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Personal info

Full name
TIPTON, Charles Raleigh
Date of birth
2 February 1922
Age
20
Place of birth
Baltimore, Maryland
Hometown
Baltimore, Maryland

Military service

Service number
20346830
Rank
Staff Sergeant
Function
Waist Gunner
Unit
369th Bombardment Squadron,
306th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
13 January 1943
Place of death
Between the rue de la Rianderie and avenue Foch
Marcq-en-Baroeul, 4 kilometers northeast of Lille, France

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
B 10 17

Immediate family

Members
Lee W. Tipton (father)
Harriet W. (Walmsley) Tipton (mother)
Lee W. Tipton Jr. (brother)
Harry Tipton (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
41-24471
Data
Type: B-17F
Nickname: Four of a Kind
Destination: Lille, France
Mission: Bombing the locomotive factory
MACR: 15502

More information

S/Sgt Charles Raleigh Tipton attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and a vocational training school before he joined the National Guard at the age of 16.

He had been a member of the Army Air Corps since 28 June 1941, receiving his training at both Wendover Field in Utah and in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was sent to England in September 1942.

The aircraft collided in mid-air with B-17 #41-24498.

It destroyed a roof of a house in the rue de la Rianderie and crashed near the avenue Foch.

Seven crew members survived, three men were killed.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment record, www.ancestry.com - 1930/1940 Census / U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications / U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, http://usaafdata.com/?q=search, www.fold3.com - MACR, http://www.8thafhs.com, http://www.joebaugher.com

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Fred Munckhof, www.306bg.us