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10 February 1944
The wreck of a B-24 Liberator (serial number 42-100046) of the 389th Bomb Group, 2 October 1944. Official caption on image: "(GAD-2-7-61SC)(2-10-44)(A/C No. 2100046 - B-24)." Handwritten on reverse: '389BG. Taverham.' On reverse: John H. Woolnough [Stamp].
Not yet known
This mission is a despatch of two separate formations. One formation is a combined force of 169 B-17Fs from 3rd Bomb Division: 94BG; 95BG; 96BG; 100BG; 385BG; 388BG; 390BG; 447BG; and 482BG despatched to bomb the industrial areas of Brunswick, Germany. German fighter resistance is fierce and fighter escort is hampered by weather and missed rendevous. Heavy bomber losses are horrendous with the equivalent of an entire Bomb Group lost. 143 aircraft are effective on the target, 2 of these on Targets of Opportunity. 29 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) 99KIA 190POW 2EVD. 52 aircraft are damaged. 2 airmen are KIA and 3 others WIA in returing aircraft. The bomber gunners claim 42-30-61 of attacking German aircraft but the totals are probably exaggerated.
The second formation is a combined force of 81 B-24s from 2nd Bomb Division: 93BG; 389BG; 445BG; 446BG; 448BG; and 453BG are despatched to bomb the German airfield at Glize-Rijen, Holland. Dense contrails and smoke hamper bombing and only 27 aircraft are effective on the target. No aircraft are lost to enemy action but 4 aircraft are Damaged Beyone Repair (DBR) - 26KIA 15RTD. 1 of these caught fire and exploded, 1 crashed due to ising on the wings, 1 was believed to have had a mid-air collision with a P-47; and the other sustained a mechanical failure as crashed on return. 26 airmen wer KIA and 14 WIA in returning aircraft. The bomber gunners of this formation made no claims on enemy aircraft.
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
B-17 Flying Fortress
Not yet known
| Tonnage dropped | 4.97 |
| Number of aircraft Sent | 2 |
| Number of aircraft Effective | 2 |
INDUSTRIAL AREA
B-17 Flying Fortress
The formations came under heavy German fighter resistance and some of the planned fighter escort were not able to perform the escort. As a result the formations incurred devestating losses.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Group
The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Col. Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9...
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Group
The 390th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Framlingham, Suffolk, between July 1943 and the end of the war in Europe. The Group was engaged in strategic missions until the invasion of Europe when its role became more of a tactical one. This...
Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Group
The 452nd Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deopham Green, Norfolk, from January 1944. The air crews hit strategic sites in Germany but also supported the movement of ground forces across Europe after D-Day. On 6 June 1944 itself, the Group...
Group
The 482nd Bomb Group was a Pathfinder Group, which using radar-equipped aircraft to support bombing missions until March 1944. Aircraft from this Group went ahead of other Bombers and sent information back about the best routes to take and the extent...
Group
Activated 15 June 1942 at MacDill Field, Florida. Initial organization and training at Pendleton Field, Oregon on 29 June 1942. Primary flight training at Davis-Monthan Field in Arizona from 28 Aug. 42 to 31 Oct. 42; then at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas...
Group
The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August...
Group
The 96th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses to targets across occupied Europe from May 1943 to April 1945.
...
| Tonnage dropped | 350.10 |
| Number of aircraft Sent | 169 |
| Number of aircraft Effective | 141 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 29 |
| Number of aircraft Damaged | 52 |
| Number of people Killed In Action | 101 |
| Number of people Wounded in Action | 3 |
| Number of people Evaded | 2 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 190 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Destroyed by Bomber Command | 42 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Probably Destroyed by Bomber Command | 30 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Damaged by Bomber Command | 61 |
AIRFIELD
B-24 Liberator
Dense contrails and frost keep most from attacking.
Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
Group
The 445th Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators from Tibenham, Norfolk. The crews' first mission was bombing U-boat installations at Kiel on 13 December 1943. The Group continued to hit strategic targets in Germany, including the aircraft components factory...
Group
The 446th Bomb Group, who came to be known as "the Bungay Buckaroos" after the name of their Suffolk base, flew B-24 Liberators on strategic, support and interdictory missions over Europe. The Group led the Eighth Air Force and 2nd Bomb Division on the...
Group
The 448th Bombardment Group was organized on 6 April 1943 and activated on 1 May 1943 at Gowen Field, near Boise, Idaho. The initial training of the air crews took place in Florida. The entire group was assembled Wendover Field, Utah. Both air and...
Group
As well as strategic bombardment missions, the 453rd Bomb Group also ferried cargo on two occasions. They hauled petrol, blankets, and rations to France in September 1944 and dropped ammunition, food and medical supplies near Wesel during the airborne...
Group
93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1-March-1942 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15-May-1942 the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida to continue advanced flight training and also to fly anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico; they...
| Tonnage dropped | 71.00 |
| Number of aircraft Sent | 81 |
| Number of aircraft Effective | 27 |
| Number of aircraft Damaged Beyond Repair | 4 |
| Number of people Killed In Action | 26 |
| Number of people Wounded in Action | 14 |
| Number of people Returned To Duty | 15 |
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 95th Bomb Group
Damaged by fighter attacks on the return from a mission to Klein Machow, Berlin on 6 Mar 1944, B-17G #42-31299 'Junior' maintained formation until finally crashing NW of Beilen, Holland after the crew baled out. Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Lieutenant | Pilot | 95th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Wietmarschen, district Bad Bentheim, NE of Nordhorn, Germany on a mission to Brunswick on 10 February 1944 in B-17F #42-30609 "Pistol Packin' Mama". Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
Top Turret Gunner Roy Bass was an original member of the Robert E. Fischer crew. As he had not filled his quota of 25 missions like the others, he stayed behind and flew with Pilot Sidney Balman on 42-30609 'Pistol Packin' Mama' for his 24th mission,...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 445th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Hardenburg, Holland on a mission to Gotha, GR on 24 Feb 1944 in B-24H #42-7567 'Wacky Donald'. Killed in Action (KIA).
Military | Staff Sergeant (Technician Third Grade) | Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
He flew with Pilot Lt. Ray Cambell on 'Ray's Hell' The plane crashed in England but the crew escaped.
DFC, purple heart, etc
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 452nd Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed at Kemme, near Hildesheim, Germany on return from a mission to Brunswick on 10 February 1944 in B-17G #42-31338 'Hard To Get'. Prisoner of War (POW).
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 95th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Recke-Langenakker on a mission to Brunswick on 10 February 1944 in B-17G #42-37971. The crew that survived the attack baled out before the a/c broke up in the air. Prisoner of War (POW). Honorably discharged 28...
Military | Captain | Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Military | Colonel | Co-Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Edwin Carmell served as a co-pilot with the 563rd Bomb Squadron of the 388th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Knettishall, England.
Post war: Remained in USAF, serving in Korean and Vietnamese conflicts rising to the rank of Colonel.
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Radio Operator | 95th Bomb Group
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Nordhorn on a mission to Brunswick on 10 Feb 1944 in B-17G #42-97447. Killed in Action (KIA).
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 22/4/43; Smoky Hill 29/4/43; Tinker 12/5/43; Lincoln 21/5/43; Dow Fd 24/5/43; Assigned 410BS/94BG Earls Colne 28/5/43 GORGEOUS HUSSY; transferred 412BS/95BG [QW-O] Framlingham 6/6/43 CIRCE; 335BS [OE-O/L] Horham 12/6/43; 20m, Missing...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/6/43; Gr Isle 15/7/43; Dalhart 20/7/43; Rome 7/8/43; Presque Is 16/8/43; Assigned 335BS/95BG [OE-N] Horham 20/8/43; with L.G. Reno force landed RAF Hardwick, TG-Wilson wia 10/10/43. Flew 28 missions. Missing in Action Brunswick...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 13/9/43; Assigned 412BS/95BG [QW-Q] Horham 7/10/43; 19m Missing in Action Brunswick 10/2/44 with Clark Huddleston, Co-pilot: Jim Gholson, Navigator: Henry Levine, Bombardier: Earl McKenna, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Don...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/9/43; Gr Island 6/10/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 25/10/43; Missing in Action Brunswick 10/2/44 with Jim Feeney - not found till 25/2/44, Radio Operator: Norman Kajut, Waist gunner: Marion Forbis, Tail gunner: Lou LeFevre ...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 22/10/43; Walla Walla 10/11/43; Assigned 728BS/452BG Deopham Green 1/1/44. Missing in Action Brunswick 10 February 1944 with Pilot Kenneth D. Smith, Co-pilot: Robert R. Nixon, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Charles W. Hacic, Ball...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 6/12/43; Kearney 12/12/43; Romulus 17/12/43; Presque Is 19/12/43; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-G] Horham 26/12/43; 5m, Missing in Action Brunswick 10/2/44 with Jim Kelly, Co-pilot: John Orr, Bombardier: Frank Gilbert, Flight engineer/top...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 12/12/43; Kearney 30/12/43; RAF Nutts Corner 14/1/44; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 17/1/44; Missing in Action Liege 25/5/44 with Capt Jim Zengerle, Co-pilot: Albt Millin, Navigator: Walt Travis, Bombardier: Capt Wayne Barnett,...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 30/4/43; Dow Fd 13/6/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 14/6/43; on training mission 12/7/44 with Major Boardman Reed, Co-pilot: Major Melvin Buckner, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Paul Weathers, Radio Operator: Ora Kelsey, pass...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 28/8/43; Scott 16/9/43; Assigned 544BS/384BG Grafton Underwood 7/11/43; transferred 547BS [SO-N]; transferred to 364FG Leiston, Sfk, UK. 11/43; Returned to the USA Bradley 14/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 17/7/45; Reconstruction Finance...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 1/11/43; Gr Island 12/11/43; Assigned 335BS/95BG [OE-W] Horham 1/12/43; 8m, Missing in Action Brunswick 10/2/44 with Tony Tuberose, Co-pilot: Chas Kupka, Navigator: Melvin Spencer (spent only one night at Horham, never even unpacked...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 06 February 2016 22:04:54 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 6-Feb-2016. Added bomber gunner claims on enemy aircraft to Brunswick element statistics per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman and "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces", Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 February 2016 22:00:12 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 6-Feb-2016. Added 2 B-17s attacking TOs to Mission Narrative per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A, Freeman |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 February 2016 21:57:23 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to name and description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 6-Feb-2016. Added Mission Narrative per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:17 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
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