96th Bomb Group
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945.
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42-30172
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 22/4/43; Smoky Hill 28/4/43; Walla Walla 7/5/43; Smoky Hill 21/5/43; Dow Fd 6/6/43; Assigned 339BS/96BG [QJ-F] Snettisham 12/6/43; crash landed Wolferton, Nfk; 19/8/43 with Jim Attaway, Co-pilot: Matt Vinson (Wounded in Action), Navigator: Chas Norderer, Bombardier: John Miller, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Bob Woods, Radio Operator: Bob Huff, Ball turret gunner: Larry Moore, Waist gunner: John Kangles, Waist gunner: Dick Garrow, Tail gunner: John Trujillo, ComP-Col Jim Travis (11RTD - 2 minor injuries); cp Vinson brought ship back after rest bailed out, to crash landed on Wolferton Sands, Nfk. and was awarded the DSC. Salvaged 21/8/44. BLACK HEART JR.
Service
Units
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339th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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James Attaway
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 96th Bomb Group
B-17 #42-29766 'Black Heart' on June 13, 1943 suffered fighter damage killing RWG Paubionsky. 19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30172 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out. -
Richard Garron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30152 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out and returned. -
Robert Huff
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 96th Bomb Group
B-17 #42-29766 'Black Heart' on June 13, 1943 suffered fighter damage killing RWG Paubionsky. 19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30172 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out. -
John Kangles
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
B-17 #42-29766 'Black Heart' on June 13, 1943 suffered fighter damage killing RWG Paubionsky. 19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30172 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out and returned. -
John Miller
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 96th Bomb Group
19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30152 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out and returned. -
Charles Norderer
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 96th Bomb Group
Shot down 11 April 1944 in B-17 #42-31896. KLD. ... -
James Travis
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer | 96th Bomb Group
19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30152 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out and returned. Travis is listed as 11th crewman and a copilot. -
John Trujillo
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 96th Bomb Group
B-17 #42-29766 'Black Heart' on June 13, 1943 suffered fighter damage killing RWG Paubionsky. 19 Aug 1943 Black Heart Jr. 42-30152 caught fire with explosions. Crew bailed out and returned. ... -
Matthew Vinson
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 96th Bomb Group
8/19/43 Plane was 'Blackheart Junior'. Vinson watched as his crew members bailed out of his burning bomber. He had no parachute so he rode the plane down and crash landed it a few feet from a heavily mined area on a north-east Englansh beach. An... -
Robert Woods
Military | First Lieutenant | Radio Operator; Squadron communications Officer | 385th Bomb Group
Flew as part of Attaway crew. Completed 25 missions in 1943. B-17 #42-29766 'Black Heart' on June 13, 1943 suffered fighter damage killing RWG Paubionsky. ...
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 85
19 August 1943
The German airfields at Gilze-Rijen, Holland and Woensdrecht, Holland are the targets for this mission. The attacks will be made by two elements. The first element is a combined force of 125 B-17s from: 91BG (8); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (19);...
Places
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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 |
|---|---|---|
| Crashed | Wolferton Sands, Norfolk | 19 August 1943 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:27 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log |
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