Ernest Harold Ratliff
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
media-17207.jpeg
UPL 17207
Crew #585
Howard W. Greiner Crew
466th BG - 785th BS
Standing Left to Right: Ernest Ratliff (TG), Frank Korycanek (R/O), Andrew Swartz (NG), Richard Maki (WG/NG), John Spissinger (FE), Robert Shaddy (BTG/RWG),
Sitting Left to Right: Henry E. Holm (N), Howard W. Greiner (P), Edmund B. Knoll (CP), Ballinger (B)
This crew was shot down on their 2nd mission, 2 March 1945. Knoll, Swartz, Shaddy and Ratliff were all KIA. 466th Bomb Group collection
Howard W. Greiner Crew
466th BG - 785th BS
Standing Left to Right: Ernest Ratliff (TG), Frank Korycanek (R/O), Andrew Swartz (NG), Richard Maki (WG/NG), John Spissinger (FE), Robert Shaddy (BTG/RWG),
Sitting Left to Right: Henry E. Holm (N), Howard W. Greiner (P), Edmund B. Knoll (CP), Ballinger (B)
This crew was shot down on their 2nd mission, 2 March 1945. Knoll, Swartz, Shaddy and Ratliff were all KIA. 466th Bomb Group collection
Attlebridge Arsenal - Brassfield & Wassom
Killed in Action (KIA) at Tennenheide in B-24 #42-51273.
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
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37483851
- Highest Rank: Technician Fourth Grade
- Role/Job: waist gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 785th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Attlebridge Arsenal, Station 120
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Sanford, Florida, USA | 11 December 1924 | |
Enlisted |
Starke, FL 32091, USA | 14 September 1943 | Camp Blanding |
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
Dümmer, Germany | 2 March 1945 | Possible flak damage over Magdeburg caused the Greiner a/c to lag behind the formation. It was attacked by Fw-190's near Dummer Lake and exploded. Ratliff and three of his crewmates were KIA. The aircraft was B-24J-1-DT #42-51273 2U-N+ |
Buried |
Sanford, FL, USA | Evergreen Cemetery Sanford Seminole County Florida, USA Plot: Section A, Lot 2, Space 6 | |
Seminole County, FL, USA |
Revisions
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources
Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
Contributor466thHistorian
Changes
Sources
http://www.ww2enlistment.org/index.php?page=directory&rec=5024563
"Attlebridge Arsenal" - Brassfield & Wassom - page 114
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12849 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database