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Military
BTG, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. S/Sgt Boylan had reported his ball turret had been hit and he was possibly wounded. S/Sgt Gracey (Radio operator) assisted him out of the ball. He did not appear to be wounded. After capture, some crew members were informed by the Germans that S/Sgt Boylan's body was found in the aircraft. Killed in Action (KIA). Buried in the Lorraine AMC.
Paris, OH
Credited with 1 damaged German fighter on the 4 October 1943 mission.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Co-pilot, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Evaded for 2 and a half days until captured by...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 381st Bomb Group
Navigator, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Flew 6 missions between Aug, 1943 and Oct. 1943. Shot down bombing the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt Germany on Black Thursday in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39....
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
RWG, Yorba crew. Not an original crew member. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Killed in Action (KIA)....
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer | 381st Bomb Group
ETTG, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Was last seen leaving his inoperable turret and...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator | 381st Bomb Group
Radio operator, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
LWG, Yorba crew. Not original crew member. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Killed in Action (KIA)....
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 381st Bomb Group
Tail gunner, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission 339 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft IV.
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 381st Bomb Group
Bombardier, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft I.
Akron, OH
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 381st Bomb Group
Pilot, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III.
Fullerton, CA
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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Group
The 381st Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Ridgewell, Essex between June 1943 and April 1945. The Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing shipyards at Bremen, whilst under heavy attack, on 8 October 1943 and...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 22/2/43; Gore 8/3/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-D] Alconbury 8/4/43; Framlingham 12/5/43; Horham 15/6/43; 4m, transferred 365BS/305BG [XK-Q/E] Chelveston 17/6/43 FLAT FOOT FLOOGIE; 534BS/381BG [GD-P] Ridgewell 11/9/43; 6m/381 Missing in...
15 September 1943
This mission is composed of three elements. The first element is a formation of 93 B-17s from: (1BG (19); 305BG (18); 306BG (18); 351BG (19); and 381BG (19) despatched to bomb the German air deport at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. 87 aircraft are...
26 September 1943
This mission was composed of four elements. The first element was a combined force of 55 B-17s from 91BG (19); 381BG (18); and 351BG (18) that were dispatched to attack industrial targets in and around Paris, France. As the formation approached the...
2 October 1943
This mission is composed of three elements, two or which are directed at the industrial areas of Emden, Germany and the other at the German airfield at Woensdrecht, Holland. The first element is a formation of 163 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division which...
4 October 1943
This mission is composed of five elements. The first element is a combined force of 104 B-17s from: 306BG (16); 92BG (17); 395BG (17); 303BG (19); 379BG (18) and 384BG (17) despatched to bomb the industrial areas of Frankfurt, Germany. 77 aircraft are...
9 October 1943
This mission is composed of 6 elements. The first element is a combined force of 115 B-17s from: 303BG (20); 379BG (20); 384BG (21); 351BG (21); 91BG 16; and 381BG (16) dispatched to bomb the industrial areas of Anklam, Germany. 106 aircraft are...
14 October 1943
This was the 2nd mission flown against the ball bearing industry at Schweinfurt, Germany and was as equally disastrous as that flown on 17-Aug-43. It came to be known as "Black Thursday". While fighter escort was dispatched, bad weather and lack of...
Military site : airfield
Built during 1941-42 as an RAF bomber station, Ridgewell operated as a satellite to RAF Stradishall until May 1943. It had three concrete runways, initially 36 pan hardstandings, and two dispersed T2 hangars. Taken over by the Eighth Air Force in June...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Paris, Ohio, USA | |
| Based | 14 October 1943 | |
| Killed in Action | Germany | 14 October 1943 |
| Buried | Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial | |
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Plot A |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 April 2018 01:41:57 | ARowe95 | Changes to biography and events |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 April 2018 01:35:37 | ARowe95 | Changes to biography, events, unit associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 04 December 2017 06:41:26 | ARowe95 | Changes to service number, biography, awards, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
ARowe95 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:23:58 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
381st Bomb Group Memorial Association, March 1999; MACR 1037 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1037 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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