Date & Time:
Dec 12, 1942 at 1230 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24582
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Molesworth - Molesworth
MSN:
3267
YOM:
1942
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Molesworth at 1030LT on an operation to Romilly-sur-Seine. South of Paris, it was shot down by a German fighter and later abandoned by the crew. The airplane crashed 2 km from Achères-la-Forêt and exploded, injuring four people on the ground. Two crew members were killed and eight others parachuted to safety, five became PoW and three evaded.
Crew:
Cpt William Nathaniel Frost, pilot,
2nd Lt Robert L. Mays, copilot,
Sgt Floyd J. Shaw, flight engineer, †
T/Sgt Joseph Edwin Powers, radio operator,
1st Lt Joe Reid Phillips, navigator,
1st Lt Leon Woodrow Brownlee, bomb aimer,
T/Sgt Kenneth Gilbert Hildebrand, air gunner,
Sgt William Sheldon Devine, air gunner,
Sgt Billie K. Davis, air gunner, †
Sgt James Robert Toney, air gunner.
Crew:
Cpt William Nathaniel Frost, pilot,
2nd Lt Robert L. Mays, copilot,
Sgt Floyd J. Shaw, flight engineer, †
T/Sgt Joseph Edwin Powers, radio operator,
1st Lt Joe Reid Phillips, navigator,
1st Lt Leon Woodrow Brownlee, bomb aimer,
T/Sgt Kenneth Gilbert Hildebrand, air gunner,
Sgt William Sheldon Devine, air gunner,
Sgt Billie K. Davis, air gunner, †
Sgt James Robert Toney, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
