The Man Behind the Name
§ Biography
2nd Lieutenant Byron E. Michaelis served as bombardier aboard B-24D 42-40617 with the 93rd Bomb Group on the 1 August 1943 mission to Ploesti. His wife, Mrs. Norma J. Michaelis, was listed as next of kin at 1645 Lake Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.
The aircraft was struck by flak in the bomb bay at low altitude over Ploesti and crashed in the city center. No crew members escaped. Michaelis was reported as a battle casualty on the Missing Air Crew Report.
Service record.
§ As Catalogued
Rank
2nd Lieutenant
Serial Number
O-784812
Missions flown.
1 catalogued · 01 Aug 1943
The missions below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.
№
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 115
01 Aug 1943
Ploesti Oil Fields
“José Carioca”
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Sources.
§ Provenance
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1943
Official record
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1943
Official record