bigpigeon.us webarea WW II - Germany > ETO > ETO Air War, updated by RAC 31 Aug '19.
The air war in the European Theater of Operations was a continuation of the air war between England and Germany fought by the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe, the German air force.
The ETO Air War was characterized by the use of thousands of US and English heavy bombers based in southern England against targets in Germany and elsewhere in occupied Europe. It tied up large portions of the German war machine, but resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Allied air crew and hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially in Germany, but also in France and the other occupied countries.
The German cities most affected included Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Dresden.
Most Americans who died while participating in the ETO Air War were members of either the 8th Air Force, which conducted the heavy bombing campaign, or the 9th Air Force, which provided fighter, light and medium bomber, and troop carrier and cargo aircraft.
The air war in the European Theater of Operations was a continuation of the air war between England and Germany fought by the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe, the German air force.
The ETO Air War was characterized by the use of thousands of US and English heavy bombers based in southern England against targets in Germany and elsewhere in occupied Europe. It tied up large portions of the German war machine, but resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Allied air crew and hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially in Germany, but also in France and the other occupied countries.
The German cities most affected included Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Dresden.
Most Americans who died while participating in the ETO Air War were members of either the 8th Air Force, which conducted the heavy bombing campaign, or the 9th Air Force, which provided fighter, light and medium bomber, and troop carrier and cargo aircraft.
Sources for the WW II - ETO Air War webpage
The page header photo B-24 Lost to Flak is courtesy of pinterest.
Pottawattamie County, Iowa WW II Deaths - ETO Air War (updated 31 Aug '19)
Click Full Report at World Wars > WW II Fallen Project to view parental and spousal information.
Click Full Report at World Wars > WW II Fallen Project to view parental and spousal information.
- Anderson, Virgil W., USAAF; 440th Troop Carrier Gp., 9th Air Force; C-47A Skytrain/Dakota pilot, d. 27 Dec ’44 near St. Hubert, west of Bastogne, Belgium.
- Blaycock, John Robert, USAAF; squadron commander, 510th Bomb. Sqdn., 351st Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, d. 31 Dec ’43 near Bordeaux, France.
- Cohen, Irving O., USAAF; 728th Bomb. Sqdn., 452nd Bomb Grp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortess pilot, d. 25 Nov ’44 near Harren north of Aachen, Germany, plane exploded after flak hit, two survived.
- Delong, Lloyd, USAAF; 9th Air Force; d. 3 Nov ’44 at Fleury-Merogis, near Paris, France from truck accident.
- Dideriksen, Robert W., USAAF; 14th Photo Sqdn., 7th Recon. Gp., 8th Air Force; Supermarine Spitfire pilot, d. 15 Jun ’44 near Paris.
- Downs, Thomas G., USAAF; 8th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 437th Troop Carrier Gp., 9th Air Force; C47 Skytrain/Dakota pilot, d. 27 Aug ’44, crashed while land at field ALG A-22 at Colleville-sur-Mer, France, inland from Omaha Beach, four dead.
- Emerson, Charles W., USAAF; 418th Bomb. Sqdn., 100th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress tail gunner, wounded 11 Sep ’44 over Ruhland, Germany, d. 30 Sep ’44 in hospital, England. (RAC: confirm location; Ruhland is north of Dresden)
- Evers, Leland J., USAAF; 730th Bomb. Sqdn., 452nd Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, d. 12 Apr ’44 after ditching plane over North Sea.
- Friend, James J., USAAF; 551st Bomb. Sqdn., 385th Bomb Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17F Flying Fortress co-pilot, d. 25 Feb ’44 over Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany, plane exploded in air from flak hit.
- Gustafson, Dale E., USAAF; 250th Bomb. Sqdn., 100th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress left waist gunner, d. 27 Jun ’44 near Great Yarmouth, England, plane disappeared during training flight.
- Kussman, Edward W, USAAF; 396th Bomb. Sqdn., 492nd Bomb Gp., 8th Air Force; B-24 Liberator waist gunner, d. 31 Mar ’45 near Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, aborted Operation Carpetbagger mission to drop Norwegian resistance members, one survivor.
- McCord, George M., USAAF; 785th Bomb. Sqdn., 766th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-24 Liberator right waist gunner, d. 23 Mar ’44 over St. Jansklooster NE of Amsterdam, Netherlands, mid-air collision.
- Melton, Derald W., USAAF; 547th Bomb. Sqdn., 384th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress crew member, d. 27 Dec ’44 near Arenberg east of Koblenz, Germany, plane lost rear section from flak, two survivors.
- Napier, Roy H., USAAF; 485th Fighter Sqdn., 370th Fighter Gp., 9th Air Force, based at Florennes/Juzaine in southern Belgium; P-38 Lightning pilot, d. 3 Jan ’45 in Belgium.
- Petrus, Richard M., USAAF; 706th Bomb. Sqdn., 466th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-24; d. 11Apr ’45 SW of Bungay/Flixton airbase, Suffolk, England, collision by returning bombers, no survivors.
- Pogge, George H., USAAF; 714th Bomb. Sqdn., 448th Bomb Gp., 8th Air Force; B-24H Liberator crew member; d. 26 Aug ’44 near Ludwigshafen, Germany.
- Stith, George N., USAAF; 557th Bomb. Sqdn., 387th Bomb. Gp., 9th Air Force, based at Clastres, France; B-26 Marauder crew member, d. 23 Dec ’44 near Bastogne, Belgium, flak.
- Stockman, Kenneth H., USAAF; 427 Bomb. Sqdn., 303th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress radio operator; d. 9 Nov ’44 near Molesworth Air Base, England, mid-air collision while assembling for raid over Schweinfurt, one survivor.
- Storm, Donald W., USAAF; B-24 Liberator crew member d. 21 Jul ’44 over North Atlantic en route to ETO,
- Sweeny, Duane G. H., USAAF; 568th Bomb. Sqdn., 390th Bomb. Gp., 8th Air Force; B-17 Flying Fortress pilot, d. 30 Nov ’44 over North Sea, plane iced up and crashed on mission to Kassel.