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Personal info

Full name
POWER, Ellsworth Comstock
Date of birth
20 June 1915
Age
28
Place of birth
Tacoma, Pierce County, Washington
Hometown
Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Military service

Service number
O-679220
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Bombardier
Unit
351st Bombardment Squadron,
100th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Finding of Death
Date of death
11 December 1943
Place of death
The North Sea near Norderney Island, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Walls of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Ellsworth C. Power (father)
Evelyn (Lowe) Power (mother)
Elma S. Power (wife)

Plane data

Serial number
42-37715
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Sugarfoot
Destination: Emden, Germany
Mission: Bombing of the U-boat yards
MACR: 1570

More information

2nd Lt Ellsworth C. Power attended college and was an actor.

He joined the Air Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve in Chicago, Illinois.

As the bombers approached the North Frisian Islands, the German flak batteries began to fire. Within five minutes Sugarfoot took a direct hit between the #3 and #4 engines. High octane aviation fuel poured across the wing toward the radio operators compartment, gravitating along the fuselage into the waist gun opening. Simultaneously, the 390th Bomb Group was attacked by six twin engine ME-110 fighter planes that dived out of the sun firing rockets and cannons. Sugarfoot took a hard hit in the nose that knocked out communications and caused an oxygen fire, impairing the oxygen supply to some of the crew.

Some crew members in the cockpit & nose may have bailed out since a the only surviver, Gorsskopf, saw several parachutes in the air before he jumped but apparently those from the radio room back were unconscious from lack of oxygen.

Nine crew members were killed, one was taken prisoner.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, www.100thbg.com, National WWII Memorial, Footnote, www.ancestry.com - Mitchell Family Tree, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.8thafhs.com

Photo source: Michel Beckers/courtesy of 100th Bomb Group Foundation, Arie-Jan van Hees, Bomber Class Book 43-07, Big Spring Flying School, Texas, www.100thbg.com , The Tacoma News Tribune - 28 December 1943