Bert W Stimmel

Military
media-34840.jpeg UPL 34840 Technical Sergeant Bert W. Stimmel, Radio Operator / Gunner, 401st Bomb Group.

Image courtesy of Daniel Ferris

Object Number - UPL 34840 - Technical Sergeant Bert W. Stimmel, Radio Operator / Gunner, 401st Bomb Group.

Bert was an actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director. During the Second World War,

he flew 30 missions as a B-17 radio operator with the 401st Bomb Group. A graduate of Yale University, Bert returned to Europe to work on theatre productions in London’s West End, before forming his own dance company. He lived for 30 years in the Middle East, much of the time spent with the Caracalla Dance Theatre in Beirut. This city was for many years at the heart of a bitter civil war. ‘I flew in the Second World War and my B-17 crashed in the North Sea, so I’ve no problem with danger here,’ he said.





RTD. Shot down 4 January 1944 in B-17 #42-31089 'Carolyne. ' Target Kiel, Germany. Plane ditched in North Sea after both engines on left side stopped.



Read the full article about the Caracalla Dance Theatre here: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/arts-giant-steps…

Connections

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Units served with

A pathfinder B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 44-8258) of the 401st Bomb Group. Image by Robert Astrella. Written on slide casing: '48258 14 A, Mount Farm.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Carolyne
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Toledo, Ohio
Beirut, Lebanon

Revisions

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

American Air Museum caption panel that accompanies Bert Stimmel's display in the 'Somewhere in England' gallery of the AAM.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes

Bert W Stimmel: Gallery (1 items)