He was a welder by trade & enlisted in 1941 in the army air corps. He was in Pearl Harbor six days before the attack.
Sgt Allen was a gunner on B-24J #42-73302 nicknamed 'Leaping Lena', assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron, based in Kurmitola, India. They were on a night mission to lay mines in Sattahip Harbor, Thailand. To do so required flying at very low altitude, & after completing their drop, they headed towards the open sea to the south. At an altitude of about 300 feet they flew over a Japanese gunboat & were immediately riddled with 20mm fire. Two engines failed, the wing caught on fire & they were forced to ditch in the water near the Sattahip naval base. Two crewmen survived to become prisoners of war; Allen & 7 others died.
(Bio courtesy dfr)
Sgt Allen was a gunner on B-24J #42-73302 nicknamed 'Leaping Lena', assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron, based in Kurmitola, India. They were on a night mission to lay mines in Sattahip Harbor, Thailand. To do so required flying at very low altitude, & after completing their drop, they headed towards the open sea to the south. At an altitude of about 300 feet they flew over a Japanese gunboat & were immediately riddled with 20mm fire. Two engines failed, the wing caught on fire & they were forced to ditch in the water near the Sattahip naval base. Two crewmen survived to become prisoners of war; Allen & 7 others died.
(Bio courtesy dfr)
He was a welder by trade & enlisted in 1941 in the army air corps. He was in Pearl Harbor six days before the attack.
Sgt Allen was a gunner on B-24J #42-73302 nicknamed 'Leaping Lena', assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron, based in Kurmitola, India. They were on a night mission to lay mines in Sattahip Harbor, Thailand. To do so required flying at very low altitude, & after completing their drop, they headed towards the open sea to the south. At an altitude of about 300 feet they flew over a Japanese gunboat & were immediately riddled with 20mm fire. Two engines failed, the wing caught on fire & they were forced to ditch in the water near the Sattahip naval base. Two crewmen survived to become prisoners of war; Allen & 7 others died.
(Bio courtesy dfr)
Sgt Allen was a gunner on B-24J #42-73302 nicknamed 'Leaping Lena', assigned to the 10th Air Force, 7th Bombardment Group, 9th Bombardment Squadron, based in Kurmitola, India. They were on a night mission to lay mines in Sattahip Harbor, Thailand. To do so required flying at very low altitude, & after completing their drop, they headed towards the open sea to the south. At an altitude of about 300 feet they flew over a Japanese gunboat & were immediately riddled with 20mm fire. Two engines failed, the wing caught on fire & they were forced to ditch in the water near the Sattahip naval base. Two crewmen survived to become prisoners of war; Allen & 7 others died.
(Bio courtesy dfr)
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