Date & Time:
Nov 18, 1942
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24474
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Thurleigh - Thurleigh
MSN:
3159
YOM:
1942
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Thurleigh on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. Flying off Brittany, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed into the sea some 3 km off Ushant Island. Nine crew members parachuted to safety and became PoW and one was killed.
Crew:
1st Lt Ralph J. Gaston, pilot,
2nd Lt Don Herbert Eldredge, copilot,
T/Sgt Lester D. Quandt, mechanic,
Sgt John Daniels Jones, radio navigator,
2nd Lt James Otay Walker, navigator,
2nd Lt Kenneth H. Jones, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Rudolph Garcia, air gunner,
Sgt Joseph Alan Dillard, air gunner,
Sgt Albert J. Conte, air gunner,
Sgt Percy Garland Bolinger, air gunner.
Crew:
1st Lt Ralph J. Gaston, pilot,
2nd Lt Don Herbert Eldredge, copilot,
T/Sgt Lester D. Quandt, mechanic,
Sgt John Daniels Jones, radio navigator,
2nd Lt James Otay Walker, navigator,
2nd Lt Kenneth H. Jones, bomb aimer, †
Sgt Rudolph Garcia, air gunner,
Sgt Joseph Alan Dillard, air gunner,
Sgt Albert J. Conte, air gunner,
Sgt Percy Garland Bolinger, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
