Ralph Bruce
Military
Standing, from left to right : Navigator Lt. Richard Manning (replaced by Lt David G. Prosser on the fateful 3 September 1943 mission); Co-Pilot Lt. Sebron A. McQueen; Pilot Lt. Ralph Bruce and Bombardier Lt. Bertram R. Theiss.
In front, from left to right : Left Waist Gunner S/Sgt Robert D. Muir, Engineer/Top Turret Gunner T/Sgt Etheridge Lamm (killed on the Hannover mission on 26 July 1943), Tail Gunner T/Sgt Simeon K. McGuire, T/Sgt Hedley E. Cassidy (replacing Etheridge Lamm as Engineer), Ball Turret Gunner S/Sgt. George J. "Shorty" Caldon (sick before the 3 September 1943 mission, he was replaced by 1943 par Milton Seldin, not pictured). Radio Operator T/Sgt Mike Fleszar.
Caldon will be made a POW after the loss of B-17 42-30726 on the Schweinfurt raid of 10 October 1943),
(Crew photo via the Theiss family)
Connected People (Caldon and Lamm) to UPL 41064
Object Number - UPL 41064 - Photo of the original Ralph Bruce crew, Grand Island, Nebraska, 24 June 1943, right before their departure for England. Standing, from left to...
Shot down on 3 September 1943 in B-17 #4229725. Bruce managed to evade capture with the help of the French Resistance. He was first hidden by Frenchman Lucian Barbillon, his wife and son Gabriel, in Lucian Barbillon's house in Trilbardou, France. Bruce eventually made his way into Spain, where he rejoined Allied forces in Gibraltar on 19 February 1944. He was returned to the USA shortly after.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16092258
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33391867
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Tail Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Hi-Lo Jack
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 407th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Evaded Capture |
France | 3 September 1943 - 19 February 1944 | |
|
Born |
Revisions
Information including a page of Bruce's Escape & Evasion report provided by Tom Theiss, son of Bertram Theiss, Bombardier on Bruce's Aircraft.
MACR via Fold 3
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 659 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database