Douglas R. Farris                                Updated:  26 JAN 2015

Airman: u006001.htm Surname: Farris Init: D R Rank: Sgt Service: USAAF Sqdn: 368 P_link: p237.htm Plane: B17 42-37718 Operation: Bomb G Crash_site: Alstrup, Samsø Crash_d: d091043 Buried_d: b311043 C_link: c006.htm At_Next: (Besser)

"Under returflyvningen fra et bombetogt til Gdynia i Polen nedstyrtede et B-17 fly den 9. oktober 1943 i Alstrup på Samsø. En af flyets skytter, Sgt Farris, var blevet dræbt under luftkamp, inden flyet nedstyrtede. Den øvrige besætning, 9 mand, reddede sig ud med
faldskærm og blev taget til fange." (FAF)

Douglas Farris Serg. i de amk. Flyvetropper faldet i Luftkamp over
Samsø 9.10 1943       Besser Menighed satte Mindet

Sgt (Right Waist Gunner) Douglas R. Farris var dræbt inden nedstyrtningen.
Han blev begravet 31. oktober 1943 af sognepræst Orla F. Muld. Hans urne blev 30. april
1948 opgravet og sendt til Ardennes American Cemetery i Belgien. (Kilde: FAF)
Hans gravsten, nu en mindesten, blev for nogle år siden flyttet til nuværende sted.
Hans navn er ikke i registret hos ABMC, så mest sandsynligt blev han begravet på en privat kirkegård i USA.

B17 42-37718 styrtede her. En mindesten er rejst her nær nedstyrtningsstedet.
Se et propelblad og øjenvidneberetning og se dele af flyet.
Se  interview med 2. pilot Miles C. McCormack og et
avisinterview med navigatør Carl A. Groosbeck, tekster og fotos fra Aage Snedker.
Se tegning af besætningen på en B-17, Foto af en B-17 + B-17 i airmen.dk samt
B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition og Ball Turret Gunner og Tyske krigsfangelejre. 10 flyvere.

"During the return flight on 9 October, 1943 from a bombing raid to Gdynia in Poland a
B-17 plane crashed in Alstrup on Samsø. One of the gunners, Sgt Farris, had been killed
in an aerial battle before the plane crashed. Rest of the crew of 9 saved their lives with parachutes and were taken prisoners." (FAF)

Douglas Farris Sergeant in the American Air Force fallen in an aerial battle over Samsø on 9 October 1943 
Parishioners of Besser erected this memorial

Sgt (Right Waist Gunner) Douglas R. Farris was killed before the crash. He was buried on 31 October, 1943 by vicar Orla F. Muld. His urn was disinterred on
30 April 1948 and sent to Ardennes American Cemetery in BELGIUM. (Source: FAF) His gravestone, now a memorial stone, was some years ago moved to its
present place. His name is not in the ABMC records, so most likely he was buried in a private cemetery in the U.S.A.

B17 42-37718 crashed here. A memorial stone is erected here near the crash site. See eye witness account and see parts of the plane.
See an interview with Co Pilot Miles C. McCormack and another interview with Navigator Carl A. Groosbeck, texts and photos from Aage Snedker.
See the drawing of the crew of a B-17, Photo of  a B-17 + B-17s in airmen.dk and B-17 Ball Turret, Ammunition and the story of a Ball Turret Gunner.

This B-17 from RAF Thurleigh - USAAF Station 111 belonged to 368 BS, 306 BG, 40 CBW, 1 BD, 8 AF. See 306th Bombardment Group.
Also the 306th Bomb Group Home Page and the 306th Bombardment Group Museum Website and German POW-Camps. 10 airmen.