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Military
Lt Vernon Hedges was Co-pilot of B26 #41-17961 on a local training flight 27 December 1943, when, due to mechanical failure, it crash-landed at RAF Toome, in Northern Ireland. The five crewmen returned safely but the aircraft was totally destroyed. On the page he wrote for the WWII Registry, he stated that he flew 65 sorties as a pilot in B-26 Marauders between March and August 1944.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
S/Sgt Pierce Buckner was Tail Gunner in B26 #41-17961 on a local training flight 27 December 1943, when, due to mechanical failure, it crash-landed at RAF Toome, in Northern Ireland. The five crewmen returned safely but the aircraft was totally destroyed.
Military | Captain | Instructor (Pilot) | 322nd Bomb Group
Robert Fry was a student of McMurray College, Abilene, TX before enlisting in January 1942. He won his wings and commission as a 2nd Lt in the USAAF at Roswell, New Mexico on 28 July 1942. He was later stationed at McDill Field in Tampa, Florida before...
Military | Sergeant | Engineer
Sgt John Latiloais was engineer on board of B26 #41-17961 on a local training flight 27 December 1943, when, due to mechanical failure, it crash-landed at RAF Toome, in Northern Ireland. The five crewmen returned safely but the aircraft was totally...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Radio Operator/ Mechanical Gunner | 386th Bomb Group
Joseph Weaver was on a local training flight on board B-26 #41-17961 on 27 December 1943. Flown by Lt Robert C. Fry, the plane was involved in a landing accident at Froome airfield - Station 236, near Antrim, Northern Ireland. Weaver and four others...
Unit
Established as 2902nd Combat Crew Replacement Center Group on 23 August 1943 at Toome. Opened on 20 September 1943 to provide theatre indoctrination to B-26 Marauder crews.
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B-26 Marauder
41-17961 was on a training flight on 27 December 1943. It belonged to the Headqurters of the 3rd Combat Crew Replacement Center. Due to a mechanical failure, the plane crashed on landing at RAF Toome, Antrim, Northern Ireland. All five crew safe :...
Military site : airfield
Built during 1942-43 as a bomber OTU satellite, first to RAF Cluntoe and then to RAF Nutt’s Corner, Toome had three concrete runways, 30 pan type hardstandings, and two pairs of T2 hangars. 50 concrete 'fingers’ were added for aircraft storage during...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Plentywood, Sheridan County, Montana, United States | 4 July 1921 |
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the son of Earl Edwin Hedges and Merle Dorina (Tittle) Hedges |
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| Lived in | Turner, Marion County, Oregon, United States | 1942 |
| Enlisted | Seattle, King County, Washington, United States | 14 March 1942 |
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as a Private in the Air Corps |
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| Involved in training accident | Toome, Antrim, Northern Ireland | 27 December 1943 |
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on board B-26 Marauder Serial 41-17961. He and the four other men on board were safe and returned to duty. |
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| Died | Delta, Colorado, United States | 5 August 2005 |
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 19 April 2018 09:37:53 | ED-BB | Changes to surname, middlename, service number, role, biography, events, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
Last name must be Hedges instead of Hodges... |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:26:25 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Losses of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces Vol. I, p. 442 |
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