Francis enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 8 Jan 1942 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He served as a ball turret gunner in a B17F Flying Fortress aircraft as part of the 336th Bomber Squadron, 95th Bomber group, RAF Horham field in Norfolk England. Francis reached the rank of Staff Sergeant at the time his crew went missing. Their B17F aircraft was believed to have been shot down over the North Sea after a bombing raid on Oschersleben, Germany.
Missions flown by William Francis Brunson, Ball Turret Gunner with the 336th Squadron:
06/22/1943 Huls (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-3321 - Kathy Jane II (pilot N.S. Rothschild)
06/29/1943 Le Mans (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-30244 - Holy Terror (pilot R.A. Thompson)
07/04/1943 La Pallice (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-30244 - Holy Terror (pilot R.A. Thompson Sortie)
07/10/1943 Le Bourget (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/14/1943 Le Bourget (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/17/1943 Hamburg (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5893 - The Sad Sack (pilot O.V. Robichaud)
07/24/1943 Trondheim (Norway) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/25/1943 Kiel (Warnemunde) (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/26/1943 Hannover (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan) - Damaged
07/28/1943 Oschersleben (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5882 - Spook III (pilot F.J. Regan) - Last seen under fighter attack - LOST
Sadly, all of the crews with which Francis flew had been lost by the end of January 1944. The Kathy Jane II was lost on 09/06/1943 over the Channel while returning from combat over Stuttgart, the Holy Terror was lost on 01/05/1944 near the French coast after combat over Elberfeld, and the Heavenly Daze was lost on 01/11/1944 after leaving formation near Osnabruck.
Entered the service from Oklahoma.
Francis enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 8 Jan 1942 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He served as a ball turret gunner in a B17F Flying Fortress aircraft as part of the 336th Bomber Squadron, 95th Bomber group, RAF Horham field in Norfolk England. Francis reached the rank of Staff Sergeant at the time his crew went missing. Their B17F aircraft was believed to have been shot down over the North Sea after a bombing raid on Oschersleben, Germany.
Missions flown by William Francis Brunson, Ball Turret Gunner with the 336th Squadron:
06/22/1943 Huls (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-3321 - Kathy Jane II (pilot N.S. Rothschild)
06/29/1943 Le Mans (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-30244 - Holy Terror (pilot R.A. Thompson)
07/04/1943 La Pallice (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-30244 - Holy Terror (pilot R.A. Thompson Sortie)
07/10/1943 Le Bourget (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/14/1943 Le Bourget (France) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/17/1943 Hamburg (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5893 - The Sad Sack (pilot O.V. Robichaud)
07/24/1943 Trondheim (Norway) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/25/1943 Kiel (Warnemunde) (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan)
07/26/1943 Hannover (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5918 - Heavenly Daze (pilot F.J. Regan) - Damaged
07/28/1943 Oschersleben (Germany) - Combat Sortie flying in B17F 42-5882 - Spook III (pilot F.J. Regan) - Last seen under fighter attack - LOST
Sadly, all of the crews with which Francis flew had been lost by the end of January 1944. The Kathy Jane II was lost on 09/06/1943 over the Channel while returning from combat over Stuttgart, the Holy Terror was lost on 01/05/1944 near the French coast after combat over Elberfeld, and the Heavenly Daze was lost on 01/11/1944 after leaving formation near Osnabruck.
Entered the service from Oklahoma.
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