William Sylvester Crosland, Jr.
1946
Engineering
Bennettsville, South Carolina
Army Air Force, Flight Officer
839th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
Purple Heart
Jan 1, 1970
Mar 11, 1945
Killed in Action over Germany
Oak Ridge Cemetery, Bennettsville, SC
NE
Additional Information
Aircraft 43-38888 –
B-17G 43-38888 839 30-Nov-44 assigned to 487th “B-17 Flying Fortress Story”, plane was originally with 838th squadron, then assigned to 839th squadron (per Mike Quering). 11-Mar-45-shot down over Ronneburg/Hamburg. Crashed on the West side of Autobahn from Hamburg to Luneburg. Control was lost, presumably due to flak barrage. All crew KIA
Copied from the 487th Bomb Group Website
MACR 12979
Place of departure: Lavenham
Target of Destination: Hamburg, Germany
Any explanation of his death is based in part or wholly on supposition: Supposed that he was killed instantly when anti aircraft shell bust in the nose of pilot’s section of aircraft. His identification tag was shown me by Luftwaffe officer at air field near Lupefurg, Germany.
Flight Officer William S. Crosland Jr, Army serial number T-006702, was from Marlboro County, South Carolina. He was copilot on the Joseph M. Sugarman Jr crew, in the 839th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham, England. He was killed in action on March 11, 1945, when B-17G 43-38888 was shot down by flak near Hamburg, Germany. Only one of his nine crewmates survived. Here is the crew roster that day:
B-17G 43-38888 – 839th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group
Sugarman Jr., Joseph M. 1/Lt Pilot KIA
Crosland Jr., William S. F/O Copilot KIA
Barnett, James S. F/O Navigator KIA
Owen, Charles V. Sgt Togglier KIA
Stanton, Willard W. S/Sgt Engineer KIA
Schlotte, Harvey F. T/Sgt Radio Operator POW
Mau, Eldon A. S/Sgt Ball Turret Gunner KIA
Yaegle, Clyde L. S/Sgt Waist Gunner KIA
Berger, Robert M. Sgt Waist Gunner KIA
Simac, Edward A. Sgt Tail Gunner KIA
Related Images Click to Enlarge
Joseph M. Sugarman Jr Crew, 839th Bomb Squadron, 487th Bomb Group, Lavenham, England
Left to Right: Flight Officer William S. Crosland Jr (copilot), Flight Officer James S. Barnett (navigator), First Lieutenant Joseph M. Sugarman Jr (pilot), and Flight Officer Frank Badaluco in front of B-17 'Miss Q' during training in the United States. The first three were killed instantly when flak hit their B-17 and it went down over Hamburg on March 11, 1945. Badaluco was not with the crew when it went overseas. [Robert Schlotte]
From: The History of the 487th Bomb Group (H) by Ivo de Jong, page 253. Used with permission.
The Above information is provided by: Paul M. Webber
Secretary, 487th Bomb Group Association
The State 07/21/1945 p1C