William E Roach
MilitaryOn 7-Nov-43 as the pilot of P-47D 42-22490 [OS:U] "Beetle", 355FG/358FS he was despatched with other P-47s form the 355FG to provide escort to B-26 bombers of 9th Air Force attacking German airfields at Montdidier and Meulan, France. On the return the flight ran into headwinds of over 100mph which caused excessive fule consumption. His aircraft ran out of fuel and he made a forced landing at the German airfield at Caen, France and was captured.
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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
- Nicknames: Beetle
- Unit: 355th Fighter Group 358th Fighter Squadron
Missions
- Date: 7 November 1943
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Barth, Germany | 7 November 1943 - 12 June 1945 | Held at Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Voglesang, Prussia. Officially Returned to Military Control (RMC) 12-Jun-45. |
Born |
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 10-Jul-2015, Added decoration and POW event per National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database; Made connections to Place, aircraft and Mission per MACR 1281; Added Summary Biography based on "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey.
1996 355TH FG Assoc. Directory MACR 1281 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1281 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / Ted Damick, VIII Fighter Command pilots list