Date & Time:
Jan 23, 1943 at 1400 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24580
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Molesworth - Molesworth
MSN:
3265
YOM:
1942
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Molesworth at 0900LT on a operation to Lorient. Over Finistère, it was shot down by a German fighter and crashed in Saint-Hernin. All 10 crew members parachuted to safety, eight became PoW and two evaded.
Crew:
1st Lt Oran Thomas O'Connor, pilot,
2nd Lt Eldon Theodore Ruppe, copilot,
T/Sgt Merle Sedgewick Mullendore, mechanic,
Sgt Norman Hugues, radio operator,
2nd Lt Bruce Wilbur Gordon, navigator,
2nd Lt Earle Joseph DuMont Jr., bomb aimer,
Sgt Clifton Ray Fincher, air gunner,
Sgt Jack Lucas, air gunner,
Sgt Lester Monroe Robuck, air gunner,
Sgt Frank Lorenzo Batterson, air gunner.
Crew:
1st Lt Oran Thomas O'Connor, pilot,
2nd Lt Eldon Theodore Ruppe, copilot,
T/Sgt Merle Sedgewick Mullendore, mechanic,
Sgt Norman Hugues, radio operator,
2nd Lt Bruce Wilbur Gordon, navigator,
2nd Lt Earle Joseph DuMont Jr., bomb aimer,
Sgt Clifton Ray Fincher, air gunner,
Sgt Jack Lucas, air gunner,
Sgt Lester Monroe Robuck, air gunner,
Sgt Frank Lorenzo Batterson, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.
