William Henry Simpkins Jr
MilitaryShot down 20 December 1943 in B-17 #42-29664 'Jersey Bounce Jr'. Plane ditched in Channel. Returned to base. Flew 15 missions. Returned from rocket attack during an operational mission on 11 Jan 1944 in B-17F #42-5264 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'. RTD. Apparently shot down near Koblenz on a mission to Schweinfurt, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-17G #42-31562. Prisoner of War (POW) 15 months.
DFC/ PH/ AM/ POW
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Jersey Bounce Jr.
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Yankee Doodle Dandy
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 358th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Hammonton, New Jersey | 26 June 1924 | |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Germany | 24 February 1944 - 23 July 1945 | Stalag Luft 4 Gross-Tychow (formerly Heydekrug) Pomerania, Prussia (moved to Wobbelin Bei Ludwigslust) (To Usedom Bei Savenmunde) 54-16 |
Revisions
Added Middle Name per MACR 2762 at Fold3.com. Source: https://www.fold3.com/image/28739322
Added a location to the POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added POW event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added a "-" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / self, MACR 2762, Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I, p. 425