CLAUDE ISOM GOBER, son of INEZ WEBB and JOSEPH GOBER, b. August 03, 1920; d. November 13, 1943, Wargrave, England, Berkshire County.
Lt. Claude "Buzz" Gober was a member of the 384th Bomb Gr. 544th Sqn., 8th
United States Air Force. 2nd Lt. Gober was killed in an aircraft accident
(Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress"] on his first mission. The mission was a raid on
Bremen, Germany and the accident occurred approximately 25 miles west of the
center of London. There was only one survivor of the air crew of 10. The village
at which the aircraft crashed was Wargrave, UK.
Claude's final resting place is Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio,
TX, Bexar County
Plot: O 0 18. Buried 8/4/48.
Excerpt from "A Dying Breed" by Neal B. Dillon. Quote from T/Sgt. Alan B. Purdy, the radio operator and sole survivor of the crash (now deceased ).
" At approximately 0919 hours, flying at 10,000 feet, the aircraft began to vibrate badly, but maintained a forward course. At that time, myself, the bombardier, tail gunner, ball turret gunner, and the right waist gunner were in the radio room. The bombardier had just returned from the bomb bay, where had had pulled the safety pins from the bombs. None of us had parachutes on, but all had the harness adjusted, except the bombardier.
" Shortly after this the plane began to vibrate, and went over sharply on its left wing and then abruptly over on its right wing, then into a very tight spin. My feet were injured at that time. The plane was finally pulled out of the spin, and as it leveled off it broke completely in half in the center of the radio room. I managed to get to the open end away from the tail and bailed out. I estimate we were at an altitude of between 800 and 1000 feet when I bailed out.
" In my opinion the plane broke in half because of the force exerted as it pulled out of the vertical spin. I did not know the plane was on fire until spectators on the ground informed me. There was an interval of between 80 and 90 seconds between the time I noticed anything wrong with the plane and the time I bailed out. During this interval no other crew member had time to express an opinion as to what might have gone wrong. I have no explanation and can give no reason for the plane going into the spin."
Wargrave News November 13, 1943. Please be patient - to present an image large enough to read, this page takes a few moments to load.
 8th U.S. Air Force
384th Bombardment Group
544th Squadron |
 Claude Gober - back row, 2nd from right. |
"Aircraft was B-17F-25-BO, #41-24575, buzz identifier "SU-J". Aircraft name was Sunrise Serenader. This aircraft was accepted into inventory 11 August 1942 and arrived overseas 25 October 1942. Available information indicates that it was assigned to the 305th Bomb Group, however the aircraft was destroyed on 13 November 1943 while with the 384th Bomb Group, based at Grafton Underwood. An unknown source indicates that on 13 November, 1943, the weather had heavy turbulence and sever icing. Several aircraft crashed in the local area consequently the mission was cancelled before assembly. Thirty crew member were lost on that day. Additionally, the nose art of the Sunrise Serenader was reported to be a "rooster" or "cock".