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Richard K Abel

Military

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Assigned 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort to Munich. Last seen whilst strafing enemy aircraft in P-51D 'Jills Jalopy VII' 44-64159 near Zorneaing. Pilot 2nd Lt Richard K Abel Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 13950.

Awards: AM (2 OLC), PH.

See detail at http://www.55th.org/

Service

Units served with

  • 8th Air Force

    8th Air Force


    Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. ...

  • 55th Fighter Group

    55th Fighter Group

    Group
    The 55th Fighter Group were the first P-38 Lightning Group to go fully operational from England. The pilots flew long-range escort missions for bombers flying over occupied Europe and racked up 'kills' of their own by destroying enemy aircraft in...

  • 343rd Fighter Squadron

    343rd Fighter Squadron

    Squadron

Aircraft

  • 44-64159 'Jills Jalopy VII'

    P-51 Mustang
    Assigned 343FS, 55FG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort to Munich. Last seen whilst strafing enemy aircraft near Zorneaing. Pilot 2nd Lt Richard K Abel Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 13950.

Associated Place

  • Wormingford

    Military site : airfield
    Wormingford was a Royal Flying Corps/RAF anti-Zeppelin aircraft Landing Ground First World War, rebuilt for the Eighth Air Force 1942-43. It was a Ninth Air Force base from 1943-44, and home to the 362nd Fighter Group. Switching back to the Eighth Air...

Events

Event Location Date
Born 1924
Lived in Washington 1940
Enlisted Seattle, Washington 10 November 1942
Buried Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial 1945

Plot A Row 26 Grave 47
Killed in Action (KIA) Near Munich, Germany 9 April 1945

Failed to Return (FTR) bomber escort to Munich. Last seen whilst strafing enemy aircraft in P-51D 'Jills Jalopy VII' 44-64159 near Zorneaing. Pilot 2nd Lt Richard K Abel Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 13950.
Nationality
American
Nickname
Not yet known
Service numbers
O-721932
Highest rank
Second Lieutenant
Role/job
Fighter Pilot
Awards
  • Air Medal with 2 oak leaf clusters
  • Purple Heart

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
02 April 2020 15:29:26 Andycole0 Changes to events
Sources

American Battle Monument's Commission www.abmc.com
National Archive and Records Administration.
Date Contributor Update
20 June 2016 13:41:27 Al_Skiff Changes to biography, awards, events, unit associations and place associations
Sources

http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/search.php?searchString=44-64159&Submit=S...
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmpilot.asp?Pilot=Abel%2C+Richar...
https://www.fold3.com/image/29436006
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Abel&GSfn=Richard+...
Date Contributor Update
11 November 2015 09:48:12 general ira snapsorter Changes to role, biography, awards and events
Sources

Merged with duplicate entry to include detsils from Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list.

Additional details from https://www.abmc.gov.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:22:40 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 13950 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list

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