Laurence W Thomas
Military ROLL OF HONOURShot down 20 December 1942 in B-17F 41-24566 'Zombie', 303BG/359BS while serving as Tail Gunner on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Rommily-sur-Seine, France. MACR 15593 Killed in Action (KIA). Participated in 4 Operations (1 was Aborted). See Biography events.
AM, PH
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Zombie
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 359th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 22 November 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 18 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 23 June 1942 | Assigned as the Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 25 October 1942 | Arrived as the Tail Gunner on B-17F 42-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS at Molesworth, UK. |
Other Mission #1, SSGT Laurence W. Thomas, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 18 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #2, SSGT Laurence W. Thomas, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS |
Lorient, France | 22 November 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, SSGT Laurence W. Thomas, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS - Aborted |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical filures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Dieppe, France | 20 December 1942 | Killed when aircraft was attacked by German aircraft and crashed into the English Channel near Dieppe, France. His remains were never recovered. |
Other Mission #4, SSGT Laurence W. Thomas, w/B-17F 41-24566, 303BG/359BS - KIA |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Tail Gunner on B-17F 41-24566 "Zombie", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. The aircraft sustained heavy damage from fighters and AA fire and crashed into the English Channel upon return. All crew lost. KIA. |
Born |
Los Angeles, California | ||
Other Commemorated |
Neupré, Belgium | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Ardennes American Cemetery. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 20-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 12-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 18-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/002.pdf
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Arrived ion UK event per 303BG webiste, Gary Moncur, Historian, crew page of Orville C. Witt: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-witt.html
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG webiste, Gary Moncur, Historian, crew page of Orville C. Witt: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-witt.html
Lee Cunningham 11-Dec-2015. Edited Summary Biography and made connections to all mission participations per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Reports http://www.303rdbg.com/
Combined two entries into a single entry. This record now includes information from the following source: MACR 15708 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database.
Lee Cunningham 4-Dec-2014. Added crew position to biography and KIA event per MACR 15708; added decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, Aircraft & Mission within existing website data.; COMBINED and reconciled data from DUPLICATE entry generated by ingest of data from "Project Bits & Pieces" into this single entry.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15708, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Hey and Bishop p.55,
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