42-30372 Shack Rabbit III

Delivered Cheyenne 24/5/43; Gore 25/5/43; Gr Isle 4/6/43; Dow Fd 27/6/43; Assigned 413BS/96BG [MZ-P] Snetterton 26/6/43; Missing in Action Duren 10/10/43 with Pilot Robert Z. Grimes; Co-pilot: Arthur C. Pickett; Bombardier: Charles V. Carlson; Navigator: James D. McElroy; Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Theodore R. Kellers; Ball turret gunner: Robert W. Metlen; Waist gunner: Harold T. Sheets; Radio Operator: Frederick W. MacManus; Waist gunner: Jerome C. Nawracaj; Tail gunner: George C. Janser. Enemy aircraft, exploded in the air, pieces fell on a wide area, the front near Quévaucamps, the tail section near Hensies, both near the French border, west of Mons, Belgium. Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 1017. Pickett, MacManus, Nawracaj and Jenser were killed. Robert Grimes, Charles Carlson, Robert Metlen, James McElroy and Harold Sheets managed to evade and return to England, helped by the Belgian Comet evasion network (www.evasioncomete.be). Theodore Kellers, intially evaded, was arrested in the South of France on 18 April 1944.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 96th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 17062836 and O-678500
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner / Bombardier
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13061919 and O-797521
  • Highest Rank: Colonel
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 11066504
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 35335090
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18075384 and O-747132
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Places

Missions

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Failed to Return (FTR)

Pommeroeul-Bernissart, Belgique 20 October 1943 Attacked by a German Fw190 fighter over Pommeroeul, Belgium.

Crashed

Blaton - Bernissart, Belgium 20 October 1943 Reported to have crashed 2km East of Blaton-Bernissart, near the French border, Belgium. The plane exploded and its parts fell down over a wide area; the fuselage was found Quévaucamps, near Beloeil, the tail section near Hensies, both inside Belgium.

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

Updated link to the page at www.evasioncomete.be

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

deleted image

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 1017
Research on the crew of 42-30372 for website www.evasioncomete.org

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 1017 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database