Personal War Service Record - Rev 1.0


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CONTENT BEGINS BELOW THIS LINE







384th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
Grafton Underwood Airfield, AAF Station 106, England
World War II

384th BG Patch


PERSONAL WAR SERVICE RECORDS

of

Raymond Edward Bowkley
POW Ribbon


544th BS Patch

544th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy)


CONTENTS

Individual Personnel Data
Original Crew
Combat Missions Summary
Combat Sortie Reports
Crewmate Summary
Aircraft Summary

Generated by 384thBombGroup.com on 20 April 2024, 4:19 AM (PDT).
Document design and content © 1999-2024 by Webmaster
Individual Personnel Data
Name Bowkley, Raymond Edward   
Rank Second Lieutenant
Serial Number O-684604   
Unit Assignments Assigned to the 544th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), per AAF Station 106 Special Orders # 79 dated 28 April 1944, effective 28 April 1944.
Duty Bombardier
MOS1035 - Bombardier
Last Duty Date 13 May 1944
Results Prisoner Of War
POW Camp: Stalag Luft 3 Sagan-Silesia (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser) 49-11
Additional Information
  • Date of Birth: 9 December 1917
  • Graduated from Bombardier School at Childress AAF, Childress, Texas, Class #43-09, 23 June 1943.
Related Documents Missing Air Crew Report # 4813 (49.016 MB)
Photo Album:Crew Photo Album


Crew Composition When Assigned to the 384th BG
Replacement Combat Crew
CREWMEMBER POSITION RESULTS
1st Lt. Francis, Thomas RexPilotMIA
2nd Lt. Mahoney, Maurice StanleyCo-pilotPOW
2nd Lt. Bowkley, Raymond EdwardBombardierPOW
S/SGT. Barnum, Otto WilliamRadio Operator / GunnerPOW
S/SGT. Brannigan, Allen FrancisEngineer / Top Turret GunnerPOW
SGT. Fiory, William John JosephBall Turret GunnerPOW
SGT. Zordel, Wilbur GodfreyTail GunnerPOW
SGT. Palladino, Joseph AnthonyFlexible GunnerPOW
SGT. Petrillo, Joseph (NMI)Flexible GunnerPOW
Missions, Aircraft, Crews
This individual was credited with 3 Combat Missions.
Number Date Target Position Aircraft Mission/Sortie Information
105 11 May 1944 Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards
Type: Transportation
Location: Saarbrücken and Ehrang, Germany
Bombardier 42‑97404 Combat Mission Credit
41A Group. Jettisoned incendiaries.
Sortie Report
106 12 May 1944 Target: Synthetic Oil Plant
Type: Oil Industry
Location: Merseburg, Germany
Bombardier 42‑37982 Combat Mission Credit
Sortie Report
107 13 May 1944 Target: Aircraft Assembly Components Factory.
Type: Aircraft Industry
Location: Poznań, Poland
Bombardier 42‑97404 Combat Mission Credit
Failed To Return
Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑39888. While formation was under enemy aircraft attack, pulled out of formation to the left and was seen circling under control, with fires under inboard sections and both wings; five chutes emerged; crashed near Loitz, Germany. MACR 4813
Sortie Report
SORTIE REPORT #3075
MISSION DATA:
DATE 384th BG Mission # 8th AF Mission # 384th PRIMARY TARGET
1944‑05‑11 105 351 Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards
Type: Transportation
Location: Saarbrücken and Ehrang, Germany
Railroads Targeted: The 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy) provided two group formations for today's mission. The first group flew as the high group of the 41st A Combat Bombardment Wing (41A Group) to attack Saarbrücken. Clouds obscured the primary target, as well as targets in the Metz, Luxembourg, and Brussels areas, so bombs were held, in keeping with the policy of requiring visual identification and targeting of locations in occupied territory. The second group flew as the high group of the 41st B Combat Bombardment Wing (41B Group) to attack Ehrang. Although thick haze covered the target area, there was sufficient visibility to identify and attack the primary target.
SORTIE DATA:
COMBAT CREDIT STATUS TARGET ATTACKED (MODE)
Yes Completed Mission
Comments: 41A Group. Jettisoned incendiaries.
Primary
SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA:
TYPE SERIAL NUMBER SQUADRON SQ CODE NAME
B-17G 42‑97404 544th SU*L not known
SORTIE CREW DATA:
POSITION CREWMEMBER UNIT STATUS
Pilot Francis, Thomas Rex 544 Completed, Uninjured
Co-pilot Mahoney, Maurice Stanley 544 Completed, Uninjured
Navigator Polansky, Herbert (NMI) 544 Completed, Uninjured
Bombardier Bowkley, Raymond Edward 544 Completed, Uninjured
Radio Operator Barnum, Otto William 544 Completed, Uninjured
Engineer/Top Turret Brannigan, Allen Francis 544 Completed, Uninjured
Ball Turret Fiory, William John Joseph 544 Completed, Uninjured
Tail Gunner Zordel, Wilbur Godfrey 544 Completed, Uninjured
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Petrillo, Joseph (NMI) 544 Completed, Uninjured
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Palladino, Joseph Anthony 544 Completed, Uninjured
Sortie Report 3075 provided by 384thBombGroup.com
SortieEngine.php Rev. 3.3.2, 22 June 2022
SORTIE REPORT #3121
MISSION DATA:
DATE 384th BG Mission # 8th AF Mission # 384th PRIMARY TARGET
1944‑05‑12 106 353 Target: Synthetic Oil Plant
Type: Oil Industry
Location: Merseburg, Germany
First 384th Oil Industry Attack: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) led the 41st B Combat Bombardment Wing, and supplied an additional group for the low position of the wing formation for today's mission - the first 384th attack on oil industry targets. Clear weather at the target permitted accurate visual bombing.
SORTIE DATA:
COMBAT CREDIT STATUS TARGET ATTACKED (MODE)
Yes Completed Mission Primary (Visual)
SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA:
TYPE SERIAL NUMBER SQUADRON SQ CODE NAME
B-17G 42‑37982 544th SU*K TREMBLING GREMLIN
SORTIE CREW DATA:
POSITION CREWMEMBER UNIT STATUS
Pilot Francis, Thomas Rex 544 Completed, Uninjured
Co-pilot Mahoney, Maurice Stanley 544 Completed, Uninjured
Navigator Carlin, Philip Lester 544 Completed, Uninjured
Bombardier Bowkley, Raymond Edward 544 Completed, Uninjured
Radio Operator Barnum, Otto William 544 Completed, Uninjured
Engineer/Top Turret Brannigan, Allen Francis 544 Completed, Uninjured
Ball Turret Fiory, William John Joseph 544 Completed, Uninjured
Tail Gunner Zordel, Wilbur Godfrey 544 Completed, Uninjured
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Petrillo, Joseph (NMI) 544 Completed, Uninjured
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Palladino, Joseph Anthony 544 Completed, Uninjured
Sortie Report 3121 provided by 384thBombGroup.com
SortieEngine.php Rev. 3.3.2, 22 June 2022
SORTIE REPORT #3151
MISSION DATA:
DATE 384th BG Mission # 8th AF Mission # 384th PRIMARY TARGET
1944‑05‑13 107 355 Target: Aircraft Assembly Components Factory.
Type: Aircraft Industry
Location: Poznań, Poland
Clouds Hide Primary - Again!: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the low group of the 40th Combat Bombardment Wing, and as the high squadron of the high composite group of the 41st CBW on today's mission. The primary target was completely hidden by cloud cover, so the secondary was attacked by both Wings using PFF.
SORTIE DATA:
COMBAT CREDIT STATUS TARGET ATTACKED (MODE)
Yes Failed To Return
Comments: Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑39888. While formation was under enemy aircraft attack, pulled out of formation to the left and was seen circling under control, with fires under inboard sections and both wings; five chutes emerged; crashed near Loitz, Germany. MACR 4813
Secondary (PFF)
Target: Industrial Area
Type: Industry
Location: Stettin / Szczecin, Poland
SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA:
TYPE SERIAL NUMBER SQUADRON SQ CODE NAME
B-17G 42‑97404 544th SU*L not known
SORTIE CREW DATA:
POSITION CREWMEMBER UNIT STATUS
Pilot Francis, Thomas Rex 544 MIA
Co-pilot Mahoney, Maurice Stanley 544 POW
Navigator Polansky, Herbert (NMI) 544 POW
Bombardier Bowkley, Raymond Edward 544 POW
Radio Operator Barnum, Otto William 544 POW
Engineer/Top Turret Brannigan, Allen Francis 544 POW
Ball Turret Fiory, William John Joseph 544 POW
Tail Gunner Zordel, Wilbur Godfrey 544 POW
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Petrillo, Joseph (NMI) 544 POW
Waist (Flexible) Gunner Palladino, Joseph Anthony 544 POW
SORTIE-RELATED DOCUMENTS:
TYPE IDENTIFICATION
MACRMissing Air Crew Report # 4813
Sortie Report 3151 provided by 384thBombGroup.com
SortieEngine.php Rev. 3.3.2, 22 June 2022
Raymond Edward Bowkley flew combat missions
with the 10 crewmates listed below.
Those appearing in bold text are members of his original crew.
Rank Name Position Missions Flown
Together
S/SBarnum, Otto WilliamR3
S/SBrannigan, Allen FrancisTT3
2LtCarlin, Philip LesterN1
SFiory, William John JosephBT3
1LtFrancis, Thomas RexP3
2LtMahoney, Maurice StanleyCP3
SPalladino, Joseph AnthonyFG3
SPetrillo, Joseph (NMI)FG3
F/OPolansky, Herbert (NMI)N2
SZordel, Wilbur GodfreyTG3


Raymond Edward Bowkley flew combat missions in the 2 aircraft listed below.
Serial Number Sq. Code Name Missions
42-97404SU*L2
42-37982SU*KTREMBLING GREMLIN1