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MACR PILOT: 2Lt  Thomas R.  Martin  - O-797573
MACR: 01156 FICHE : 00385

ORGANIZATION
LOCATION: AAF Station #139 COMMAND: VIII AF GROUP: 100th Bomb Gp (H) AAF
SQUADRON: 418th BS DETACHMENT:  
     

DETAIL
DEPARTURE:AAF Station #139 INITIAL COURSE:  
INTENDED DESTINATION: Gelsenkirchen    
MISSION TYPE:Operational    

WEATHER & VISIBILITY AT TIME OF LAST REPORT
CONDITION: CAVU    

GIVE
DATE: 1943-11-05 TIME: LOCATION: Unknown

SPECIFY:

Information not available

CONFIRMED OR BELIEVED REASON FOR LOSS
LOSS DUE TO : Other circumstances

OTHER REASON FOR LOSS:

Unknown

AIRCRAFT: 42-37748
TYPE: B-17 SERIES: F  
     
     

ENGINES:
MODEL: R-1820-97    
A: 43-63464
B: 43-63507
C: 43-63473
D: 43-63445
    

INSTALLED WEAPONS:
A: 411349
B: 412514
C: 377818
D: 410416		 E: 410750
F: 384419
G: 373388
H: 396742		 I: 385109
J: 906997
K: 410429
L: 42731?

PERSONS BELOW ARE LISTED AS:
CASUALTY TYPE: Battle casualty  
NUMBER OF PERSONS ON BOARD:    
CREW: 10 PASS: 0 TOTAL: 10

PERSONNEL:

POSITION NAME RANK SERIAL
P1
P2 Thomas R.  Martin 2Lt O-797573
CP James A. Kennemer 2Lt O-446037
NAV (N) James W. McCurley 2Lt O-682353
BOM (B) Joseph P. Murphy 2Lt O-673866
RAD Donald H. Allwine SSgt 37461916
ENG Lloyd B. Arnett Sgt 35661227
BAL Cosmas J. Braun Sgt 15333180
WG (W) David M. Davis SSgt 33361535
WG (W) Merritt K. Gillespie Sgt 154334968
TG (T) Laverne E. Clarke Sgt 37316665

PERSONS WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE LAST KNOWLEDGE OF AIRCRAFT

None
   

PERSONNEL WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE SURVIVED

REASON: Any other reason OTHER: Unknown  

EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTIONS OF CRASH

Report: 
A/C #748 took off as a spare.  It is not known where it filled in to formation or when or where it left our formation.
   
   
Second Witness: No Data  
Report: 

      

    





  
DESCRIPTION OF SEARCH EFFORT

  

    

      DETAIL:No search made.
      

  







PREPARING OFFICER


PREPARED BY: CLAUDE L. HOSFORD 1st Lt  Air Corps Personnel Officer  


DATE PREPARED:
  1943-11-08


  



TRANSCRIBER NOTES



    
    REPORT: 
418th Sqdn. . Crew joined the 100th on 28 Oct 1943 and were flying their second mission (Gelsenkirchen) when lost.

Took off as a spare and was returning to base as such, apparently were over enemy coast when hit by flak and possibly E/C.

All the above KIA are memorialized on the WALL OF THE MISSING AT CAMBRIDGE. .

James W. McCurley was returned to military control 18 Aug 44, may have been and evadee or escaped. He stated the plane was fired on by coastal flak while returning and the Engineer and others proably wounded. He states, "The pilot told Kennemer (Lt James A. Kennemer, the co-pilot) to shoot a Very Pistol when a group of five or six English fighters approached head on about ten minutes before I left the ship. " LT Martin called for the crew to bail out and the navigator and bombardier were able to do so. It was McCurley's supposition that, "The ship may have continued on it eastern heading and crashed in the channel to the Atlantic. Perhaps shot in the water by enemy aircraft of the northeastern portion of France. "

These men were carried as MIA until 17 Aug 1945 and then determined to be KIA's. This probably indicates the ship was never found and could have crashed in the sea. . . pw