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name
BEATTY, Hubert Franklin - Date of
birth
8 July 1919 -
Age
25 - Place of
birth
Rockridge County, Virginia -
Hometown
Rockbridge County, Virginia
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-826646 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
600th Bombardment Squadron,
398th Bombardment Group, Heavy
-
Awards
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
22 February 1945 - Place of
death
Near Altendorf-Gifhorn, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 26 | 14 |
Immediate family
-
Members
John W. Beatty (father)
Maggie N. (Fix) Beatty (mother)
Elizabeth H. Beatty (sister)
John W. Beatty Jr. (brother)
Virginia W. (Wade) Beatty (wife)
Tink Beatty (son)
Plane data
- Serial
number
43-39128 -
Data
Type: B-17G
Nickname: Beatty's Eight Balls
Destination: Stendal, Germany
MACR: 12650
More information
Eyewitness statement:"At about 10 minutes before the ??? a ME 262fighter hit a ship in our formation. From the nose I could see burst of the 20mm or 30mm shells, drawing my attention to Lt Beatty's plane. The bursts started at the radio room going up the fuselage to the left wing, then out the left wing, bursting flames commenced as the plane dived across our nose. The flames seemed to be more intense between numbers one en two engines. Later I notices five chutes burst out the plane. At about 5.000 feet the plane exploded, however at the angle I was at the time of the explosion there could have been more chutes among the aluminium which floated down. I could not be certain, but there were distinctly 5 chutes that came down from the plane."
The photo on the right shows Hubert Beatty, his wife Virginia and their son Tink. Tink was killed in a car wreck just a few years later.
Source of information: Terry Hirsch, Geoff Rice-398th Web Team, Mike Feinman, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records / 1930 Census
Photo source: Jac Engels, Mike Feinman