The Man Behind the Name
2nd Lt. Claude H. Ipher served as co-pilot on the aircraft downed on August 1, 1943 during the Ploesti mission. Two surviving E&E reports document his fate. E&E Report No. 2444 (S/Sgt. Murray) places the loss over Serbia; E&E Report No. 2451 (S/Sgt. Koen) records the aircraft as lost over Bulgaria, catching fire after impact.
Ipher did not bail out with the three enlisted gunners who survived. S/Sgt. Murray reported that Serbian mountain police confirmed the rest of the crew was killed. S/Sgt. Koen corroborated this, noting Ipher was reported dead. He was listed as killed in action following the mission.
Service record.
Missions flown.
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.