Joseph Francis Smith
MilitaryOn 10 Feb 1944 hit by flak near their target, Brunswick, Germany. On return flight plane exploded and crashed near Hoogendjik, in the Polder region at Uitgeest Holland at 1320 hours. After the a/c exploded a part of the a/c, possibly the tail section, fell on the parachute of one of the crew members who had just baled out and they crashed to ground together. The pilot was not recovered until 25 Feb '44 when a German Recovery Team removed the wreckage. 4 Killed in Action and 7 Prisoners of War. Sergeant Smith was interred at Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia and then moved to another camp.
Connections
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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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hells Belles
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 447th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft VI, Heydekrug
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Prisoner of War |
Hollland | 10 February 1944 | Shot up by flak over the target and exploded and crashed near Uitgeest, Holland on return from a mission to Brunswick on 10 Feb 1944 in B-17G 42-31115 'Hell's Bells'. Stalag Luft IV and Stalag Luft VI. |
|
Died |
24 November 1994 | ||
|
Born |
Port Monmouth, New Jersey, USA |
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
Sister-in-law, Marilyn Hilgers;
MACR 2348,
Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the 8th & 9th AAF / MACR 2348 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database