Leonard W Kirk
Military ROLL OF HONOUR10-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
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24608 'Yehudi' while serving as Co-Pilot. Aircraft crashed into the sea near Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France as a result of severe damage from flak over the target. Killed in Action (KIA). Paricipated in 6 Operations (3 were aborted) See Biography events.
Air medal, Purple Heart
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
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 23 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 10 July 1942 | Assigned as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yehoodi", 303BG/359BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 12 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS. The first B-17 of the 303BG to arrive in England. |
Other Mission #1, 2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted |
Lorient, France | 22 October 1942 | Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #2,2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24606, 303BG/359BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 23 November 1942 | Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24606 "Werewolf", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #3, 2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #4, 2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - Aborted |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France, but mechanical failures forced the pilot to abort the sortie. RTB OK. |
Other Mission #5, 2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. RTB OK. |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Belle Île, France | 3 January 1943 | Killed when aircraft sustained severe damage from flak over the target and crashed into the sea near Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France. His remains have never been recovered. |
Other Mission #6, 2LT Leonard W. Kirk, w/B-17F 41-24608, 303BG/359BS - KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Co-Pilot of B-17F 41-24608 "Yahoodi", 303BG/359BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. Shot down by German fighters. He was Killed in Action (KIA) |
Born |
entered service from Texas | ||
Other Commemorated |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission event #2 (renumbered) per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 23-Nov-42 http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/004.pdf
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added connections to 41-24606 and mission 1942-11-23 per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, historian, http://www.303rdbg.com/; Corrected mission numbering 2-6.
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
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
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
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
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
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Frank A. Saunders crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-359-saunders.html
Lee Cunningham 15-Dec-2015. Added 303BG assignment and arrival in UK to Summary Biography; made connections to all mission participations per 303BG website Mission Reports, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/
Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2015. SN and KIA event per MACR 15720. Added decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data: Added crash location and crew position to Biography per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. 1 by Bishop and Hey pp. 60-61, WWII Memorial web site, MACR 15720