William Ellsworth Schimke
MilitaryBack row, from left to right :
1st Lt. Milton Marion “Milt” Stenstrom (Pilot), 1st Lt. Robert L. "Rob" Carlberg (Copilot), 1st Lt. Ewart Theodore "Sconnie" Sconiers (Bombardier), 1st Lt. Harold "Harry" "Shorty" Spire (Navigator).
Bottom Row, from left to right:
Sgt. James C. "Jim" Simmons (Tail Gunner), Sgt. Thomas C. "Tom" Calhoun (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. William A. "Bill" Adams (Radio Operator), Sgt. William E. "Bill" Schimke (Ball Turret Gunner), Sgt. John M. Hughes (Waist Gunner), Staff Sgt. Roy T. Nalley (Engineer / Top Turret Gunner).
(Photo courtesy of Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack)
Updated by Fredrick Richard "Rick" Flack on July 29, 2020.
Shot down 21 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24443 while serving as Ball Turret Gunner, Prisoner of War (POW).
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
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: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 14030942
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 34199059
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-442752
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12036569
- Highest Rank: Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 414th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 15067557
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 21 October 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Manistee, Manistee County, Michigan, United States | 19 February 1919 | the only son of William Charles Schimke and Naomi L. Schimke |
Enlisted |
Detroit, Michigan, United States | 27 January 1942 | as a Private in the Air Corps (married to Ardis M. Schimke) |
Other Captured |
Quimper, France | 21 October 1942 | after the ditching of B-17F 41-24443 off the coast of Brittany, France and being rescued by a French fishing boat which brought him and 8 other crew members to shore |
Other Prisoner Of War (POW) |
21 October 1942 | held at Stalag XVIIB in Braunau/Gneikendorf near Krems, Austria - Barracks 17A. The NARA WWII POW Records have him erroneously listed as made prisoner on 10 September 1942. He officially returned to Military Control (RMC) on 14 June 1945. | |
Died |
Mansfield, Wisconsin, United States | 25 April 2017 | |
Manistee, Manistee County, Michigan, United States | the US 1940 Census has him as Ellsworth Schimke, working as a sewer in a shoe making business |
Revisions
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
US Censuses 1930 and 1940
NARA WWII Enlistment Records
NARA WWII POW Records
Lee Cunningham 22-Nov-2014. Added POW event. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 31-Oct-2014. Stalag Location. National Archives Records Administration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Lee Cunningham 28-Oct-2014. "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hery MBE; National Archives Records ADministration (NARA) WWII POW database.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Roll of Honor, Losses of the 8th & 9th AFs Vol 1, pp 38-39 by Bishop and Hey