Jack S Bowen
MilitaryI am the grandson of Jack S Bowen
On February 21st, 1944 Jack was assigned to the B-17 "Lightning Strikes" #423073 as the right waist gunner. The target of their mission was an industrial plant near the town of gutersloh. At 14:30 in the afternoon local time, and at an altitude of 16,000ft, the squadron came under fire from ground based flak cannons and FW-190 fighters. "Lightning Strikes" was in the number 2 position of the squadron. "Lightning Strikes" which was over the town of Munster, was shot down by Hans Weik, an ace fighter pilot. "Lightning Strikes" plunged to the earth at a steep rate into the Holzminden area. All of the crew with the exception of the pilot, Irwin, Piacantini (2nd Lt. 0-801199), bailed out of the aircraft and landed safely. Irwin was killed by cannon fire in the pilots seat.
When Jack Bowen was asked about the moments after being shot down, he recalled the humanity of Hans Weik. Jack said after he deployed his parachute, Hans turned towards him as if to begin a strafing run. Instead, Hans tipped his wings in salute and flew away.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 401st Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-802738
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ramblin Wreck
- Unit: Headquarters Squadron (VIII Air Force Service Command) 91st Bomb Group 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron 336th Bomb Squadron 401st Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Lightning Strikes
- Unit: 91st Bomb Group 401st Bomb Squadron
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
19 July 1923 | Texarkana Bowie County Texas, USA | |
Died |
11 June 2008 | Carthage Panola County Texas, USA |
Revisions
Added " / " in the "Role/job" field as a separator to aid readability.
I am the grandson of Jack S Bowen.
Also:
Personal records from jack bowen which include the mission report as recorded by the Army Air Corps. The records are composed of interviews from Donald E Shea (Capt.) 0-739517, Jack Bowen (MstSgt) 18041290, Conlon, Wilfred Peter (1st Lt) 0-676555, John Robert Parsons (T/Sgt) 3537------,
I am the grandson of Jack S Bowen
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27528333
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2463 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database