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Submit- Full
name
KITTREDGE, Frederick Daniel - Date of
birth
18 September 1920 -
Age
23 - Place of
birth
Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts -
Hometown
Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
31163119 -
Rank
Staff Sergeant -
Function
Radio Operator -
Unit
367th Bombardment Squadron,
306th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
13 December 1943 - Place of
death
Jade Bay near Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| C | 14 | 10 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Frederick M. Kittredge (father)
Gladys G. (Allen) Kittredge (mother)
Lester E. Kittredge (brother)
Raymond H. Kittredge (brother)
Betty W. Kittredge (wife)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-39768 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Destination: Kiel, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the port
MACR: 1575
More information
S/Sgt Frederick D. Kittredge attended college.He enlisted in Boston, Massachusetts on 24 August 1924.
Statement from 2nd Lt Bernard A. Grossman, navigator, who survived:
"We were on our way back from Kiel, after having dropped our bombs on the target thru an undercast. We were at 18,000 ft. when we were hit by individual tracking bursts of flak at a position which I fixed about 15 M. near the Danish coast. The ship had pulled away in fairly straight and level flight, the loging altitude with flak continually bursting about it. Finally, it made a very wide circle as it neared the undercast at the distance below and through, I saw flames. As an indication of what might have happened to my capture follows: I broke thru the undercast, inflated my Mae West and plummeted into the water. Before I could unbuckle all bucles of my parachute, my hands became numb so that I was unable to remove it. I saw a light house a few mis. distant and tried to pull my parachute but became exhausted. I heard a shout for help from off in the distance and decided to do the same. Presently a lifeboat appeared on the horizon. It contained two German sailors. They reached me, fished me out of the water and I passed out. I regained consciousness under blankets in the interior of what I found was a large German warship, most likely a cruiser. After a while, I was placed in launch with the two other boys who were captured, T/Sgt Landarr and S/Sgt Cargill, and was brought into a sub pen at Wilhelmshaven."
The body of S/Sgt Kittredge was found near the lighthouse Arngast in the Innenjade near Wilhelmshaven on 14 December 1943. He was initially buried on 17 December 1943 at the Garrison cemetery of Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Three crew members survived and were taken prisoner, seven were killed.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.memorial.com, www.archives.gov, www.ancestry.com - Birth Index, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.newspapers.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930 census, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.newspapers.com, www.ancestry.com - Quincy High School Yearbook 1939