Gordon L Childers
MilitaryCo-pilot, Yorba crew. 381st BG, 534th BS, 8th AF. Shot down 14 October 1943 in B-17 #42-29803 'Flat Foot Floogie'. Mission #39 to the Kugel-Fisher ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. MACR 1037. Evaded for 2 and a half days until captured by civilian police. Sprained his left foot. Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft III and Stalag VIIA.
Crawfordsville, OR
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: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 35292918
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-673488
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12042502
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 31083156
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner; Flight Engineer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33324280
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Flat Foot Floogie
- Unit: 305th Bomb Group 381st Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron 335th Bomb Squadron 365th Bomb Squadron 534th Bomb Squadron
Missions
![Three B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 94th Bomb Group are attacked by a Nazi Fighter aircraft during a mission. Printed caption on reverse of print: 'A-62641 USAF: Nazi fighter plane attacking Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" during a bomb run over enemy installations somewhere in Europe, 10 September 1944. 100th[sic] Bomb Group, 3rd Bomb Division. U.S. Air Force Photo.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-408505.jpg.webp?itok=zJwHCUjh)
- Date: 14 October 1943
- Date: 26 September 1943
- Date: 15 September 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag 7a, Moosburg
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Crawfordsville, Oregon, USA | 20 October 1917 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War |
18 October 1943 - 26 October 1943 | Dulag Luft | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 28 October 1943 - 27 January 1945 | Stalag Luft III |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Moosburg, Germany | 3 February 1945 - 29 April 1945 | Stalag VIIA |
|
Based Prisoner of War |
14 October 1943 |
Revisions
Corrected a typo in the "Summary biography" - "Sprained" was misspelled.
Updated the location of the "POW" event per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1037 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database