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12 August 1944Wikepedia Commons
Mission Details
MIMOYECQUES
Description: V-1 MISSILE SITES
Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
Notes: This is an ANVIL [APHRODITE] mission (388th BG).The Navy supplies the Air Force with one of its radio controlled drones from Special Air Unit No1, a PBY-1 which was a B-24 modified for submarine patrol. The aircraft is packed with 24,240 pounds of Torpex, a new high explosive that was lighter and more powerful than the nitrostarch used on the previous APHRODITE missions. The jump pilot was Joseph P. Kenned, Jr., older brother of later President John F. Kennedy. Joseph was very familiar with the aircraft having flown over fifty missions on submarine patrol. The engineer selected for the mission was Sgt. Wilford J. Willey. They took off and brought the aricraft to an altitude of about 2000 feet near Dover, England. Once at altitude, they were to set the autopilot and arm the explosives. Col. Elliott Roosevelt, son of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States was flying directly above the PB4Y, nicknamed "Zootsuit Black" when the aircraft suddenly exploded in a blinding flash. Kennedy and Willy were both killed instantly, their bodies were never recovered.
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Mission Statistics
- Tonnage Dropped: NA
- People killed in action: 2
- People wounded in action: 1
- Aircraft sent: 5
- Aircraft missing in action: 1
- Aircraft damaged: 2
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing 25th Bomb Group 381st Bomb Group 534th Bomb Squadron 654th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator / Observer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing 25th Bomb Group 654th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-886174
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Nicknames: Hedron 7
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Lady Lillian
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 561st Bomb Squadron 803rd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: Mosquito
- Unit: 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing 25th Bomb Group 654th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'.