James Cruchon
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
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Paul P Bensel
Military
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Paul P. Bensel Pilot 388th BG - 562nd BS In his pre-war National Guard uniform
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Paul Bensel Crew 388th BG - 562nd BS Standing Left to Right: Robert B. Leventhal (N), Paul P. Bensel (P), Phillip H. Pick (B), Glenn E. Kofoed (CP) Kneeling Left to Right: Glinford E. Walls (LWG), Victor J. Stackniewicz (BTG), Leander A. Haschke (FE), Bonnie Skloss (WG), Kenneth R. Willis (R/O), James H. Cruchon (TG) Lieutenant Paul Bensel and his crew of the 388th Bomb Group stand with a bomb, personally addressed to Hitler, and their B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-5954) nicknamed "Mister Yank II" before the Regensburg Raid, August 1943. A B-17 nicknamed "Homesick Angel" is visible in the background.
Service
People
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Leander Haschke
Military | Technical Sergeant | Flight Engineer | 388th Bomb Group
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Glenn Kofoed
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot/Pilot | 388th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak enroute to the Marshalling Yards at Frankfurt and again on the return on 4 Feb 1944 in B-17F 42-3500. Most of crew baled out, pilot was wounded so LtCol Alford, the H2X operator, made a forced landing near Winterswijk, Holland.... -
Robert Leventhal
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 388th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) 16 September 1943 AM w/ Oak Leaf Cluster -
Philip Pick
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 388th Bomb Group
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Bonnie Skloss
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
various sources list his middle name as "no middle name/initial", Anton, Anthony -
Victor Stachniewicz
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
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Glinford Walls
Military | Technical Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 388th Bomb Group
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Kenneth Willis
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Radio Operator | 388th Bomb Group
Units served with
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388th Bomb Group
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... -
562nd Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-30212 Quarterback
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/4/43; Sioux City 14/5/43; Smoky Hill 11/6/43; Dow Fd 16/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 17/6/43; transferred Aphrodite project, Missing in Action V-sites, Watten 6/8/44 with Lt Joeseph P Andrecheck & T/Sgt Raymond Healy (2... -
42-30317 Second Chance
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 13/5/43; Smoky Hill 30/5/43; Dow Fd 15/6/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 17/6/43; Missing in Action Bremen 26/11/43 with Bill McCown, Co-pilot: Bill Stantial, Navigator: Winston Hall, Bombardier: Vince McHugh, Flight engineer... -
42-5954 Mister Yank II
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Long Beach 30/5/43; Kearney 10/6/43; Dow Fd 7/7/43; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 11/7/43; Returned to the USA 30/3/44. Salvaged 4/1/46. MR YANK II.
Missions
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VIII Bomber Command 75
24 July 1943
Three targets in Norway are the primary targets for this first mission flown by 8th AIr Force to Norway. They are the nitrate works at Heroya and the port areas at Trondheim and Bergen. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (22)... -
VIII Bomber Command 76
25 July 1943
This mission was composed of three elements. The primary targets were the diesel engine works at Hamburg, Germany; the shipyards at Kiel, Germany and the aircraft industries at Warnemude, Germany, but weather frustrated the effort. The first element... -
VIII Bomber Command 78
28 July 1943
The German aircraft industry at Kassel (Fieseler works) and Oscherleben, Germany are the primary targets of this mission. 182 B-17s from: 91BG (20); 92BG (17); 303BG (20); 305BG (21); 306BG (24); 351BG (21); 379BG (19); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are... -
VIII Bomber Command 79
29 July 1943
The primary targets for this mission are the port facilities at Kiel, Germany and the Heinkel aircraft factories at Warnemunde, Germany. A combined force of 168 B-17s from: 91BG (18); 92BG (14 these included 1 Y-B40 gunship); 305BG (19); 306BG (18);... -
VIII Bomber Command 80
30 July 1943
The aircraft factories at Kassel, Germany are the primary targets for this mission. The mission is flown by two elements of B-17s which attack 15 minutes apart. The firts element is a combined force of 119 B-17s from: 91BG (20); 303BG (23); 351BG (21);... -
VIII Bomber Command 81
12 August 1943
This mission is separated into two elements. The first element is a combined force of 183 B-17s from 1st Bomb Division: 91BG (22); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (20); 306BG (20); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (20); and 384BG (20) are dispatched to bomb... -
VIII Bomber Command 82
15 August 1943
German airfields in Holland and France are the targets for this mission. All of the attacks were made late in the afternoon just prior to sunset. The mission is composed of two elements. The first element is a combined force of 180 B-17s from: 91BG (20... -
VIII Bomber Command 84
17 August 1943
The mission flown on 17-Aug-43, the 1st anniversary of the 1st mission flown by the 8th Air Force, is probably the most written about mission of the war. This is the famous Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission on which 60 B-17s are lost. It has been dubbed ... -
VIII Bomber Command 86
24 August 1943
The 8th Air Force is intent on dishing out some "pay back" to the Luftwaffe for the toll it took on bombers of the 17-Aug-43 mission to Schweinfurt/Regensburg. So, This mission has three attack elements and a diversion element. The attack elements are... -
VIII Bomber Command 88
31 August 1943
This mission is composed of two elements. The first element is composed of 170 B-17s from: 91BG (16); 92BG (19); 303BG (20); 305BG (18); 306BG (18); 351BG (21); 379BG (21); 381BG (19); and 384BG (18). The primary target for this element is German...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Ridgefield Park, NJ | 6 February 1922 |
| Enlisted | Teaneck, NJ | 16 September 1940 |
| 388th BG Combat Tour | Knettishall Airfield, UK | 24 July 1943 – 29 November 1943 |
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19 Combat Missions |
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| Died | Louisville, KY | 12 April 2010 |
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BENSEL, PAUL P. SR., 88, of Louisville, passed away at Baptist Hospital East on Monday, April 12, 2010 after a brief illness. He was a native of Richfield Park, N.J. and a retired Major with the U.S.A.F.. He was a aircraft commander, path finder lead crew in World War II and a strategic air command and select lead crew with the B29 and B50. He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict. He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Marjorie Bensel. He leaves to cherish his memory, his children, Paul P. Jr. (Betty), Kathleen, Michael T., Mitch, and David Bensel and Joan M. Medert (Terry); 13 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. His Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 10 a.m. at St. Barnabas Catholic Church, 3042 Hikes Lane, Louisville, KY 40220, with burial in Evergreen Cemetery. Visitation will be on Thursday, April 15, 2010 from 1-8 p.m. at Arch L. Heady at Resthaven, 4400 Bardstown Road. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Catholic Charities. Please visit us at www.archlheadyresthaven.com |
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| Buried | Louisville, KY | 16 April 2010 |
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Evergreen Cemetery |
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Revisions
