Crew Roster · Personal File

James K. Hoover

Co-Pilot

1st Lt. James K. Hoover served as co-pilot aboard B-24D 41-24298 with the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. He was reported missing in action on November 13, 1943 following the mission to Bremen. His serial number is recorded as O-2044432 in one source and O-2044452 in another. His case was included in post-war follow-up correspondence dated May 1946, indicating continued investigation into the fates of the crew.

Hoover's body was recovered from the North Sea on November 14, 1943, washed ashore at Norddorf on the Isle of Amrum. He carried no identification tag, but his identity was established through personal documents including a USAAF membership pass, a department store receipt bearing his signature, and a letter from a photography shop. He was described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, of slender build, with the top of his skull crushed. The cause of death could not be conclusively determined between drowning and wounds. He was buried at the New Cemetery of Nebel/Amrum, Grave No. 54.

Killed in Action

Sortie Log

1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
13 NOV 1943

The sorties 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.

8AF Mission

Date

Target

Aircraft

№ 130

13 NOV 1943

BremenP/A

B-24D serial 41-24298 was lost on 13 November 1943 during a bombing mission to Bremen. The aircraft departed AAF Station 104 with a crew of eleven. Last known position was 5520N 0830E at 1120 hours. Captain Russell D. Demont, pilot of aircraft #869Q, reported that Capt. Gewehr's aircraft began following him when he aborted at 1118 hours at 5520N 0830E. Upon realizing his error, crew members believed Gewehr turned back to rejoin the formation. Around the same time a B-24 was observed under attack by enemy aircraft, with one crew reporting that engine #2 was on fire and the aircraft entered cloud in a flat spin with two parachutes seen. Another account described part of the wing as missing. Poor visibility and distance from the formation made positive identification uncertain. A German military record dated 24 November 1943 from the Hornum/Sylt air base documents the recovery of six corpses of American airmen during the period 19 October to 24 November 1943. Bodies of crew members washed ashore on the Isle of Amrum 13-14 November 1943 and were buried at the New Cemetery of Nebel/Amrum. Sortie documented in both MACR-2189 and MACR-2190.

41-24298