Target: Brunswick - 8 April 1944 - Mission #61

This mission proved to be another tough one for the 392nd which would extract a much greater toll than the Group's first mission to this target on 15 March.

General briefings for 36 aircrews were held between 0530 and 0600, a maximum effort. All aircraft were loaded with 500# GP bombs; 348 would be released on the raid. The Group was following the 44th Bomb Group in. Just before the IP at Salzwedel, both units were attacked by an estimated 75 single and twin-engine aircraft in single, two and three aircraft passes. Most of the attacks were against the 44th but the 392nd encountered many and had 12 enemy aircraft claims.

While the first Section of 392nd aircraft bombed the Primary, the second and third Sections released on Longenhagen airfield just north of Hannover. Bombing results for all were fair to poor and resulting casualties were high.

2/Lt Toivo E. Eloranta in #061 of the 577th, flying his first mission, was attacked by three enemy aircraft and was seen to explode and crash with no chutes observed. 577th pilot 2/Lt Thomas L. Anderson and his crew had aborted due to mechanical problems in #505 and were forced to crash land near Sidestrand, Norfolk, England, killing five members of his crew and injuring the other five.

In the 579th, 1/Lt James W. Dickson's crew in #599 was last seen being attacked by five enemy aircraft approximately ten minutes before bombs away. The ship was seen going down and trailing smoke with three chutes observed.

In the 579th, aircraft #42-7469 was so battle damaged that pilot 2/Lt John D. Ellis, on his first mission, had to belly land at Wendling. Ball turret gunner S/Sgt J. E. McGee had been wounded by a 20mm shell. He was transferred to the hospital and never flew combat missions again. He was later awarded the Purple Heart.

While little flak was encountered, enemy aircraft attacks succeeded in battle damaging six other B-24s of the Group. Of the 30 aircraft over target, 26 returned safely to base, landing around 1630 hours.

MISSING AIR CREW REPORT SECTION

8 APRIL 1944 - TARGET: BRUNSWICK

MISSING AIRCREW REPORT #03937 AIRCRAFT: #42-110061 (NO NICKNAME) "W" 1st Mission

AIRCREW: ELORANTA    *    SQUADRON: 577th

CREW POSITIONS AND STATUS:

P   2/LT Eloranta, Toivo E. POW
CP  2/LT Kitlan, Richard K. POW
N   2/LT Quigley, Edward J. POW
B   1/LT Varela, Henry J.   POW
R/O S/S Bennett, Charles E. POW
EnG S/S Borick, Paul M.     POW
WG  SGT Rush, William A.    POW
WG  S/S Berkise, John A.    POW
BG  SGT Stephens, Dale J.   POW
TG  SGT Price, Donald E.    POW

MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: The returning eye-witness report by element leader, Pilot Griggs of the 577th, states that the Eloranta plane was hit by enemy aircraft fire, blew up, and went down with no chutes seen. Facts later reported by the crewmen stated their aircraft was hit just after the I.P. on the bomb run, and all managed to bail out. German Report #KU1373 from Airfield Command WunsdorI reported the aircraft’s crash site between Haste and Hohnhorst and (7) kilometers southwest of Wunsdorf at 1517 hours, and the aircrew captured stating this Liberator was "probably shot down through fighter (attack) and destroyed by burning following crash".

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: Pilot Eloranta’s later casualty questionnaire form completed after his repatriation from POW status noted some highlights, as follows: their ship was badly damaged just past the I.P and the bailout order given; all (10) crewmen safely egressed the plane with the waist area gunners and Co-Pilot bailing out through the aft camera hatch, and the remaining members in front including himself all exiting through the bomb bay. He estimated all this event took place about 30-50 miles north-northeast of Hannover and the point where the plane crashed in an open field with all crewmen being taken prisoner. Another member, Sgt. Berkise gave a later statement that he had seen all crew individuals at the Dulag-Luft interrogation center near Frankfurt, and later he accounted for all the enlisted members when they all were liberated in a wooded area (3) miles east of Ransholen, Austria, on 8 May 1945 around the Inns River. All men were in good spirits and good physical condition according to this man’s written report. This mission was the crew’s very first one (as well as the aircraft’s being flown that day). The crewmen were all sent to Dulag-Luft (West Oberursel) on 10 April 1944 for interrogation and subsequent captivity.

NEXT OF KIN DATA IN WWII: Information was as follows: Eloranta (Wife, Pauline M., Bozeman, Montana); Kitlan (Father, Michael, Passic, New Jersey); Quigley (Mother, Loretta W., Chicago, Illinois); Varela (Mother, Maria D., Salt Lake City, Utah); Bennett (Mother, Martha R., Cincinnati, Ohio); Berkise (Mother, Mary A., Pittston, Pennsylvania); Borick (Father, Michael, Minneapolis, Minnesota); Rush (Father, Allen G., Kansas City, Missouri); Brice (Father, John, Columbus, Ohio); and Stephens (Sister, Colleen Durham of National City, California).

MISSING AIRCREW REPORT: #03945 AIRCRAFT: #42-7599 "MACK’S SACK III" "B-Bar" 29th Mission

AIRCREW: DICKSON    *    SQUADRON: 579th

CREW POSITIONS AND STATUS:

P   1/LT Dickson, James W.       KIA
CP  1/LT Kubale, Edward W.       KIA
N   1/LT McDade, John J. Jr      KIA
B   l/LT White, Edward I.        KIA
R/O T/S  Zimpelman, John G.      KIA
EnG T/S  York, Roy M.            KIA
WG  S/S  Luchak, Alexander (NMI) POW
WG  S/S  Erickson, Clifford W.   KIA
BG  S/S  Reilly, Bernard A.      KIA
TG  S/S  O’Neill, Francis L.     KIA
NG  S/S  Cooper, Samuel L. Jr    KIA

MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: An eye-witness account by Lt. Ellis on a returning crew stated the Dickson plane was seen going down 5-10 minutes before bomb drop as a result of enemy fighter attack with (3) parachutes being seen. A German Report from Airfield Command at Fassberg and dated 11 April cited the time of shoot down "probably by fighter" at 1400 hours (GLT) at a location of (2) kilometers southeast of Breitenhaus and (15) kilometers south-southwest of Ulsen on 8 April, Report #121227-121228. The plane was found totally destroyed in the crash, and (10) crewmen were found dead. The 11th crew member, Sgt. Luchak, who was wounded, was taken prisoner the next morning, 9 April, at 1000 hours near Weyhausen and placed in a Luftwaffe hospital at Wiemar.

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: There is no such report in this MACR from the lone survivor, Sgt. Luchak.

BURIAL RECORDS: A thorough investigation into this crew's crash was made after the war by the U.S. Army. Discussions with German witnesses revealed that a bomber formation was seen after noon heading from west to east that was attacked by German fighter planes. One plane crashed in flames in the woods in the vicinity of Bokel. The bodies of nine crewmen were buried by the Wehrmacht in the crater made by the plane. The body of a tenth man was buried in the community cemetery of Sprakensehl, about four miles from the scene of the crash. T/Sgt Zimpelman's body was apparently identified at a later date and returned to the U.S. for burial. The other nine casualties from this crew are now interred at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Section 78, Site 1027-1029.

NEXT OF KIN DATA IN WWII: Information given is: Dickson (Mother, Hannah R., Pauls Valley, Oklahoma); Kubale (Mother, Josephine of Reedsville, Wisconsin); McDade (Mother, Mary E.., Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania); White (Grandmother, Emma E., Indianapolis, Indiana): Zimpleman (Mother, Irene G., Alliance, Ohio); York (Wife, Nadine, Santa Rita, New Mexico); Luchak (Wife, Nadja E., New York, New York); Reilly Father, Patrick E., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); Erickson (Wife, Marlys E., Moorehead, Minnesota); O’Neill (Mother, Mrs John H., Baltimore, Maryland). No data was recorded for Sgt. Cooper.

CASUALTIES NOT LISTED IN MACR

2/LT  Anderson, Thomas L. (P)     577th   KIA
2/LT  Jacobs, James (NMI) (N)     577th   KIA
SGT   Richards, Earl B. Jr. (NT)  577th   KIA
S/SGT Schmidt, Elmer A. (G)       577th   KIA
SGT   Vandervort, Robert N. (RCM) 577th   KIA

The Report of Aircraft Accident contains this sequence of events based on statements made by engineer S/Sgt Charles T. Cook and right waist gunner Cpl George T. Shikenjanski: "After having reached a point three or four miles beyond the Enemy coast the oil pressure of No. 1 engine fell to a very low level and oil was noticed to be leaking from the engine. The prop was feathered with difficulty. Almost immediately the oil pressure on No. 2 engine dropped very low and efforts to feather the prop failed. During this short period the plane turned back toward land, the bombs were jettisoned into the English Channel and all excess weight including the guns were thrown overboard. The men in the waist took up 'Ditching positions' and the plane crashed just after reaching the coast at approximately 1320 hours at Bizewell Farm, Sidestrand, Norfolk. Shortly after crashing the plane caught fire and burned. 2/Lt Leland, S/Sgt Cook, T/Sgt Marshall, Cpl Shikenjanski, and Sgt Sullivan were all injured in the crash."

The responsibility for the crash was deemed "100% materiel failure."

Michael Emmons was a young eyewitness in Sidestrand. A 7-year old, he had been playing in the road outside the Council Houses learning to ride his new bicycle with the help of Peter Dix who lived at No. 1 the Council Houses. The unfamiliar noise from the B-24 caught their attention. As the B-24 approached from seaward, they noticed that only two of the four propellers were turning. They both watched as the stricken Fairy Belle flew low over Sidestrand Church, banked to the left, and passed close behind the Council Houses. Then, it lost height and the boys heard it crash near Bizewell Farm at approximately 1:10 pm.

A number of villagers rushed to the crashed Liberator. At least three ladies tended to the five American airmen who had managed to escape from the wreckage. Ruby Royall (who lived at Garden Cottage), Dorothy Chadwick (from The Cottage) and Ida Henden (from Windy Ridge) were designated as First-Aiders, having been trained by the Red Cross and all members of the organization.

Dorothy Chadwick, who heard the crash, grabbed her first-aid bag and was about to get on her bicycle when she was spotted by a Military Police motorcyclist, probably stationed at Sidestrand Hall. Dorothy abandoned her bike, boarded the pillion of the motorcycle, and was probably the first of the three first-aiders to arrive.

Charlie Royall, acting as village 'special constable' attended the scene with John Bullimore. It is believed that Charlie and John entered the burning plane and it was they that laid out the deceased--Thomas Anderson, James Jacobs, Elmer Schmidt, Earl Richards and Robert Vandervort. S/Sgt Schmidt was buried at Cambridge American Cemetery, England, in Grave B-6-10. He was awarded the Purple Heart. There is no record on the interments of the remaining men.

The crew was flying B-24J #42-73505, nicknamed "FAIRY BELLE", Call Letter "S", which was on its 30th combat mission.

CREW LOADING LIST - MISSION #61