S/Sgt. Ralph E. Strait KIA
Hometown: Fulton County Pennsylvania
Squadron: 506th BS 44th Bomb Group
Service # 13074162
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Pilot
Target: Watten V Weapon site (NO BALL)
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 2-Feb-44
Serial Number: 41-24282
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: Y
Aircraft Name: RUTH-LESS
Location: crash land Friston England
Cause: Flak AA 10 KIA
Ralph Strait was killed on a hillside at Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK when his
B24D Liberator named Ruth-Less crashed whilst attempting to land at a small
airfield near the village of Friston.
The crew had departed from their base at Shipdham, Norfolk for an attack on a V2
missile assembly bunker (code name for these missions NO BALL) at Watten, in the
Forest d'Eperlecques near St. Omer, northern France. The aircraft sustained
substantial damage from flak on its bombing run and could not make it back to
its base. An emergency landing was attempted in southern England, but in very
poor weather conditions and with the loss of one engines, the aircraft could not
outclimb the cloud shrouded hill in front of it. Moments before they were
killed, some of the crew had been waving at people on the ground.
Initially Strait and the rest of the crew were interred at Brookwood Cemetery
near Woking in Surrey, but after the war some of the crew's families had their
bodies repatriated back to the USA.
Sgt. Strait is interred Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge England.
He has a Cenotaph memorial in his hometown Fulton County.
There is a book called "Ruth-Less and Far From Home" that tells the story of
what happened to this crew. Many of the families had no idea that their loved
ones had been killed on English soil, but due to the secrecy at war time, were
simply informed they had died "somewhere in the ETO" (European Theater of
Operations)
(bio by kevwatson1)
B24 41-24282 with pilot Frank D. Slough, and a different crew flew" Operation
Tidal wave" the low level mission to destroy Romanian oil fields.
Hometown: Fulton County Pennsylvania
Squadron: 506th BS 44th Bomb Group
Service # 13074162
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Pilot
Target: Watten V Weapon site (NO BALL)
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 2-Feb-44
Serial Number: 41-24282
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: Y
Aircraft Name: RUTH-LESS
Location: crash land Friston England
Cause: Flak AA 10 KIA
Ralph Strait was killed on a hillside at Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK when his
B24D Liberator named Ruth-Less crashed whilst attempting to land at a small
airfield near the village of Friston.
The crew had departed from their base at Shipdham, Norfolk for an attack on a V2
missile assembly bunker (code name for these missions NO BALL) at Watten, in the
Forest d'Eperlecques near St. Omer, northern France. The aircraft sustained
substantial damage from flak on its bombing run and could not make it back to
its base. An emergency landing was attempted in southern England, but in very
poor weather conditions and with the loss of one engines, the aircraft could not
outclimb the cloud shrouded hill in front of it. Moments before they were
killed, some of the crew had been waving at people on the ground.
Initially Strait and the rest of the crew were interred at Brookwood Cemetery
near Woking in Surrey, but after the war some of the crew's families had their
bodies repatriated back to the USA.
Sgt. Strait is interred Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge England.
He has a Cenotaph memorial in his hometown Fulton County.
There is a book called "Ruth-Less and Far From Home" that tells the story of
what happened to this crew. Many of the families had no idea that their loved
ones had been killed on English soil, but due to the secrecy at war time, were
simply informed they had died "somewhere in the ETO" (European Theater of
Operations)
(bio by kevwatson1)
B24 41-24282 with pilot Frank D. Slough, and a different crew flew" Operation
Tidal wave" the low level mission to destroy Romanian oil fields.
S/Sgt. Ralph E. Strait KIA
Hometown: Fulton County Pennsylvania
Squadron: 506th BS 44th Bomb Group
Service # 13074162
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Pilot
Target: Watten V Weapon site (NO BALL)
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 2-Feb-44
Serial Number: 41-24282
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: Y
Aircraft Name: RUTH-LESS
Location: crash land Friston England
Cause: Flak AA 10 KIA
Ralph Strait was killed on a hillside at Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK when his
B24D Liberator named Ruth-Less crashed whilst attempting to land at a small
airfield near the village of Friston.
The crew had departed from their base at Shipdham, Norfolk for an attack on a V2
missile assembly bunker (code name for these missions NO BALL) at Watten, in the
Forest d'Eperlecques near St. Omer, northern France. The aircraft sustained
substantial damage from flak on its bombing run and could not make it back to
its base. An emergency landing was attempted in southern England, but in very
poor weather conditions and with the loss of one engines, the aircraft could not
outclimb the cloud shrouded hill in front of it. Moments before they were
killed, some of the crew had been waving at people on the ground.
Initially Strait and the rest of the crew were interred at Brookwood Cemetery
near Woking in Surrey, but after the war some of the crew's families had their
bodies repatriated back to the USA.
Sgt. Strait is interred Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge England.
He has a Cenotaph memorial in his hometown Fulton County.
There is a book called "Ruth-Less and Far From Home" that tells the story of
what happened to this crew. Many of the families had no idea that their loved
ones had been killed on English soil, but due to the secrecy at war time, were
simply informed they had died "somewhere in the ETO" (European Theater of
Operations)
(bio by kevwatson1)
B24 41-24282 with pilot Frank D. Slough, and a different crew flew" Operation
Tidal wave" the low level mission to destroy Romanian oil fields.
Hometown: Fulton County Pennsylvania
Squadron: 506th BS 44th Bomb Group
Service # 13074162
Awards: Air Medal, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Pilot
Target: Watten V Weapon site (NO BALL)
Missing Air Crew Report Details
USAAF MACR#:
Date Lost: 2-Feb-44
Serial Number: 41-24282
Aircraft Model B-24D
Aircraft Letter: Y
Aircraft Name: RUTH-LESS
Location: crash land Friston England
Cause: Flak AA 10 KIA
Ralph Strait was killed on a hillside at Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK when his
B24D Liberator named Ruth-Less crashed whilst attempting to land at a small
airfield near the village of Friston.
The crew had departed from their base at Shipdham, Norfolk for an attack on a V2
missile assembly bunker (code name for these missions NO BALL) at Watten, in the
Forest d'Eperlecques near St. Omer, northern France. The aircraft sustained
substantial damage from flak on its bombing run and could not make it back to
its base. An emergency landing was attempted in southern England, but in very
poor weather conditions and with the loss of one engines, the aircraft could not
outclimb the cloud shrouded hill in front of it. Moments before they were
killed, some of the crew had been waving at people on the ground.
Initially Strait and the rest of the crew were interred at Brookwood Cemetery
near Woking in Surrey, but after the war some of the crew's families had their
bodies repatriated back to the USA.
Sgt. Strait is interred Cambridge American Cemetery Cambridge England.
He has a Cenotaph memorial in his hometown Fulton County.
There is a book called "Ruth-Less and Far From Home" that tells the story of
what happened to this crew. Many of the families had no idea that their loved
ones had been killed on English soil, but due to the secrecy at war time, were
simply informed they had died "somewhere in the ETO" (European Theater of
Operations)
(bio by kevwatson1)
B24 41-24282 with pilot Frank D. Slough, and a different crew flew" Operation
Tidal wave" the low level mission to destroy Romanian oil fields.
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