Date & Time:
Apr 18, 1943
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24371
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
MSN:
3056
YOM:
1942
Country:
Italy
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
9
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
Following an operation to a railway marshalling yards in Palermo, the airplane was returning to base when it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea some 32 km off Palermo. All nine crew members were killed.
Crew:
1st Lt John H. Person,
1st Lt Virgil E. Hope,
1st Lt John W. Houck Jr.,
1st Lt Bobby Mack Godwin,
Sgt William M. Hawkins,
Sgt Robert B. Imler,
Sgt Robert S. Littrell,
Sgt Arthur L. Nilges,
Sgt Frank Spatafore.
Crew:
1st Lt John H. Person,
1st Lt Virgil E. Hope,
1st Lt John W. Houck Jr.,
1st Lt Bobby Mack Godwin,
Sgt William M. Hawkins,
Sgt Robert B. Imler,
Sgt Robert S. Littrell,
Sgt Arthur L. Nilges,
Sgt Frank Spatafore.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
