Martin F McDonald

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Original assigment to the 303BG has not yet been determined. A search of 303BG records was not successful in determining whether or not he was ever assigned to a regular crew in the 303BG. It could not be determined when he arrived at Moleworth but it was sometime in Oct 1942.



3-Jan-43 Killed in Action (KIA) in B-17F-20-BO 41-24517 'Kali' while serving as Left Waist Gunner. Aircraft was targeting U/B (submarine base) at St. Nazaire, France. 'Kali' encountered intense flak and fighter attacks and went down over the Atlantic. The was the first and only mission that SGT McDonald ever flew.

Connections

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Units served with

Official emblem of the 303rd Bomb Group approved 7 November 1942.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Kali
  • Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 427th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

3 January 1943 Killed when aircraft sustained damage from flak and fighter attacks and crashed into the Atlantic near the target. His remains have never been recovered.

Other

Mission #1, SGT Martin F. McDonald, w/B-17F 41-24517, 303BG/427BS - KIA

3 January 1943 Served as a Left Waist Gunner oin B-17 F 41-24517 "Kali", 303BG/427BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. He was a substitute for the regular gunner in this crew. The aircraft was attacked by fighters over the sea on the approach to the target and exploded in mid-air. The entire crew were Killed in Action KIA.

Other

Commemorated

Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Capitalized the words in the "Role/job" field to aid readability.

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 20-Dec-2015. Added introductory paragraphy toe Summary Biography. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian; Mission Report of 3-Jan-43: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 13-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 6141; added decorations and Commemoration event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; made connections to Place, Aircraft and Mission within existing website data; added crew position and made minor edits to biography.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

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 p. 60