William Robert Francis Dunlop Jr
Military
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection
Object Number - FRE 5264 - The insignia of the 357th Fighter Group.
Crashed at Sederitz on 14 Jan 45 in P-51 #44-15370, Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-51 Mustang
- Unit: 357th Fighter Group 363rd Fighter Squadron
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Detroit, MI, USA | 3 November 1923 | |
|
Other |
Horten, Norway | 14 September 1944 | "For reasons obscure, Dunlop decided it would be great to make an aerial tour of Norway. Therefore on the 14th of September he asked his operations section to put him on the mission as a spare. All went well, so not needed as a fill in he set off on a NE heading, alone, on his way to the coast of Norway, across 400 miles of very cold water. As would be expected, the weather gods did not cooperate and he struggled through a variety of nasty conditions. Undaunted he finally arrived at an unknown point on the Norwegian coast. He then spent an hour or so frolicking among the coastal fjords, finally arriving another 100 miles north at the town of Horten, a bit south of Oslo. There he found several juicy targets including an He115 seaplane and several Dornier flying boats. To make the trip worthwhile, he made one strafing run, albeit with only 1/2 his guns working. Although one of the Dorniers shows up clear on his gun camera film, it is not likely he did much damage.... He might have gotten away with the "I got lost" excuse if he had not asked for the appropriate maps the day before! - Merle Olmsted "To War With The Yoxford Boys" Dunlop made it safely back to an RAF airfield in Crail, Scotland with 4 gallons of fuel on board. He was grounded for a week, but was back flying 4 days later on the "Market Garden" missions. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Stendal, Germany | 14 January 1945 - 22 June 1945 | Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia Bavaria (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser) 49-11 |
|
Died |
Mill Valley, CA 94941, USA | 23 November 2004 | |
|
Buried |
Bolinas, CA 94924, USA | 27 November 2004 | Burial: Saint Mary Magdalene Catholic Church Cemetery Bolinas Marin County California, USA |
Revisions
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources
Updated POW camp info for the POW event and a S/N from WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 11870