Date & Time:
Oct 9, 1942 at 1200 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-9018
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Bovingdon - Bovingdon
MSN:
2490
YOM:
1941
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
6
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Bovingdon at 0900LT to attack the Compagnie de Fives steel plant in Lille. While returning to base, it was shot down by a German fighter. Three crew members were able to bail out from an altitude of 18,000 feet while six others were killed when the airplane crashed in flames into The Channel some 8 km north of Saint-Omer.
Crew:
1st Lt Francis H. Chorak, pilot, †
2nd Lt Joseph J. Fracchia, copilot,
S/Sgt Donald E. Buckland, radio operator, †
S/Sgt John J. Dolan, radio operator, †
S/Sgt Paul E. Gordon, mechanic, †
M/Sgt James E. Lane, mechanic, †
2nd Lt Grady Wayne Roper, navigator,
2nd Lt Charles G. Kolodzinski, bomb aimer,
S/Sgt Malcolm Culpepper, air gunner. †
Crew:
1st Lt Francis H. Chorak, pilot, †
2nd Lt Joseph J. Fracchia, copilot,
S/Sgt Donald E. Buckland, radio operator, †
S/Sgt John J. Dolan, radio operator, †
S/Sgt Paul E. Gordon, mechanic, †
M/Sgt James E. Lane, mechanic, †
2nd Lt Grady Wayne Roper, navigator,
2nd Lt Charles G. Kolodzinski, bomb aimer,
S/Sgt Malcolm Culpepper, air gunner. †
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
