Delivered Cheyenne 20/8/42; Wayne 6/11/42; West Palm Beach, Fl 14/12/43; Assigned 322BS/91BG [LG-S] Bassingbourn 1/1/43 HEAVYWEIGHT ANNIHILATORS No.2; battle damaged 22/6/43, repaired & transferred 324BS; 17m crash landed Manston on return from Schweinfurt 17/8/43 with Jim Judy, Co-pilot: Roger Layn, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Earl Cherry Wounded in Action (3 Returned to Duty); Navigator: Ed DeCoster, Bombardier: Lewis Allen, Radio Operator: Virgil Faust, Ball turret gunner: Chas Baiano, Waist gunner: Ray Tarbell, Waist gunner: Vince Lala, Tail gunner: Paul Burton (7 Prisoner of War); severe damage by flak with 500+ holes but remaining crew brought aircraft back to crash landed on grass at RAF Manston, UK; Salvaged Cat E. Missing Air Crew Report 283. MY PRAYER.

Reference to it being a 324th BS aircraft is possibly a mistake, as the original Heavyweight Annihilators (41-24482) flew with the 322BS and was coded LG-S, and Heavyweight Annihilators No.2 was a direct replacement and was flown by the same pilot (Don Bader). 

Transcription from MACR 283

This A/C reached a point 15 – 20 miles Southeast of Frankfurt. Three 20mm hits exploded in left wing and directly under the pilots compartment, setting fire to A/C. Immediately the navigator and bombardier bailed out. Due to smoke and fire the pilot temporarily lost control of the A/C but was able to bring it out of slow spin at 6,000 feet. Bombs were released safe by the pilot pulling emergency release. The top turret gunner who was already wounded in leg and chest fought the fires in pilots compartment while the co-pilot was act, directing the ditching of the waist gunners, radio operator and tail gunner. Co-pilot Layn saw to it that all harness adjustments were made before these men jumped. It was necessary to use force in some cases as the men would have jumped with their chutes improperly adjusted.

Layn stated that all chutes opened properly. All during this time there were persistent enemy attacks. After learning that Cherry was wounded and burned and that Cherry’s parachute had burned up, Lt. Judy decided to try and make home; fires broke out intermittently but were brought under control by Cherry and Layn who in their spare time continued to fire at the enemy fighters.

Layn burned out both waist guns. Judy immediately lost altitude until he was at 100 feet then came across enemy and enemy occupied territory on a zig zag course. Landing was made at RAF Manston, England. T/Sgt. Cherry was hospitalised at Manston.

This observation was made by 2Lt. James D. Judy