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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42-29941
B-17 Flying Fortress
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"381st Bomb Group Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, wing their way toward their objective - a vital enemy target in Europe."
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"Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" of the 381st* Bomb Group wing their way over checker-board landscape, en route to bomb enemy installations in Europe." Identifiable are MS-Y, 42-29941 'Tarfu' MS-R, 42-30864 MS-T, 42-30029 'Chaps Flying Circus' MS-P with what looks to be 42-3177 MS-O 'The Hellion' [bottom left]. * 535BS, 381BG, 8AF.
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TARFU 42-29941 381st BG 9 AUG 1943. MIA BREMEN 9 OCT 43
Delivered Cheyenne 15/3/43; Smoky Hill 26/3/43; Dow Fd 12/4/43; Assigned 337BS/96BG Grafton Underwood 18/4/43 TARFU; Andrews Fd 13/5/43; Snetterton 12/6/43; transferred 535BS/381BG [MS-R] Ridgewell 15/7/43 TS TARFU; Missing in Action 15m Bremen 8/10/43 with Capt Edwin Manchester, Co-pilot: Capt Elton Jukes, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Jim O’Donnell, Radio Operator: Lorenzo Darrington, Ball turret gunner: Art Tucker, Waist gunner: Anthony Budzic (6 Killed in Action), Navigator: Marvin Smith, Bombardier: Keith Moore, Waist gunner: Matthew Berk, Tail gunner: Wade McCook (4 Prisoner of War); flak blew ship in half, crashed Talge, 22 miles N of Osnabruck, Ger. Missing Air Crew Report 884. TS TOO. (TARFU)
Service
Units
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381st Bomb Group
Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and... -
96th Bomb Group
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945. ... -
337th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
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535th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Matthew Berk
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
LWG, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting in half at the ball turret. S/Sgt Berk was... -
Anthony Budzik
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret. S/Sgt Budzik... -
Lorenzo Darrington
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret.... -
Elton Jukes
Military | Captain | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the ship in half at the ball turret. Killed in... -
Edwin Manchester
Military | Captain | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft caught fire and exploded, splitting in half at the ball turret. Killed in Action ... -
Wade McCook
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Tail gunner, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball... -
Keith Moore
Military | Captain | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Bombardier, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret. 1Lt... -
James O'Donnell
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret. Killed in... -
Marvin Smith
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Navigator, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret... -
Arthur Tucker
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
BTG, Manchester crew. 381st BG, 535th BS. Shot down 8 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29941 'Tarfu'. Mission #36 to the shipyards at Bremen, Germany. MACR 884. The aircraft was on fire and exploded, splitting the plane in half at the ball turret. Killed in...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 111
8 October 1943
The shipyards and industrial areas of Bremen, Germany are the primary targets for this mission, but cloud cover causes some formations to bomb targets of opportunity. The attacking elements have been summarized below: ...
Places
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Grafton Underwood
Military site : airfield
Grafton Underwood was built in 1941 by George Wimpey and Co. Ltd. It was the first airfield in England to receive an Eighth Air Force flying unit, when in May 1942 personnel of the 15th Bomb Squadron took up residence. As a satellite airfield for... -
Ridgewell
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June... -
Snetterton Heath
Military site : airfield
Intended to be an RAF bomber base, construction of Snetterton Heath started in Autumn 1942 but continued until mid-1943, because it was extended after allocation as an Eighth Air Force bomber base. It had eventually three concrete runways, 50...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Germany | 8 October 1943 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 29 May 2020 23:03:07 | kstrykerAK | Changes to markings and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
Snetterton Falcons II: The 96th Bomb Group in World War II by Robert E Doherty & Geoffrey D Ward. Second Edition with Errata and Supplemental Information. Taylor Publishing. 1996. page 21, 293, 303 (According to this source, 42-29941 was not the s/n assigned to Tarfu; 42-29941 is unnamed and is shown as transferred to 381st on 15 Jul 1943. That said, there is a Tarfu discussed on p 21, led by Captain Carroll Joe Bender, but shows 42-29938 and totaled 26 May 1943.) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 March 2020 03:40:03 | jmoore43 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Added a space in front of the words "Tail gunner" in the A/C “Description” to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 November 2017 03:15:34 | ARowe95 | Changes to person associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 21 November 2017 01:43:37 | ARowe95 | Changes to markings |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:25 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 884 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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