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B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yehoodi", 303BG/359BS was assigned with a crew on 10-Jul-42 at Alamogordo Field, Alamgordo, New Mexico, The aircraft was the first of the 303rd to arrive at Moleworth on 12-Oct-42. Participated in 5 Operations (3 Aborted). See Biography events for crew information.
22-Nov-42 Mission #1 - U-Boat pens at Lorient, France - Aborted
12-Dec-43 Mission #2 - Railroad marshalling yards, Rouen, France - Aborted
20-Dec-43 Mission #3 - German air depot, Romilly-sur-Seine, France - Aborted
30-Dec-43 Mission #4- U-Boat pens at Lorient, France
3-Jan-43 LAST OPERATION Mission #5 - U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France
Missing in Action 3-Jan-43, sustained damage from anti-aircraft fire over the target and crashed into the sea near Belle Ile-en-Mer, France. 7KIA 3POW Missing Air Crew Report 15720.
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 | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as the Tail Gunner of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as a Radio Operator of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 assigned as an Engineer/Top Turret Gunner on B-17F #41-24608 "Yehoodi", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. Arrived at Molesworth UK aboard that aircraft on 12-Oct-42. Participated in 4 Operations (2 were aborted) See...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as the Navigator of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned as an Aerial Gunner on B-17F #41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico and arrived at Molesworth, UK aboard that aircraft, the first B-17 of 303BG to arrive in England. He did not fly any missions with...
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as an Aerial Gunner of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as a Ball Turret Gunner of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS at at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England.
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 303rd Bomb Group
10-Jul-42 Assigned as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 [BN-S] "Yehoodi", 303BG 358BS at Alamogordo Field, New Mexico. Arrived in the UK at Molesworth, UK on 12-Oct-42 with "Yahoodi" as the first aircraft of the 303BG to arrived in England
...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 303rd Bomb Group
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24608 'Yehoodi', 303BG/359BS while serving as Bombardier on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Loreint, France. Aircraft crashed into the sea off the Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. Participated in 7 Operations (4...
Military | Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
15-Sep-42 Assigned as an Aerial Gunner to the 303BG/359BS at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas. Not placed with a regular combat cerw at the time. Date of arrival in the UK, not in 303BG source data.
...
22 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at Lorient, France are the Primary (P) target of this mission. A combined force of 68 B-17s despatched from 91BG (18), 303BG (18) 305BG (23) and 306BG (9) against the target but a 10/10 could cover prevents all but 11 from 303BG from...
23 November 1942
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are the Primary (P) for this mission. A combined force of 50 B-17s despatched from 91BG (10), 303BG (12), 305BG (20) and 306BG (8) to attack this target. 91BG is not able to put any of their group on the target,...
12 December 1942
This mission is composed of two elements. First element: The German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France is the Primary (P) target for a force of 78 B-17s despatched from 91BG (19), 303BG (20), 305BG (21) and 306BG (18). However, the target is...
20 December 1942
The German Air Depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France is the Primary (P) target for a combined force of 80 B-17s despatched by 91BG (17), 303BG (21); 305BG (23) and 306BG (19). 60 B-17 are effective on the target, but 7 are MIA and 1 is DBR.
...
30 December 1942
The U-Boat pens at Lorient, France are the target for this mission. A combined force of 77 B-17s are despatched by 91BG (19); 303BG (16); 305BG (13) and 306BG (18). Only 40 are effective on the target. All but 1 B-17 from the 18 despatched by 306BG is...
3 January 1943
The U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France are once again the target for this mission. This is proving to be a particularly difficult target to destroy due to its massive, reinforced concrete design. It consists of 14 individual pens connected together in...
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...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assigned with Crew | Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 10 July 1942 |
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Assigned with comabt crew at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
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| Arrived in UK | Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 12 October 1942 |
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Arrived at Molesworth, UK. The first aircraft from 303BG to land in England. |
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| Mission #1, B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted | Lorient, France | 22 November 1942 |
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CREW B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS P 1LT Frank A. Saunders (RTB); CP Leonard W. Kirk (RTB) |
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| Mission #2, B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted | Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 |
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CREW B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS P 1LT Frank A. Saunders (RTB); CP Leonard W. Kirk (RTB) |
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| Mission #3, B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted | Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 |
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CREW B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS LT Frank A. Saunders (RTB); CP Leonard W. Kirk (RTB) |
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| Mission #4, B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS | Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 |
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CREW B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS LT Frank A. Saunders (RTB); CP Leonard W. Kirk (RTB) |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Belle Île, France | 3 January 1943 |
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Sustained damage from anti-aircraft fire, crashed into the sea off Belle Ile-en-Mer, France. |
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| Mission #4, B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - MIA | Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 |
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CREW B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS LT Frank A. Saunders (POW); CP Leonard W. Kirk (KIA) |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 15 December 2015 19:33:42 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Corrections to Mission #3 and #4. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 19:31:34 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Correcting typos in Mission 5 event. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 19:29:29 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 19:24:24 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 19:00:16 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:57:08 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description and events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:53:13 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:47:36 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reprot of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:37:08 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:34:35 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Assigned with crew event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:31:54 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to events and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Made connections to all mission participation based on 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reports: http://www.303rdbg.com/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 15 December 2015 18:28:36 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to nicknames and description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Edited Summary Biography with crew assignment and arrival in UK information and added mission list, per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 09 January 2015 19:24:39 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to nicknames, markings, description, events, unit associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 9-Jan-2015. Added nickname , markings and FTR event description and map location per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Edited description adding TN, converted date nomenclature to military style signification; Added Crew Position, Rank, Full proper name and disposition per MACR 7560, formatted crew display. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:03 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 15720 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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