Airline Pilot Central Forums - The Joe Noyes Crew, 15 September 1943

As a teenager, I became fascinated with the Second World War and The Mighty Eighth Air Force. It was then that I stumbled across the book B-17s Over Berlin on a shelf at a bookstore. Within its pages, I discovered a group photograph, and in that photograph by some destiny, I found Joe Noyes. Joe was a Flight Officer originally from Seattle. He served with the 95th Bomb Group (H) at Horham, England. On September 15th 1943, the Joe Noyes crew failed to return home from a mission to Paris Billancourt. Nine men are still missing in action today, as Joe's remains were the only ones ever recovered. Speculation says they ditched into the English channel, but so far there's very little information about what happened other than that their aircraft was seen to leave formation about 15 miles off Beachy Head, and in no apparent distress.

This post is in memory of the following men of the Joe Noyes crew:

F/O Joseph H. Noyes, Washington
2LT David F. Prees, Wisconsin
2LT Frank A. Roth, New Jersey
2LT Rex A. Rice, South Carolina
TSGT Billie E. Clapper, Kansas
TSGT Edgar A. Lajoie, Rhode Island
SSGT Robert H. Willis, North Carolina
SSGT Raymond L. Provost, Texas
SGT Daniel J. Fabritz, Pennsylvania
SSGT William L. Cochran, Texas