Mission
Photos
April, 1944
April
8: Brunswick
The
crew of "The Beast" was shot down while on a mission to Brunswick.
They are shown here in front of another plane.
Standing: Sgt Joseph Dunleavy, POW; Sgt Edwin Bulford, POW; Sgt Harry Reece, POW; Sgt Elmer Lillicotch, POW; Sgt Norman Lacas, POW; Sgt Cummings (not on this mission)
Kneeling: 1/Lt Earl Caston, POW; 1/Lt Louis Telpner, POW; 1/Lt Percy Schopfer, KIA; 1/Lt Max Castner, POW
Not in photo: Sgt Jack Thurman, POW
Sgt
William Busacker was shot down in "The Princess" and taken prisoner.
He was a radio operator.
April
11: Bernburg
The
crew of "Werewolf/Princess O'Rourke" who were shot down by flak
and taken prisoner. The pilot, 1/Lt Sterling Tuck, has authored accounts of
his experiences which can be found in the Stories
and POW sections of this website.
Top: Sgt George Smith; Sgt George Bigelow
Standing: Sgt Edsel Fish; 1/Lt Irving Day; 1/Lt Bryant Poore; 2/Lt Campbell (not on this mission); 1/Lt Sterling Tuck
Kneeling: Sgt James Korte; Sgt Valley Ditch; Sgt James Evans
Not in photo: 1/Lt Bryant Poore; 1/Lt Arthur Meyers
April
22: Hamm
The
crew of "Rubber Check". Standing L to R: Sgt John Thomas, Sgt Albert
Cochran, Sgt George Blank, Sgt Franklin Calhoun, Sgt John Roberts, Sgt Roy
Lee Fielder. Knealing L to R: 2Lt Adrian Perrault, 2Lt Frank Baker, 2Lt Arthur
Bailey, 2Lt Foster Hinton.
The pilot, Frank Baker, earned an Oak Leaf Cluster to his DFC for bringing his severely damaged plane home with no loss of life. The base at Bungay was undergoing an enemy arial attack at the time and Baker had to land at another base, narrowly avoiding another B-24 in the process of crashing.
April
27: Wizernes
The
crew of "Satan's Sister", which crashed in England en route to it's
target after suffering severe engine failure and damage from a jettisonned
bomb. The pilot narrowly avoided several buildings and crash landed the plane
in a field. He, and another crewman, were killed.
Standing: Sgt Melvin Howard; Sgt Albert Wagner; Sgt Walter Nye; Sgt Wayne Back; Sgt John Keegan; Sgt William Watkins, KIA.
Kneeling: 1/Lt Clark Jensen, KIA; 1/Lt Henry Kingsbery; 1/Lt Willis Hause; 1/Lt Edward Hanna
"Satan's
Sister"
"Satans
Sister" crashed into a field in England, killing 2 crewmen
April
27: Blainville
This
plane, piloted by 1/Lt Wayne Case, skidded off the runway and exploded on
take-off, killing the entire crew.
1/Lt
Harold Larson's plane returned from a mission with 2 engines out. It exploded
over England after 2 crewmen were able to bail out. The other 8 crewmen were
killed.
1/Lt Clifford Denning, KIA; 1/Lt George Hafner, KIA; 1/Lt Claude Lanphere, KIA; 1/Lt Harold Larson, KIA
Not in photo: Sgt Edward Hilgeman, OK; Sgt Carl Smith, OK; Sgt Louis Bart, KIA; Sgt Wilburn Holt, KIA; Sgt Orval Scott; KIA; Sgt Melvin Warren, KIA
April
29: Berlin
"Luck
and Stuff" lost an engine and was set upon by ME 109's. The crew was
ordered to bail out. 3 were killed, the remaining 7 were taken prisoner.
Sgt
Charles Perry, nose turret gunner on "Luck and Stuff" was captured
after he was forced to bail out and spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft
VI
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