Date & Time:
Jan 3, 1943 at 1130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Operator:
Registration:
41-24608
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Bombing
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Molesworth - Molesworth
MSN:
3293
YOM:
1942
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
7
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed RAF Molesworth on an operation to Saint-Nazaire. Approaching the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed into the sea some 10 km south of Le Croisic. Seven crew members were killed and three others were rescued and became PoW.
Crew:
1st Lt Frank Andrew Saunders, pilot,
2nd Lt Leonard W. Kirk, copilot, †
S//Sgt Lloyd E. Wagner, flight engineer, †
2nd Lt Oscar Franklin Forester Jr., navigator,
T/Sgt Walter M. Clevenger, radio operator, †
2nd Lt Norman Kossis, bomb aimer, †
S/Sgt Russell O. Chitwood, air gunner, †
Sgt Howard A. High, air gunner, †
Sgt Rufus C. Litton, air gunner, †
S/Sgt Leif Harald Hoklin, air gunner.
Crew:
1st Lt Frank Andrew Saunders, pilot,
2nd Lt Leonard W. Kirk, copilot, †
S//Sgt Lloyd E. Wagner, flight engineer, †
2nd Lt Oscar Franklin Forester Jr., navigator,
T/Sgt Walter M. Clevenger, radio operator, †
2nd Lt Norman Kossis, bomb aimer, †
S/Sgt Russell O. Chitwood, air gunner, †
Sgt Howard A. High, air gunner, †
Sgt Rufus C. Litton, air gunner, †
S/Sgt Leif Harald Hoklin, air gunner.
Probable cause:
Shot down by the German Flak.
