42-52764

Assigned to 833rd Bomb Squadron, 486th Bomb Group, 8th AF USAAF.



Failed to Return (FTR) raid to Luztkendorf, Germany. Hit by Flak and abandoned, 5 x EVD, 5 x POW. 28-May-44. MACR 5390.



Wreckage of the aircraft was discovered by Marcel Dubois in Belgium.

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

A diagrammatic layout of AAF Station 174 - the USAAF codename for Sudbury airfield - while the 486th Bomb Group were stationed at the airbase as of the 22 June 1944.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: T-15327579
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: T-34588680
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: T-39555160
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-814944
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 486th Bomb Group 832nd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: T-123130
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Places

Aerial photograph of Sudbury airfield looking south west, the bomb dump is to the upper right of the airfield, 29 February 1944. Photograph taken by 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, sortie number US/7PH/GP/LOC188. English Heritage (USAAF Photography).
  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Acton

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Crashed

Failed to Return (FTR)

Houssière Wood, Braine-le-Comte, Belgium 28 May 1944 - 28 May 1944 Failed to Return (FTR) raid to Luztkendorf, Germany. Hit by Flak and abandoned, 5 x EVD, 5 x POW. 28-May-44. MACR 5390.

Assigned

Sudbury, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10, UK Assigned to 833rd Bomb Squadron, 486th Bomb Group, 8th AF USAAF.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-52764&Submit6=Go
https://www.fold3.com/image/28651315
Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU By David G. Baker, W. Sheldon Bivin, C. C. Lockwood

Date
ContributorEmily
Changes
Sources

Removed references to nickname being Mike-Spirit of LSU as unlikely to be accurate. The captured aircraft report in MACR 5390 described the wreckage of the aircraft as having a 4N squadron code (833rd Bomb Squadron), which indicates the aircraft was assigned to a different squadron to Sanders. furthermore 486th.org states that Sanders only flew this aircraft on one occasion, making it unlikely he had the opportunity to alter it's markings or change squadron before it crashed. The association of this aircraft with the Spirit of LSU nickname appears to have originated from a piece of of aviation art made in 1994 by Glenn Core, which features a number of factual inaccuracies, notably that both aircraft depicted in the painting wear the same 3R-K squadron code, and that the nose art is based off a 1973 etching by the same artist, and as such cannot be considered a reliable source of this aircraft's appearance.

Information about the recovery of this aircraft from 486th.org

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-52764&Submit6=Go
https://www.fold3.com/image/28651315
Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU By David G. Baker, W. Sheldon Bivin, C. C. Lockwood

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-52764&Submit6=Go
https://www.fold3.com/image/28651315
Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU By David G. Baker, W. Sheldon Bivin, C. C. Lockwood

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=42-52764&Submit6=Go
https://www.fold3.com/image/28651315
Mike the Tiger: The Roar of LSU By David G. Baker, W. Sheldon Bivin, C. C. Lockwood

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

MACR 5390 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database