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Military
Capt. Norman Matthew Whalen
Norman Whalen - Harold Korger
'Hail Columbia''s Ploesti Mission Officers' Flight Crew : From left - Copilot Lt. John S. Young - Bombardier Lt. Harold Korger - Navigator Lt. Norman Whalen, August, 1943.
B-24D 'Hail Columbia' After Crash Landing at Nicosia, Cyprus - Aug 1, 1943 - Lt Gilbert Hadley, one of the shot up stragglers from the 344th Bomb Squadron joined up with and followed his group leader's ship, John Kane's 'Hail Columbia' south out of Ploesti through Turkey, heading for the British air base at Nicosia, Cyprus. Hadley and his copilot, Lt. James Lindsey , were caught in their bomber's crushed cockpit section after attempting a water ditching off the Turkish coast and were drowned - KIA. August 1, 1943. - From left : Lt. Harry Korger Bombardier - Lt. Norman Whalen Navigator/nose gunner - kneeling, second from right, 1st Lt. Raymond Hubbard Radio operator/ gunner, and crew, the next morning after the Ploesti mission, Monday August 2nd, 1943.
'Hail Columbia' crashed and wrecked on Cyprus Island - Center Photo Between #3 and #4 Engines - Col. John Kane with Lt. John Young, center. Lt. Norman Whalen facing camera. Notice the men closely looking at the #4 engine, which is partly off it's mounts. It had taken a direct flak hit over White IV, which destroyed the engine. Aug 2, 1943
# 42-40753 ~ B-24D 'OLE KICKAPOO' - Command Pilot 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes, Copilot 2ndLt. Ronald Helder, and Crew 1943. Aircraft was lost at Campina, Ploesti with both pilots and all crewmen, except two, KIA. Two crewmen survived the crash, WIA on "Operation Tidal Wave" 1 Aug 1943 - Pilot Lt. Lloyd "Pete" Hughes was awarded the Medal Of Honor for his determination to press on and bomb his target without regard to his life and safety. His copilot, Lt. Ronald Helder was awarded The Distinguished Service Cross. - All crewmen on 'Ole Kickapoo' were awarded The Distinguished Service Cross and The Distinguished Flying Cross for their bravery, skill, and sacrifice in participation with Operation Tidal Wave. Pilot: 2Lt Lloyd H. Hughes, Jr. KIA : Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously Co-Pilot: 2Lt Ronald L. Helder. KIA : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Navigator: 2Lt Sidney A. Pear. KIA : Died of wounds August 6, 1943, surgery hospital in Campina, Rumania : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Bombardier: 2Lt John A. McLoughlin. KIA : Escaped burning wreckage - Died of wounds on August 3, 1943, surgery hospital in Campina, Rumania : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Engineer/Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt Joseph E. Mix. KIA : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Radio Operator: T/Sgt Louis N. Kase. KIA : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Waist Gunner: S/Sgt Malcolm C. Dalton. KIA : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Waist Gunner: S/Sgt Edmond H. Smith. WIA POW : Distinguished Service Cross Tail Gunner: S/Sgt Thomas A. Hoff. WIA POW : Distinguished Service Cross Tunnel Gunner: Sgt Avis K. Wilson. KIA : Distinguished Service Cross posthumously Full names: Pilot: 2Lt Lloyd Herbert Hughes, Jr. Co-Pilot: 2Lt Ronald Lee Helder Navigator: 2Lt Sidney Allen Pear Bombardier: 2Lt John A. McLoughlin Engineer/Top Turret Gunner: T/Sgt Joseph Elzie Mix Radio Operator: T/Sgt Louis Norman Kase/Kassowitz Waist Gunner: S/Sgt Malcolm Clay Dalton Waist Gunner: S/Sgt Edmond Howard Smith Tail Gunner: S/Sgt Thomas Albert Hoff Tunnel Gunner: Sgt Avis Kenneth Wilson
B-24D - CoPilot Lt. John S. Young - With Lt. Harold Korger, bombardier, and Lt. Norman Whalen, navigator and nose gunner, on 'Hail Columbia' after the Ploesti raid. August 1, 1943.
Operation Tidal Wave - Last Briefing. - 1943
Norman Whalen joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. After graduating from Navigator School in Monroe, Louisiana, he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron in North Africa where he flew numerous combat missions, including Operation Tidal Wave, the famous low level B-24 bombing raid over the oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania, August 1, 1943.
Lt. Whalen normally flew as navigator and nose gunner on Lt. John Young's B-24D, "Kickapoo", but he and his crew were specially chosen by, and assigned to fly with, Col. John R. Kane on his plane, "Hail Columbia", for the raid on Ploesti. This proved fortunate for Lt. Whalen, Lt. John Young, and the rest of "Kickapoo" 's regular crew because the "Kickapoo" lost several engines in succession and crashed in flames just after takeoff for the Ploesti mission, killing all but two of the replacement crewmen. Having already escaped death once on the mission, Whalen, and his crew's odds for survival looked even worse as they approached and began their final low level run into their target, the Astra Romano Refinery at Ploesti. As Whalen saw the walls of smoke and flames, the heavy anti aircraft ground fire, and the explosions and fierce fires that "Hail Columbia" was approaching and, then, began flying through, nearing their target refineries, and as his plane began to be hit by the terrible anti- aircraft guns, he thought and later wrote, "I thought I was going to die. I thought we all were all going to die ! I never thought we would ever get out of there alive."
For flying as Col. John Kane's group lead navigator navigator, and also for his bravery and exceptional navigational skill on the Ploesti mission, for successfully plotting courses to Ploesti and, then, for navigating "Hail Columbia" and a group of other damaged B-24s safely out of Romania and all the way back south to the British airfield on the Greek Island of Cyprus, Norman Whalen was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After his 36th combat mission, Lt. Whalen was assigned to Mountain Home Air Field, Idaho, where he trained cadets in flight navigation until September 1944. At that time, he requested reassignment back to the 98th Bomb Group, and he flew an additional 39 bombing raids with his original unit. Whalen's combat medals include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with 11 bronze oak leaf clusters and 2 silver oak leaf clusters.
In 1945 Norman Whalen, also known as "The Baron", was the subject of a short story about his extraordinary navigation disciplines and skills, especially coming home from Ploesti, in the "Air Force" magazine article about the Ploesti mission, "He Brought Us Home", written by his pilot, Capt. John S. Young. Major Whalen was honorably discharged from The U.S. Army Air Corps in 1946 with the rank of Major. Whalen returned home to Denton Texas, and taught at North Texas University for many years. --- He died Feb. 27, 2008.
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
First Lieutenant Gilbert Benny Hadley was a B-24D Liberator bomber pilot with the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 344th Bombing Squadron, from Texas, based at Cairo, Egypt, Tobruk, and Benghazi, Libya, in the Mediterranean...
Military | First Lieutenant | Radio Operator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Raymond B. Hubbard was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bombardment Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron in Libya, North Africa, 1943. He took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying as a Waist Gunner and...
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
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Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane (January 5, 1907 – May 29, 1996) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Air Force. He received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, for his...
Military | Colonel | Bombardier Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Harold Korger was a bombardier in the 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. He flew on the famous mission, Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, to knock out the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. ...
Military | Captain | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Royden Louis LeBrecht was a B-24 Command pilot of the B-24D, #4111761, The 'Squaw' in North Africa in 1942-43. Lt. Lebrecht flew on Operation Tidal Wave, the Aug 1 1943 Ploesti raid, with the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, and the 344th...
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Pilot Lt. Sam Neeley flew his B-24D, named, 'Raunchy' on "Operation Tidal Wave", the famous bombing raid to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, one of the most desperate and daring bombing raids of WWII.
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Military | Major | Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Robert Sternfels was a B-24D command bomber pilot in WWII in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombing Group, the Pyramiders, and the 345th Bombing Squadron, who flew the famous B-24D bomber, 'The Sandman' on the mission Operation Tidal Wave to bomb the...
Military | Major | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lieutenant John S. Young was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Bored with college at SMU in Dallas, and knowing the country was headed for war, he joined the Army Air Force early in 1941 and began training as an aviation cadet. He was known as "Johnny"...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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Squadron
The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D 'Joisey Bounce' was assigned to Pilot Col. Walter T. Stewart of the 330 Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force, for the famous mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, Aug 1,1943. Col. Stewart changed his assigned plane...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named 'The Sandman' and flown by Lt. Robert Sternfels in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, flew on the famous mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. Lt. Sternfels flew in...
B-24 Liberator
- Not to be confused with #42-30406, 'THE VULGAR VIRGIN' of the 8th Air Force - 93rd Bomb Group - 328th Bomb Squadron - Also flew on the Ploesti mission by Pilot Lt. Claude Turner - Interned Turkey Aug 1, 1943 - Lt. Turner escaped from the Turks and...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named 'Hadley's Harem' was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's personal airplane and the one he flew on the mission to destroy Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti Romania in 1943.
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B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 'Hail Columbia', # 41-11825, originally served in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron. It was, first, the 344th Squadron's CO, Col. John R. Kane's, personal aircraft until Kane became the 98th Bomb Group's...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator 41-11768, 'KICKAPOO', was piloted by Lt. John S. Young from Dallas, Texas as part of the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron, which arrived in North Africa in early 1943. This airplane and was Lt...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57 B...
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
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| 29 August 2020 20:37:02 | decwriter | Changes to service number |
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NARA file verified officer number. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 May 2019 12:44:22 | Kickapoo | Changes to place associations |
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Findagrave ---- Into The Fire - Duane Schultz ---- Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 March 2019 09:14:02 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Air Force Magazine - "He Brought Us Home" - by Capt. John S. Young |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 March 2019 08:49:03 | Kickapoo | Changes to role and biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Air Force Magazine - "He Brought Us Home" - by Capt. John S. Young |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 March 2019 08:24:35 | Kickapoo | Changes to unit associations and place associations |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Air Force Magazine - "He Brought Us Home" - by Capt. John S. Young |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 March 2019 08:19:14 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill Air Force Magazine - "He Brought Us Home" - by Capt. John S. Young |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 October 2018 02:15:51 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Black Sunday - Michael Hill Find A Grave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 August 2018 08:16:10 | Kickapoo | Changes to media associations |
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Find A Grave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 August 2018 07:49:28 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Find A Grave - Norman M. Whelan |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 March 2018 07:40:18 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
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Operation Tidal Wave |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 January 2018 05:48:57 | Kickapoo | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nickname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, person associations, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
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www.liberalarts.txstate.edu/about/news/anthropologynews - Dr. Norman M. Whalen - College of Liberal Arts - Texas State University |
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