sea and had to...
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Prisoner of War (POW). He and the only other 4 surviving members were picked up by a German Sea Rescue Plane and taken to a place where the German soldiers wree sent to recuperate,...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 4229806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 #42-29806. Plane crashed into North Sea and was picked up 9 hrs later by German Air Sea Rescue. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft III. He completed 5 missions. He flew on Floyd Field crew.
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 21 May 1943 in B-17 # 42-29806. Plane crashed into North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA).
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) Over Water (OW) | North Sea | 21 May 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 16018 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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