Albert Patton Clark
MilitaryShot down doing a sweep over France with the 412 Squadron (Royal Canadian Air Force) 26 July 1942 while assigned to 31st Fighter Group as a Lieutenant Colonel, flying Spitfire Mk Vb, BL964. Prisoner of War (POW). Was executive officer of the 31st FG in early days of training with the 52nd FG. He was the first combat casualty in the European theater for the U S Fighter Forces. First 8th AF pilot to become a Prisoner of War (POW). After the war he stayed in the service and at one time was commander of the U. S., Air Force Academy.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: Spitfire
- Unit: 309th Fighter Squadron
Missions
- Date: 26 July 1942
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Schofield Barracks, HI 96857, USA | 27 August 1913 | Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii |
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Zagan, Poland | 26 July 1942 - 12 May 1945 | Held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia (now Poland) later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. Officially Returned to Military Control 12-May-45. Instrumental in the planning of the famous "Great Escape". Officially Returned to Military Control 12-May-45. First fighter pilot POW in 8th Air Force. |
Other Shot Down |
Parking Cap Gris-Nez, 62179 Audinghen, France | 26 July 1942 | Shot down by JG26 Fw190's doing a sweep over France with the 412 Squadron (Royal Canadian Air Force) 26 July 1942 while assigned to 31st Fighter Group as a Lieutenant Colonel, flying Spitfire Mk Vb, BL964. |
Died |
Colorado Springs, CO, USA | 8 March 2010 | Colorado Springs, Colorado. |
Buried |
United States Air Force Academy Cemetery Colorado Springs, El Paso County, CO | 15 August 2010 | Buried in the USAF Academy Cemetery. |
Other West Point Graduate |
U S Military Academy Library, 758 Cullum Road, West Point, NY 10996, USA | United States Military Academy graduate |
Revisions
Added an association to Stalag Luft 3 per WW2 POW records at the National Archives (NARA).
Added punctuation in the "Summary biography" to aid readability.
Lee Cunningham 4-Nov-2014. Difficulty with program accepting POW data.
Lee Cunningham 1-Nov-2014. Addition of decorations and life events . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_P._Clark#Biography
Lee Cunningham 20-Oct-2014, Correction made to Summary Biography, date of action, unit assignment, aircraft type. Information verified from two sources, "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A Hey and "Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman. Service Number and rank at time of incident from National Archives Records Administration (NARA) POW database.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losees of the 8th and 9th AF by Bishop and Hey p. 21