555th Bomb Squadron MIA's 6/22/1944

Discussion in 'Bomber' started by Tmac1397, Aug 1, 2019.

  1. Tmac1397

    Tmac1397 Guest
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    Thanks. Tom flew his early missions from Boxted. I have had some contact with Mr. Turner. Wonderful man and what appears to be a nice museum there.
     
  2. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
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    Richard and his wife, Ann, are very nice, and I know they'd love to have you visit the museum. When I visited them in 2014, they mentioned Great Dunnow.

    I tried to find the RAF Great Dunnow Site Plan for you on-line, but haven't had any luck so far. I'll keep trying as it will show you where the base housing was located. That's where you'll want to scout around, preferably with a guide who can show you where the sergeants' mess, etc. were located. It looks like a beautiful area.

    If you haven't read the chapter in Ernie Pyle's Brave Men entitled The Flying Wedge, you might enjoy it. Pyle describes a training mission he went on with one of the crews. The tail gunner didn't know Pyle was on the aircraft until they landed. Here's the link.

    The Flying Wedge by Ernie Pyle, 456th Bombardment Squadron
     
  3. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
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    Tom,

    How fortunate you are to have this footage of Tom. Thank you for sharing it with us. He looks so young. I'm glad you've shared images of Tom and told us a few things about him. It's too easy to forget that he was someone's son with his whole life ahead of him, and a brother, when he died. The profoundness of his loss led to you being named after him.

    As unlikely as it might seem, I got all of my father's aptitude in physics and none of his aptitude in math. From a physics standpoint, the photo of the three crash sites looks pretty much as I thought it might, with the tail section further back. Notice that the tail section seems to have exploded on impact more than the middle section where the fuel tanks were located. Perhaps it was due to the amunition in the tail gun. Maybe it just appears that way due to the timing of the photograph.

    It make sense that the cockpit was found first, as t's in an open field. The fact that the tail section landed in a wooded area gives me hope that its crash site is relatively undisturbed, particularly as a leather bomber jacket was found at the second crash site. You mention that this is an abstract of a larger photograph. If there's anyway you can post the entire photograph, we can match the crash site up with more recent satellites imagery to see what it looks like today. We can then get the GPS coordinates of the tail section.

    If you're having trouble uploading it because of tis size, Pat or one of the other administrators can probably post it if you'll email it to them.

    Jan
     
  4. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
    137
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    Female
    Austin, Texas
  5. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
    Researcher

    Jan 12, 2016
    137
    2
    Female
    Austin, Texas
  6. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
    Researcher

    Jan 12, 2016
    137
    2
    Female
    Austin, Texas
  7. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
    137
    2
    Female
    Austin, Texas
  8. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
    137
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    Female
    Austin, Texas
  9. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
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    This appears to be a fairly recent satellite image of the crash site. It’s still wooded. Not sure if the red line labelled “odon” is a road or a boundary.
     
  10. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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  11. Jpz4

    Jpz4 Active Member
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    Oct 24, 2012
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    The red line indicates the boundary of a municipality. The straight section is fairly arbitrary, but 'Odon' indicates the Odon river. Hence the '-sur-Odon' in the name of many nearby villages and hamlets.
     
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  12. Tmac1397

    Tmac1397 Guest
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    Hello all,
    We actually know the mgrs coordinates in the woods of where we think the last piece struck. We have passed these coordinates on to the DPAA for follow up. The location is still wooded and has not been greatly disturbed over the years so hopefully there is still something to find. The spot lies right on the border of the Baron and Gavrus municipal boundary.
     
  13. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Please let us know the results of the search.
     
  14. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
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    Female
    Austin, Texas
  15. Tmac1397

    Tmac1397 Guest
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    I most certainly will. I’m happy to entertain any leads or ideas anyone has that might help.
     
  16. Tmac1397

    Tmac1397 Guest
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    You've got the right points Jan. The top is north. The top spot is where Canty was found, the middle is where they still need to look, the bottom is where the flight crew as found. I believe the tail section fell in the middle part. The wreckage found at the top (Canty) section had identified wreckage from the bomb bay and engines. The flight officers were found near cockpit wreckage, etc. Lots of .50 cal at both locations.
     
  17. Jan Foster

    Jan Foster Active Member
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    Jan 12, 2016
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    The middle site is the most logical place to search next, but I don’t think you can assume the debris is confined to the three spots. The wings haven’t been found, yet. They might be in the middle spot.

    There are a few other places in the vicinity that are similar in coloration. The field across the ravine seems like another likely area to search.
     
  18. Jpz4

    Jpz4 Active Member
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    Oct 24, 2012
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  19. Tmac1397

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    Yes I did. He was helpful but I still am lacking in any documentation or even where I should look to get documents regarding these units from that time frame. I’m limited by geography and my lack of being able to read/ write German.
     
  20. Jpz4

    Jpz4 Active Member
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    Oct 24, 2012
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    When it comes to microfilms kept at Nara, this is probably the best start: Sturmpanzer.com - Sturmpanzer and WW2 German Army Research

    The inventory of the Bundesarchiv can be searched quite well if you have an Invenio account. As an index it is quite good, but don't expect too many details or digitized files. I've checked the 12.SS records for you and there are no specific SS-Flak-Abt.12 files. The records of the III.Flak-Korps are sketchy, but there is some material. I've not found claims for the relevant units, but there is one for other elements of Flak-Sturm-Rgt.4.
     

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