Chester William Watson
Military ROLL OF HONOUR
Object Number - UPL 60827 - F/O Chester W. Watson
Entered service 5 Jan 1940. (Enlisted serial #6990417). Served at Scott Field, Chanute Field and Sheppard Field in Aviation Maintenance. Aviation student at Santa Ana, CA. Basic Flight at Minter and Bishop Fields, CA. Advanced at Luke (43-D). Pre Europe Training at Dale Mabry Fld. Atcham, UK Aug-Sept 1943.
Killed in Action (KIA) 7 November 1943 in P-47D 42-8629, 355FG/358FS his Mission #16 on a Ramrod escort to B-26s from 9th Air Force attacking German airfields at Montdidier and Muelan, France. F/O Watson ran out of fuel and he and the aircraft crashed into the English Channel and he and the aircraft were lost in the sea.
Awards: PH
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Fighter
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: P-47 Thunderbolt
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 358th Fighter Squadron
Missions
- Date: 7 November 1943
Places
![P-51 Mustangs of the 355th Fighter Group break formation, ready for landing, over the ground support vehicles and control tower of Steeple Morden Airfield. Image signed on reverse with the approval of station censor. Handwritten caption on reverse: '355 FG Steeple Morden, Control Tower, read crew + P41 [sic] group peeling off for landing.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-377141.jpg.webp?itok=zxxvSLfB)
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Muncie, Indiana | 21 April 1921 | |
|
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
7 November 1943 | Killed when his aircaft ran out of fuel and crashed into the English Channel on return from a mission to escort b-26 bomers of 9th Air Force. His remains have never been recovered. | |
|
Other Commemorated |
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridgeshire CB23 7PH, UK | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing, Cambridge American Cemetery. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 10-Jul-2015. Added decoration and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) records; Added KIA event per MACR 1283. Added loss details to Description based on MACR 1283 and "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / R. E. Dailey, Nephew; 355th FG Honor Roll; MACR 1283
