Charles David Hill Jr

Military
Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill, a waist gunner of the 306th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image via BL Davies. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943.' [stamp] and '246557.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'AMERICAN AIRMEN WHO MADE FIRST DAYLIGHT RAID ON GERMANY. Associated Press Photos shows: Staff Sgt. Charles D. Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, The waist Gunner of the First Fortress to bomb Wilhelmshaven. TET 254771/2. 1243 media-379012.jpg FRE 1146 Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill, a waist gunner of the 306th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image via BL Davies. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943.' [stamp] and '246557.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'AMERICAN AIRMEN WHO MADE FIRST DAYLIGHT RAID ON GERMANY. Associated Press Photos shows: Staff Sgt. Charles D. Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, The waist Gunner of the First Fortress to bomb Wilhelmshaven. TET 254771/2. 1243. ' Alternate caption on duplicate print: 'Passed by the censor - Nos. 246556/7. AMERICAN AIRMEN WHO MADE FIRST DAYLIGHT RAID ON GERMANY. Big bombers of the United States Army Air Force made their first daylight raid on Germany recently when they dropped tons of high explosives on the Nazi Naval Base at Wilhelmshaven. The Bombers, unescorted, met considerable fighter opposition and shot down 22 for the loss of 3 bombers. Photos shows: Staff Sgt. Charles D. Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, The waist Gunner of the First Fortress to bomb Wilhelmshaven. TET 25477 1/2. 2243.' Roger Freeman Collection

IWM, Roger Freeman Collection

Object Number - FRE 1146 - Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill, a waist gunner of the 306th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image via BL Davies. Image stamped...

He flew on the Lt. Earl Tunnel crew. Joined the 306th Bomb Group in Jun-42. He was in the lead plane as waist gunner on the first Wilhelmshaven, Germany mission 27-Jan-43, with Gen. Frank A. Armstrong. Shot down 6-Mar-943 in B-17 42-5378, 367BS, 306BG, 8th AF as Waist Gunner. The aircraft had developed an oil leak in no. 3 engine over the Channel, but oil pressure stayed steady so pilots continued mission toward the submarine pens at Lorient, France. According to Strong, Fighters attacked as this plane was was dropping back due to the earlier oil leak and the fact this Group was in the low Squadron. When engine 4 quit, bailout was ordered. Charles Hill spent 6 months at the Stalag 9C German Hospital in Bad Sulza, Germany. He was then interned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan/Zagan (Silesia, now Poland). Force-marched from there in late Jan-45, he ended up at Stalag 7A, Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29-Apr-45. Prisoner of War (POW)

Connections

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Units served with

Official insignia of the 306th Bomb Group, approved 6 January 1943, and updated 2 October 1951.

306th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

Robert Edward Biggs

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-726184
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Meyer Etkin

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 19075295 at enlistment, then O-664296
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Andrew Jackson Friedrich

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 36219920 at enlistment, then O-726143
  • Highest Rank: Major
  • Role/Job: Bombardier

Charles Kenneth Kirby

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13025901
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Ernest George Maynard

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11056150
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Aircraft

Bomber crew and Ground crew of the 306th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'American Airmen Who Made First Daylight Raid On Germany. Associated Press Photo Shows: The crew and ground crew of the Fortress which made first raid on Germany in daylight. $Censor: We have names and hometowns of all.$ TET 254778. I 243.' On reverse: Associated Press, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps].

42-5378

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

Dulag Luft 12

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12

Stalag Luft III

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany

Stalag VII-A

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag 7a, Moosburg

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Germania, Potter County, Pennsylvania, United State 21 June 1921 Son of Charles and Genevieve Hill.

Enlisted

Baltimore, MD 19 January 1942 Baltimore, Maryland

Other

Shot down

Lorient, France 6 March 1943 Shot down on B-17 42-5378. Landed in parachute near Lorient.

Other

In hospital

Bad Sulza, Germany 6 March 1943 POW in German Hospital at Stalag 9C

Died

Towson Maryland 9 January 2019 Chuck was pre-deceased by his wife Peggy (she died in 2004) and is survived by two sons, David, and his wife Linda and Dennis, and his wife Maureen, six grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Zagan, Poland Interned at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan/Zagan, Poland. Force-marched from there and ended up in Stalag 7A in Moosburg, Germany. Liberated there by US troops on 29 April 1945. NARA WWII POW record : “Returned to Military Control 8 May 1945.”

Other

Discharged USAAF

Honourable discharge.

Revisions

Date
ContributorAl_Skiff
Changes
Sources

https://www.fold3.com/image/540740906
https://www.fold3.com/record/83763130/charles-d-hill-jr-wwii-army-enlis…
https://www.ruckfuneral.com/obituary/charles-david-hill
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195976481/charles-david-hill

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
Pages 40 and 41 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/142694377 (NARA)
Page 31 of AV 51/43 at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/18238537 (NARA)
NARA WWII POW records

Date
Contributordecwriter
Changes
Sources

NARA records verified AM w/1 OLC.

Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

http://www.ruckfuneral.com/obituary/charles-david-hill?fbclid=IwAR26vU7…

Date
ContributorLee8thbuff
Changes
Sources

Lee Cunningham 30-Jul-2015. Made connections to Place within existing website data; Added decoration and POW event at Stalag Luft 3 per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Edited Summary Biography with A/C model letter and Unit association and crew position per "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.

Date
ContributorTom
Changes
Sources

Added information from caption. Associated aircraft, mission and created biography entries. Stalag information was sourced from http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/pow/stalag9c.html
http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/pow/stalag7a.html
http://www.b24.net/pow/stalag17.htm

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

306th BG Association Directory, 1 September 1999 Edition; Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey p. 89, First Over Germany by Russell Strong pp. 65 & 73-4, NARA, / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / http://www.306bg.org/crewphotos/Crew%20Pictures%20Adam-Rector/Crew%20Pi…

Charles David Hill: Gallery (5 items)

Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill, a waist gunner of the 306th Bomb Group in position inside a B-17 Flying Fortress. Image via BL Davies. Image stamped on reverse: 'Associated Press.' [stamp], 'Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943.' [stamp] and '246557.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'AMERICAN AIRMEN WHO MADE FIRST DAYLIGHT RAID ON GERMANY. Associated Press Photos shows: Staff Sgt. Charles D. Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, The waist Gunner of the First Fortress to bomb Wilhelmshaven. TET 254771/2. 1243

Object number: FRE 1146 - Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill, a waist gunner of...

Two Intelligence Officers - Major John B. Wright, Group Intelligence Officer of New York and Major Ralph Oliver, Operations Officer of Palo Alto, California, both on the left - of the 306th Bomb Group interrogate a bomber crew, sat atop bombs, after a mission. The five bomb crew are Lieutenant Frank Yaussi of Glendale, California; Lieutenant R.J. Salitrink of Alhambra, California; Staff Sergeant Donald Tunstall of Darlington, South Carolina; Staff Sergeant Raymond R. Erikson of Chicago; and Staff Sergeant

Object number: FRE 1148 - Two Intelligence Officers - Major John B. Wright...

Bomber crew and Ground crew of the 306th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'American Airmen Who Made First Daylight Raid On Germany. Associated Press Photo Shows: The crew and ground crew of the Fortress which made first raid on Germany in daylight. $Censor: We have names and hometowns of all.$ TET 254778. I 243.' On reverse: Associated Press, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Bureau [Stamps].

Object number: FRE 4403 - Col. Frank Armstrong Bomber crew and Ground crew...

A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group with their B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'American Airmen Who Made First Daylight Raid On Germany. Big bombers of the United States Army Air Force made their first daylight raid on Germany recently when they dropped tons of high explosives on the Nazi naval base at Wilhelmshaven. The bombers, unescorted, met considerable fighter opposition and knocked down 22 for the loss of three bombers. Associated Press Photo S

Object number: FRE 4404 - A bomber crew of the 306th Bomb Group with their B...

Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill a waist gunner of the 306th Bomb Group in position inside his B-17 Flying Fortress. Passed for publication 2 Feb 1943. Printed caption on reverse: 'American Airmen Who Made First Daylight Raid On Geramny. Associated Press Photo Shows:- Staff Sgt. Charles D. Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, the waist gunner of the first Fortress to bomb Wilhelmshaven. TET 254771/2. 1-2-43.' On reverse: Associated Press, US Army Press Censor ETO and US Army General Section Press & Censorship Burea

Object number: FRE 4411 - Staff Sergeant Charles D. Hill a waist gunner of...