Crew Roster · Personal File

Thomas L. Boggan

2nd Lt. Thomas L. Boggan (O-691612), Bombardier, 328th Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, was MIA on 1 August 1944. He bailed out at approximately 17,000 feet north of Paris, near St Denis, landing in a field where a French woman and two children immediately approached him and directed him toward nearby woods.

A French civilian escorted him to a hiding place in the rocks and the following morning two men brought clothes and shoes. Boggan boarded a train to Paris and after spending 3.5 to 4 hours at Gare St Lazare among Gestapo and German soldiers, a young Frenchman guided him by Metro to a safe house at a dairy/cab man named Heilys, a former boxer. Resistance men including Pierre Durafour sheltered him for three days.

A resistance courier escorted Boggan through Chartres and Bonneval to Chateaudun, then to a camp near Cloyes. On 11 August a British captain arrived by jeep promising relief, but when no one appeared and Gestapo trucks entered Cloyes, Boggan and two RAF men walked 25-30 miles southwest to liberated territory. They were taken to American forces at Montebleau, passed through XX Corps channels, and obtained a flight from T-2 airfield, arriving back in the UK on 19 August 1944.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

2 CATALOGUED SORTIES
29 APR 1944 — 01 AUG 1944

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

On 1 August 1944, the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire north of Paris, near St Denis. Engines No. 3 and No. 4 were knocked out, and the right wing was full of flak holes causing excessive fuel loss. The crew bailed out at approximately 17,000 feet. Bombardier Boggan observed only two parachutes open, presumably those of the navigator and nose gunner. The aircraft is believed to have exploded on striking the ground. Boggan believed all crew members had time to bail out as the emergency bell was rung with adequate warning. The aircraft departed from Hardwick at 12:00. Boggan did not examine the wreckage, and the plane did not crash in water. All secret papers and equipment were destroyed to the best of his knowledge.

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