8th Air Force
Command
41-24024
B-24 Liberator
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B-24 Liberator #41-24024 'Bewitching Witch'. This aircraft was loaned to the 44th Bomb Group for the August 1,1943 low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania. It was flown by a crew from the 67th Bomb Squadron. Badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire over the target, she was limping home when she was caught by fighters over the Ionian Sea and forced to ditch 127 km North of Benghazi, Libya. Two of the crew were trapped in the flooding aircraft and drowned, the other seven men were rescued by British Air-Sea Rescue personnel.
This aircraft was loaned to the 44th Bomb Group for the 1st Aug, 43 low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania. It was flown by 1st Lt Reginald L. Carpenters crew from the 67th Bomb Squadron. Badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire over the target, she was limping home when she was caught by fighters over the Ionian Sea and forced to ditch 127 km North of Benghazi,Libya. Two of the crew were trapped in the flooding aircraft and drowned, the other seven men were rescued by British Air-Sea Rescue personnel.
1st Lt. Reginald L. Carpenter - pilot, 2nd Lt. Edwin L. Rumsey, Jr. - copilot
2nd Lt. John E. Powell - navigator, 2nd Lt. Martin L. Kullman - bombardier
T/Sgt. Vincent E. Huenerberg - engineer, T/Sgt. Joseph F. Manquen - radio operator
S/Sgt. Rollin C. Looker - left waist gunner, S/Sgt. Walter L. Brown - right waist gunner (KIA)
S/Sgt. Frederick Durand - tail gunner (KIA)
Service
Units
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44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti... -
67th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Walter Brown
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Killed in Action (KIA) on Ploesti raid while TDY to 9thAF in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024 -
Reginald Carpenter
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
On October 1, 1943, on mission to Weiner Neustadt, ac# 42-41017 was attacked by fighters over the target. 2 engines were on fire when the B-24 exploded and crashed. 5 were Prisoner of War (POW)s as the other crew members were killed in action. Earlier... -
Frederick Durand
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Killed in Action (KIA) on Ploesti raid, was member of Carpenter's crew. Mission was Ploesti raid while TDY to 9thAF in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024. -
Vincent Huenerberg
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
RTD Crashed on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024 -
Martin Kullman
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
RTD Crashed while on Ploesti raid on 8/1/43 on TDY to 9thAF in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024 -
Rollin Looker
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner, Assistant Engineer | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Severely damaged by flak after making two bomb runs over the target of Friedrichshafen, GR on 18 Mar 1944, B-24 #42-100073 'Sack Artist' crashed near Dubendorf, Switzerland after the crew baled out. Interned. Earlier on 8/1/43 Ploesti raid while TDY to... -
Joseph Manquen
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
RTD Crashed on 8/1/43 while TDY to 9thAF on Ploesti raid in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024 -
John Powell
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down 22 April 1944 in B-24 #4263963. Prisoner of War (POW). On 8/1/43 was on loan to the 44thBG/67thBS for the Ploesti raid in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024. He was rescued after crash landing and returned to duty. Then Earlier 3 November 1943 ... -
Edwin Rumsey
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
RTD Crashed on 8/1/43 while on TDY to 9thAF for Ploesti raid in B-24 'Bewitching Witch' #4124024
Missions
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Operation Tidal Wave
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 B24Ds that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) | Ionian Sea | 1 August 1943 |
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Failed to Return - Ploesti oil refinery raid 1st Aug 43. Badly damaged by anti-aircraft fire over the target, she was limping home when she was caught by fighters over the Ionian Sea and forced to ditch 127 km North of Benghazi, Libya. Two of the crew were trapped in the flooding aircraft and drowned, the other seven men were rescued by British Air-Sea Rescue personnel. MACR 15859. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 16 March 2015 15:34:59 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, description, events, unit associations, person associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
AAM Database. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:01 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 15859 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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