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USMC MAW-2 MAG-21 VMSB-341 "Torrid Turtles" |
Pilot 1st Lt. Robert E. Bishop, O-21059 (MIA / KIA) MI Gunner Pfc Richard L. Parrow, 487825 (MIA / KIA) MA MIA January 17, 1944 Aircraft History Built by Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo. Constructors Number 3663. Delivered to the U.S. Navy (USN) as SBD-5 Dauntless bureau number 28316. Disassembled and shipped to the South Pacific and reassembled. Wartime History Assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), Marine Air Wing 2 (MAW-2), Marine Air Group 21 (MAG-21), Marine Scout-Bomber Squadron 341 (VMSB-341) "Torrid Turtles". Plane number 150. No known nickname or nose art. Mission History On January 17, 1944 took off from Torokina Airfield on Bougainville piloted by 1st Lt. Robert E. Bishop as one of twenty-nine SBDs on a dive bombing mission against Japanese shipping off Rabaul. Inbound to the target, fourteen SBDs aborted due to engine trouble. Over the target, this aircraft was last seen crashing into the sea roughly two miles east of Cape Gazelle. When this aircraft failed to return, it was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA). Memorials Both crew were officially declared dead on January 15, 1946. Both crew earned the Purple Heart, posthumously. Both are memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing. References Navy Serial Number Search Results - SBD-5 Dauntless 28316 USN Overseas Aircraft Loss List January 1944 - SBD-5 28316 NARA "Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 341 War Diary January 1944" pages 5-6 (Page 5) "17 January 1944: Twenty-nine (29) pilots and their gunners left Torokina for a shipping strike. Fifteen (15) planes attacked and fourteen (14) turned back because of engine trouble. Lt. Bishop and his gunner PFC Richard L. Parrow, USMCR, Ser..." (Page 6) "...No. 487825, did not return. They were last seen going into the water two miles east of Cape Gazelle, New Britain. Lt. Bishop's plane was No. 150, BuNo. 28316." American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Robert Edmond Bishop American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Richard L. Parrow FindAGrave - 1Lt Robert Edmond Bishop (HH) FindAGrave - PFC Richard L Parrow (JJ) Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated November 26, 2024 |
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