The Abel W. Dahlgran crew: 711th Squadron
Photo in Pyote, Texas. At the time this was the Stevenson crew
Assigned SO72, 17 Apr 1944
| Standing L-R: |
| T/Sgt Kenneth L. Ramey |
| S/Sgt Albert A. Acuna |
| T/Sgt Loran B. Heeb |
| S/Sgt Russell T. Hatchett |
| S/Sgt Jack D. Keller |
| S/Sgt William Levitisky |
| Kneeling L-R: |
| Lt Abel W. Dahlgran |
| Lt Robert C. Stevenson |
| Lt Erwin A. Smith |
| Lt Gordon T. Todd |
| 4/17/44 | 711th Sqdn, Rattlesden |
| Missions flown: varies by crew member | |
Flights with Abel W. Dahlgran listed as Pilot
These lists are NOT limited to officially credited Combat missions, and may include Aborts, returns and non-takeoff occurrences as well.”
| 447th Mission (Date) | Target | Plane Number | Notes |
| #111 (18-Jul-44) | Cuxhaven, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #113 (20-Jul-44) | Merseburg, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #115 (24-Jul-44) | St. Lo, France | 42-31582 | |
| #120 (04-Aug-44) | Arras – Ostend, Belgium | 42-31582 | |
| #126 (13-Aug-44) | Seine river area, France | 42-31582 | |
| #156 (07-Oct-44) | Merseburg, Germany | 42-31582 | ABORT #2 Eng out |
| #166 (26-Oct-44) | Hanover, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #172 (06-Nov-44) | Neumunster, Germany | 44-6572 | |
| #176 (21-Nov-44) | Koblenz, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #181 (04-Dec-44) | Mainz, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #183 (10-Dec-44) | Koblenz, Germany | 42-31582 | |
| #185 (12-Dec-44) | Darmstadt, Germany | 42-97819 |
Mission tally written by T/Sgt Loran B. Heeb. The crew did not always fly complete so may not match all other crew members.
Dahlgran crew at Rattlesden, unidentified aircraft.
Lt. Robert Stevenson: Killed in action on 29 April 1944 during his Combat Orientation flight with the Elmer Johnson crew in 42-97501.
The crew was reassembled later, with co-pilot Dahlgran taking Stevenson’s place and a new co-pilot.
“Old Scrapiron” was a nickname Stevenson earned during training, and their assigned aircraft 42-31582 Ol’Scrapiron was named in his honor.
|
Lt. A.W. Dahlgran, Pilot |
Lt. Kurtis Brown, Co-pilot |
Lt. Irwin Smith, Navigator |
Lt. Gordon Todd, Bombardier |
|
Sgt. Kenneth Ramey, ROG |
Sgt. Loran Heeb, ENG |
Sgt. Jack D. Keller, TG |
Sgt. Russell Hatchett, BTG |
Lucky bastard Club certificates for Loran Heeb (above) and Jack Keller (below).
See the growing collection of Lucky Bastard’s Club certificates from the 447th BG.
Crew photo from Pyote, Texas, signed by tail gunner Jack Keller.
Capt. Abel Winfield Dahlgran
Russell Hatchett, Albert Acuna, William Levitsky and Loran Heeb outside the Red Cross Club in London.
Loran Heeb: Flight Engineer / Top Turret
See also:
Scrapbook: Loran Heeb Collection
Scrapbook and Mission Logs of Russell Hatchett
Some photos/information provided by:
- Mr. Jack Keller
- Family of Loran Heeb
- Family of Russell Hatchett
Some information and/or images sourced from the American Air Museum database