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Personal info

Full name
DAVIS, Roy Wayne
Date of birth
18 December 1919
Age
24
Place of birth
Hiawatha, Brown County, Kansas
Hometown
Albany, Linn County, Oregon

Military service

Service number
O-681347
Rank
Second Lieutenant
Function
Pilot
Unit
715th Bombardment Squadron,
448th Bombardment Group, Heavy
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal

Death

Status
Missing in Action
Date of death
19 April 1944
Place of death
North Sea, near Dunkirk, France

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
Tablets of the Missing

Immediate family

Members
Roy Davis (father)
Zilphia B. (Houts) Davis (mother)
Jennette A. Davis (sister)
Hollis A. Davis (brother)
Bernard H. Davis (brother)

Plane data

Serial number
41-29565
Data
Type: B-24H
Destination: Watten, France
Mission: Bombing of the V1 launch site
MACR: 4303

More information

2nd Lt Roy W. Davis was a mechanic. He enlisted in Portland, Oregon on 10 April 1942.

At the time of his death his brother Hollis was serving in the Navy and was stationed at Pasco, Washington. His brother Bernard was serving with the army at Santa Maria army base in California.

Statement of S/Sgt Russell E. Towsley, a crew member of another airplane in the group:
"We were flying at approximately 19000 feet on the let down coming over the French coast in the vicinity of Dunkirk. The left-waist gunner called me at approximately 1715 hours and pointed out flames coming from the #4 engine of A/C 41-29565. We continued to watch the ship and after a few minutes it went into a long glide. During this glide the fire appeared to go out. At what I would judge to be around 11,000 feet the blaze broke out again. At this time the ship went into a spin, the right wing (part of it at least) broke off and the fire spread over the entire left side of the ship. The A/C exploded just before hitting the water. We saw four chutes come from the plane just as the fire broke out the second time (11,000 feet). Three of the chutes appeared to land in the water and the fourth on the coast of France."

The airplane was hit by flak over the target, which resulted in a fire in the bomb bay and two streams of gasoline flowing from the right wing.

Nine crew members were killed in the crash or drowned. T/Sgt Ernest W. Robinson Jr. was picked up ten miles off the French coast but died of his wounds on 22 April.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com - MACR, www.aircrewremembered.com, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, www.newspapers.com, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: Astrid van Erp, www.newspapers.com - Statesman Journal 4 June 1943