42-30789 Flak Suit
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
MACR 3137
Escape & Evasion Reports
Wiast Gunner George Watt's book "Escape from Hitler's Europe : An American Airman Behind Enemy Lines".
Delivered Cheyenne 28/7/43; Dyersburg 7/8/43; Assigned 563BS/388BG Knettishall 3/9/43; Missing in Action Gelsenkirchen 5/11/43 with Pilot William J. Bramwell Jr, Co-Pilot William E. Current, Navigator Charles L. Smith, Bombardier John J. Maiorca, Radio Operator Albertus Harrenstein, Assistant Engineer/Right Waist Gunner George Watt, Ball Turret Gunner Leslie E. Meader, Left Waist gunner Joseph A. Sage, Engineer/Ball Turret Gunner Hank C. Johnson and Tail Gunner John M. Craig.
Hit by Flak, crashed Lokeren, Belgium. Missing Air Crew Report MACR 3137. Harrenstein and Craig were killed (KIA); Bramwell, Current, Sage, Meader and Smith were made prisoner (POW) and Watt, Maiorca and Johnson managed to evade with the help of the Belgian COMETE evasion network (see www.evasioncomete.be - search on 42-30789). The aircraft bore the name "FLAK SUIT". The crew had wanted to have the name changed and the majority of them opted for "Butcher Boy". Pilot Bramwell decided on "Jayhawk" and it had been planned to paint that new name on the nose on 5 November 1943 if the crew didn't have to fly a mission that day...
During an official ceremony on 11 November 2013 in Lokeren, Belgium, a plaque in honor of the crew was placed on the (reconstructed) wall of the cemetery where the aircraft crashed.
Détails and photos at http://www.evasioncomete.be/fwattge.html
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 100th Bomb Group 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19081294 and O-740736
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19053337
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12038016 and O-802258
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37428551
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 563rd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34362270
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Engineer / Top Turret Gunner
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Missions
- Date: 5 November 1943
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Crashed Failed to Return (FTR) |
Lokeren, Belgium | 5 November 1943 - 5 November 1943 | Crashed on the cemetery and some houses on the Oude Bruglaan in Lokeren, Belgium. |
Revisions
Additional info about the plaque placed on the Lokeren cemetery wall in honor of the crew
NARA WWII Enlistment records
NARA WWII POW records
MACR 3137
Escape & Evasion Reports
George Watt's book "Escape from Hitler's Europe : An American Airman Behind Enemy Lines".
Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 3137 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database