Lawrence G Dunnica
Military ROLL OF HONOUR(Back L-R)
1st Lt Lawrence G Dunnica (Pilot), 2nd Lt Orson E Pacey (CoPilot), 1st Lt Leonard E Thornton (Nav), 2nd Lt James H Montgomery (Bomb
(Front L-R)
T/Sgt Harry W Tucker (Eng), S/Sgt Philip T Cascio (Ball), T/Sgt Bertis W Holland (Radio), S/Sgt Robert L Dew (R Waist), S/Sgt Claude F Taylor (Tail).
1LT Lawrence G. Dunninca was assigned to 303BG/358BS with B-17F 41-24541 [VK:B] "Spook" at Kellog Field, Battle Creek, Michigan on 3-Sep-42. He arrived with his crew (except LWG SGT Wayne P. Harker) at Molesworth on 24-Oct-42. The aircraft also carried two passengers on the overseas flight: MSG Paul B. McDermott, 358BS Engineering Department and COL James H. Wallace, Commanding Officer, 303BG. He participated in 11 Operations - 4 Aborted and credited with 8 missions. (See Biography events)
Shot down 16-Feb-43 in B-17F 41-24541 'Spook' while serving as Pilot. The aircraft was attacked by ME 109s when it descended to assist another aircraft. Went down in Channel off Brest Peninsula The target was St. Nazaire. Killed in Action (KIA). 4 crew members survived to become Prisoner of War (POW)s
Air Medal, Purple Heart
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 30 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 20 December 1942
- Date: 12 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 6 December 1942
- Official Description:
- Date: 23 November 1942
- Official Description:
Places
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Assigned to Aircraft |
Battle Creek, MI, USA | 3 September 1942 | Assigned to 303BG/358BS B-17F 41-24541 "Spook" at Kellog Field, Battle Creek, Michigan. |
Other Arrival at Station |
Molesworth, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28, UK | 24 October 1942 | Arrived at Molesworth as Pilot of 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS. |
Other Mission #1 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Lorient, France | 22 November 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #2 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 23 November 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St. Nazaire, France (RTB OK). |
Other Mission #3 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Lille, France | 6 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the carriage and wagon works at Lillie, France. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #4 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Rouen, France | 12 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen, France, but mechanical failures forced hum to abort the mission. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #5 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Romilly-sur-Seine, France | 20 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the German air depot at Romilly-sur-Seine, France. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #6 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Lorient, France | 30 December 1942 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France, but mechanical failures forced hum to abort the mission. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #7 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 3 January 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the torpedo storage areas at St. Nazaire, France, but mechanical failures forced hum to abort the mission. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #8 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Lille, France | 13 January 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the Fives Comapny Locomotive Works at Lillie, France. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #9 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS |
Lorient, France | 23 January 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient, France. (RTB OK) |
Other Mission #10 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS - Aborted |
Hamm, Germany | 14 February 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Hamm, Germany, but weather caused the entire 303BG despatch to be re-called. (RTB OK). |
Other Mission #11 1LT Lawrence G. Dunnica w/B-17F 41-24541, 303BG/358BS KIA |
Saint-Nazaire, France | 16 February 1943 | Served as Pilot of B-17F 41-24541 "Spook", 303BG/358BS on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at St Nazaire, France. Aircraft shot down by fighters. (KIA) |
Born |
Oklahoma | ||
Other Killed in Action (KIA) |
English Channel | 16 February 1943 | Killed when aircraft was shot down by fighters and crashed into the English Channel off of the Brest Peninsula, France |
Other Commemorated |
Saint-James, France | Commemorated on the Wall of the Missing,Brittany American Cemetery. |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 16-Aug-2015. Correcting typo in Mission #11 event.
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #11 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 16-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/016.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #10 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 14-Feb-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/015.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #9 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 23-Jan-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/011.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #8 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 13-Jan-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/010.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #7 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 3-Jan-43, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/009.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #6 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 30-Dec-42, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/008.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #5 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 20-Dec-42, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/007.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #4 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 12-Dec-42, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/006.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #3 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 6-Dec-42, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/005.pdf
Lee Cunningham 17-Aug-2015. Added Mission #2 event per 303BG website Mission Report of 23-Nov-42, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/004.pdf
Lee Cunningham 16-Aug-2015. Added Assigned to Aircraft and Arrival at Station events per 303BG website Dunnica crew page, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-358-dunnica.html; Added Mission #1 event per 303BG Mission Report of 22-Nov-42: http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/003.pdf
Lee Cunningham 16-Aug-2015. Added introductory paragraph to Summary Biography based on 303BG website crew page for Dunnica, Gary Moncur, Historian: http://www.303rdbg.com/c-358-dunnica.html; Made connections to Missions from: http://www.303rdbg.com/missions.html
Lee Cunningham 19-Feb-2015 . Corrected SN added KIA event per MACR 15476; Added decorations and Commemorated event per American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) record; Made connections to Place and Mission within existing website data; Added crew position and minor edits to Biography based on "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 / MACR 15476 / MACR 15476, Losses of the 8th and 9th AFs Vol. I by Bishop and Hey p. 77, Might in Flight Daily Diary of Hell's Angels by Harry Gobrect pp. 137-8 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database