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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 26/1/43; Assigned 368BS/306BG [BO- ] Homestead 5/3/43; Thurleigh 12/3/43; Missing in Action Bremen 17/4/43 with Capt Bill Smiley, Co-pilot: Avey Ewan, Navigator: Wilbur Breuing, Bombardier: Martin Strauss, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Don Hepler, Radio Operator: Ray Clifton, Ball turret gunner: Roderick Clark, Waist gunner: Larry Sliff, Waist gunner: Bill Payne,Tail gunner: Roy Staiff (10 Killed in Action); enemy aircraft, crashed Channel. Missing Air Crew Report 15518. (?15456?)
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 | Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Cluster
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Reported to 306th BG in April, 1942 at Wendover AB, Utah. Deployed with BG to England Fall of 1942. Completed at least 17 missions according to one of his last letters home. Lost on 17 April 43 mission against FW plant in Bremen in B-17F #42-3034,...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #42-3034. Aircraft crashed into the North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart
Military | Captain | Pilot | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Lieutenant | Bombardier | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Shot down 17 April 1943 in B-17 #423034. Aircraft crashed in North Sea and was not recovered. Killed in Action (KIA).
Purple Heart, Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
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 | 17 April 1943 |
| Failed to Return (FTR) Over Water (OW) | North Sea | 17 April 1943 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 27 September 2014 18:40:28 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15456 / MACR 15518 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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