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Sgt George J Kyle

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Sgt George J Kyle

Birth
Cook County, Illinois, USA
Death
6 Jun 1944 (aged 30–31)
England
Burial
Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England Add to Map
Plot
Plot D Row 5 Grave 71
Memorial ID
View Source
Sgt George Kyle served in WW2 with the US Army Air Forces as a Technical Sergent. He was inducted from Illinois and was single without dependents. George served with the 584th Bomber Squadron, 394th Bomber Group, Medium. His service ID number was 36348272. He had several awards including:

Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters and Purple Heart

Thirty one year old George Kyle was a member of the crew of the 42-107592 "Stinky" of the 584th Squadron which collided with 42-96249 587th Squardon over Battle Sussex at 6am on June 6, 1944, D-Day. Bad weather was said to have had caused icing up on the planes which caused the accident.

It was mission # 58 for the Group. The group was on a mission to bomb gun emplacements in Varreville, France on D-Day. Pilots of both the 592 & the 249 were flying on instruments at the time of the accident. Weather at the time of the accident was noted to be: Vis 7mi, wind 8 mi, 7/10 Strata Cumulus. Tommie Potts, who survived the crash after bailing out states he lost control of his aircraft while in the overcast. He had felt no distinct jar, as would be in a collision, but that his aircraft kept veering to the left and at one point was on its back. He instructed the Bombardier to jettison bonbs and then gave the signal to abandon the aircraft. The crew had gone to the bomb bay and Tommy, assuming that the Bombardier had left the doors open, waited for a minute, lowered the nose wheel and bailed out. The crew had worked feverishly to dump the high altitude bombs so that they would fall unexploded as the plane neared its crash landing. The 592 crashed at Whatlingon Level and the 249 crashed at Ashburnham Place. They crew had saved many lives by their quick actions to jettison their bomb load.

Below was a young teenage, Ian Cheveralls, a messenger for the Civil Defense Air Warden. He was watching the planes flying through the clouds above when the crash occurred. Upon the crash he ran towards the planes and could hear Tommie calling out for his crew. Tommie was the lone surviver, the bodies of the rest of the crew were found in the bomb bay.

Tommie retired following the crash, sent home with a Distinguished Flying Cross. He would marry and begin to raise a family. Tommie passed away in 1971. This crash has been memorilized by a plaque put up in Battle at the Royal Legion hall, the dedication reading "THESE AMERICAN AIRMEN GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM"


Members of the 42-107592 crew were:

-Lt Tommie Potts
-Sgt George J Kyle
-Lt Christian Burger
-Lt LeRoy A Dyer
-Sgt James M Long
-Sgt George W Williams

The crew of the 42-96249 was:
-Lt Thomas Jenkins
-Lt. Walter S Winter
-William C Hoeb
-Sgt Ralph D Parker
-Sgt Boris R. Selinsky
-Sgt Edward F Bailey

This very same day there was another separate mid air collision of two B26's over Gillingham, Kent, England. The 42-96050 587th Bomb Squadron crashed into homes on Corporation Road in Gillingham,Kent, England killing the entire crew and four civilians. The 42-96263 587th Bomb Squadron crashed into an orchard at the East Court Farm in Gillingham, Kent killing all the crew.

The crew of the 42-96050 was:
-Witcher Terrell Berger
-Ltd Warren D Rodgers
-Sgt Edward H Monaghan
-Sgt George S Knight
-Sgt Alfred M Zussa
-Cpl Forrest W Pafenbery

The 42-96263 Crew was:
-Lt Claude Wallace Kline
-Lt Emil F Ostowsky
-Sgt George S. Rogers
-Raymond F Sablatura
-Sgt Joseph Amato
-Sgt James F Bechtler

The civilians killed in Gillingham were:

Fanny F Whittingham
Joan Beatrice Ada Taylor Neice of Fanny
Percy Montague Williams
George Thomas William Gandon

For more information please see:
http://www.gillinghambattleb26crash.com
Sgt George Kyle served in WW2 with the US Army Air Forces as a Technical Sergent. He was inducted from Illinois and was single without dependents. George served with the 584th Bomber Squadron, 394th Bomber Group, Medium. His service ID number was 36348272. He had several awards including:

Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters and Purple Heart

Thirty one year old George Kyle was a member of the crew of the 42-107592 "Stinky" of the 584th Squadron which collided with 42-96249 587th Squardon over Battle Sussex at 6am on June 6, 1944, D-Day. Bad weather was said to have had caused icing up on the planes which caused the accident.

It was mission # 58 for the Group. The group was on a mission to bomb gun emplacements in Varreville, France on D-Day. Pilots of both the 592 & the 249 were flying on instruments at the time of the accident. Weather at the time of the accident was noted to be: Vis 7mi, wind 8 mi, 7/10 Strata Cumulus. Tommie Potts, who survived the crash after bailing out states he lost control of his aircraft while in the overcast. He had felt no distinct jar, as would be in a collision, but that his aircraft kept veering to the left and at one point was on its back. He instructed the Bombardier to jettison bonbs and then gave the signal to abandon the aircraft. The crew had gone to the bomb bay and Tommy, assuming that the Bombardier had left the doors open, waited for a minute, lowered the nose wheel and bailed out. The crew had worked feverishly to dump the high altitude bombs so that they would fall unexploded as the plane neared its crash landing. The 592 crashed at Whatlingon Level and the 249 crashed at Ashburnham Place. They crew had saved many lives by their quick actions to jettison their bomb load.

Below was a young teenage, Ian Cheveralls, a messenger for the Civil Defense Air Warden. He was watching the planes flying through the clouds above when the crash occurred. Upon the crash he ran towards the planes and could hear Tommie calling out for his crew. Tommie was the lone surviver, the bodies of the rest of the crew were found in the bomb bay.

Tommie retired following the crash, sent home with a Distinguished Flying Cross. He would marry and begin to raise a family. Tommie passed away in 1971. This crash has been memorilized by a plaque put up in Battle at the Royal Legion hall, the dedication reading "THESE AMERICAN AIRMEN GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM"


Members of the 42-107592 crew were:

-Lt Tommie Potts
-Sgt George J Kyle
-Lt Christian Burger
-Lt LeRoy A Dyer
-Sgt James M Long
-Sgt George W Williams

The crew of the 42-96249 was:
-Lt Thomas Jenkins
-Lt. Walter S Winter
-William C Hoeb
-Sgt Ralph D Parker
-Sgt Boris R. Selinsky
-Sgt Edward F Bailey

This very same day there was another separate mid air collision of two B26's over Gillingham, Kent, England. The 42-96050 587th Bomb Squadron crashed into homes on Corporation Road in Gillingham,Kent, England killing the entire crew and four civilians. The 42-96263 587th Bomb Squadron crashed into an orchard at the East Court Farm in Gillingham, Kent killing all the crew.

The crew of the 42-96050 was:
-Witcher Terrell Berger
-Ltd Warren D Rodgers
-Sgt Edward H Monaghan
-Sgt George S Knight
-Sgt Alfred M Zussa
-Cpl Forrest W Pafenbery

The 42-96263 Crew was:
-Lt Claude Wallace Kline
-Lt Emil F Ostowsky
-Sgt George S. Rogers
-Raymond F Sablatura
-Sgt Joseph Amato
-Sgt James F Bechtler

The civilians killed in Gillingham were:

Fanny F Whittingham
Joan Beatrice Ada Taylor Neice of Fanny
Percy Montague Williams
George Thomas William Gandon

For more information please see:
http://www.gillinghambattleb26crash.com

Gravesite Details

Entered the service from Illinois.



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  • Created by: Home Children Canada
  • Added: Mar 27, 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50291345/george_j-kyle: accessed ), memorial page for Sgt George J Kyle (1913–6 Jun 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 50291345, citing Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Coton, South Cambridgeshire District, Cambridgeshire, England; Maintained by Home Children Canada (contributor 47220772).