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Military
Extract from the first and only page of MACR 15553 linked to 42-30088 on the 5 November 1943 mission to Gelsenkirchen. Pilot Flesh gave the order to bail out. 8 men did so. Radio Operator Connor Brewster's parachute didn't open and he was killed. 4 others were immediately captured. 3 managed to evade with the help of the Belgian Comète evasion network.
Radio Operator Conner Brewster was killed by Flak inside B-17 42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II' on the Gelsenkirchen mission, November 5, 1943. Pilot William Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. Brewster's parachute failed to open and he was initially buried at Prisoner of War (POW) cemetery at Saint Trond, Belgium and later re-interred in USA. (Note: His WWII Draft Card has his first name as Connor, but all other official documents, as well as his tombstone, mention it as Conner.)
Awards: PH.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Assistant Radio Operator; Ball Turret Gunner
Francis Dolsen was Assistant Radio Operator on his 14th mission. On that mission, November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped,...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot
On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 "Squawkin' Hawk II", pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage were able to regain...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner
On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage were able to regain...
Military | Captain | Navigator | 100th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW). On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage...
Military | Lieutenant | Co-Pilot / Pilot | 100th Bomb Group
Shot down 24 September 1943 on a practice flight in B-17 #42-30259 'Damifino II'. Plane ditched in the North Sea. 5 Killed In Action; 5 rescued, Gossage among them - Missing Air Crew Report MACR 778. On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier
Prisoner of War (POW). On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner
On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage were able to regain...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner
Prisoner of War (POW). On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8 men jumped, but pilot Flesh and Co-Pilot John G. Gossage...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer / Top Turret Gunner | 100th Bomb Group
Harold Pope was Engineer/Gunner in the 100th Bomb Group / 349th Bomb Squadron. On a mission November 5, 1943 to Gelsenkirchen on B-17 #42-30088 'Squawkin' Hawk II', pilot William R. Flesh ordered a bail out after plane suffered severe bomb damage. 8...
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 Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 8/4/43; Kearney 16/4/43; Wendover 2/5/43; Hill 12/5/43; Wendover 18/5/43; Kearney 22/5/43; Dow Field 27/5/43; Assigned 349BS/100BG [XR-E] Thorpe Abbotts 9 June 1943. Severe battle damage over Stuttgart 6 September 1943 with Sumner...
5 November 1943
Having had good success with P-38 escorts and limiting penetration depth into Germany this mission is directed at the railroad marshaling yards and oil refinery at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. In addition the marshaling yards at Munster, Germany are also...
Military site : airfield
Home of the 'Bloody Hundredth’, a Bomb Group with a reputation for high casualty rates, Thorpe Abbotts was under USAAF control from June 1943 to the end of the war. Some of the airfield survives today, and the control tower houses the 100th Bomb Group...
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Welch, McDowell County, WV | 12 November 1907 |
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Son of Robert G. and Pearl H. Brewster. |
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| Lived in | Marlboro County, SC | 1942 |
| Enlisted | Camp Blanding, Starke, Bradford County, FL | 9 April 1942 |
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Camp Blanding, Starke, Bradford County, Florida |
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| Buried | Saint-Trond, FR | November 1943 |
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Interred at the Saint-Trond airfield Luftwaffe cemetery, Belgium |
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| Died | Gelsenkirchen, Germany | 5 November 1943 |
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Killed In Action (KIA) on board B-17 42-30088, over Germany |
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| Buried | Montverde Cemetery Montverde, Lake County, FL | 1949 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 March 2020 21:24:57 | Al_Skiff | Changes to biography, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/47348650 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 March 2020 01:12:09 | jmoore43 | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 April 2019 13:31:34 | ED-BB | Changes to middlename, role, biography, events, person associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
US Census 1930 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 January 2018 17:57:11 | Al_Skiff | Changes to service number, awards, events, unit associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/47348650 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:06:37 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
100th BG unit history, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop & Hey pp. 511-2, NARA / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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