Alfred M Union
Military ROLL OF HONOUR26-Jul-42 Assigned as Radio Operator on B-17F #41-24563 [PU-H] "Garbage", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. 16-Oct-42 Arrived at Molesworth, UK aboard "Garbage."
11-Nov-42 Serving as Radio Operator of B-17F #41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS, while on a training flight, the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with an RAF aircraft near Luton, UK where the pilot crash landed the aircraft. There were no injuries but that aircraft was Damaged Beyond Repair (DBR). Poor weather conditions contributed to accident.
Shot down 3 January 1943 in B-17F #41-24620 'Snap! Crackle! Pop!' while serving as Radio Operator. Killed in Action (KIA).
Participated in 3 Operations. See Biography events.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: Garbage
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Yardbird II
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Snap! Crackle! Pop!
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
![Two airmen of the 303rd Bomb Group admire the nose art of a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Iza Vailable". Printed caption removed from reverse. On reverse: Keystone Press Agency, 'Sacred' and U.S. Official Photograph O.W.I. [Stamps].](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-407619.jpg.webp?itok=aEyghgX9)
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Iza Vailable
- Unit: 303rd Bomb Group 360th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 3 January 1943
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA | 26 July 1942 | Assigned as Radio Operator of B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS at Alamogordo Field, Alamogordo, New Mexico. |
|
Other Arrived in UK |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 16 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth, UK as Radio Operator of B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS. |
|
Other Aircraft Accident |
Luton, Luton, UK | 11 November 1942 | Served as Radio Operator of B-17F 41-24563 "Garbage", 303BG/360BS on a training mission. Aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with an RAF aircraft and was destroyed in a crash landing at Luton, UK. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #1, TSGT Alfred M. Union, w/B-17F 41-24602, 303BG/360BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 17 November 1942 | Served as Left Waist Gunner of B-17F 41-24602 "Yard Bird II", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #2, TSGT Alfred M. Union, w/B-17F 42-2973, 303BG/360BS |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Radio Operator of B-17F 42-2973 "Iza Vailable", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorinet, France. RTB OK. |
|
Other Mission #3, TSGT Alfred M. Union, w/B-17F 41-24620, 303BG/360BS - KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Radio Operator of B-17F 41-24620 "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", 303BG/360BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France. The aircraft was shot down and he was Killed in Action (KIA) |
|
Born |
Florida | ||
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Bois d'Escoublac, 44500 La Baule-Escoublac, France | 3 January 1943 | Killed when aircraft sustained damage from AA fire and fighter attacks and crashed into the Forest of Escoublac, France west of St. Nazaire. |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016 Added Mission #1 event, corrected numbering on Mission events #2 and #3 (references were OK) per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 17Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/001.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/098.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Mission #1 event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, Historian, Mission Report of 30-Dec-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Aircraft Accident event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Arthur I. Adamas crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Arrived in UK event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Arthur I. Adamas crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added Assigned to Aircraft event per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Arthur I. Adamas crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html
Lee Cunningham 26-Jan-2016. Added initial assignment and arrival info to Summary Biography; made connections to Place, AIrcraft and Missions per 303BG website, Gary Moncur, HIstorian, Arthur I. Adamas crew page: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-360-adams.html
Lee Cunningham 15-Jan-2015. Added SN and KIA event per MACR 15464; made connections to PLace and Mission within existing website data; Added burial event and decoration per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; added crew position ot biography per MACR 15464.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 15464 / MACR 15464, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs p. 46 by Bishop and Hey, Vol. 1,
href="http://303rdbg.com/rost-tuv.html#T">http://303rdbg.com/rost-tuv.html#T> / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database