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B-24 Liberator
"Satan's Chariot" # 41-24025 was assigned to the 93rd Bomb Group / 409th Bomb Squadron. Despatched on 31 March 1943 to bomb the Rotterdam shipyards in the Netherlands, all the 93rd BG's aircraft didn't reach the target because of heavy cloud cover and were recalled. 41-24025 was last seen with one engine on fire heading for England. Aircraft crashed at sea. Pilot 1st Lt Bill F. Williams; Co-Pilot 1st Lt Earl C. Kent; Navigator 1st Lt Richard H. Schoenberger; Bombardier 1st Lt Carlus Turner; Engineer/Top Turret gunner T/Sgt Alfred I. Windle; Radio Operator T/Sgt Louis B. Kirkpatrick; Ball Turret gunner Sgt Lester C. Rambo; Right Waist gunner S/Sgt James N. Thomas; Left Waist gunner S/Sgt Wilber H. Elliott; Tail Gunner S/Sgt Vincent O. McMahon Jr. The body of Sgt Alfred I. Windle washed up on the coast of Kent, England on 23 July 1943. His 9 comrades are still listed as Missing In Action (MIA). No Missing Air Crew Report.
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...
Squadron
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Wilber Elliott was Left Waist gunner on B-24 41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Earl Kent was Co-Pilot on B-24 41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 93rd Bomb Group
Louis Kirkpatrick was Radio Operator on B-24 #41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Vincent McMahon was Tail Gunner on B-24 41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Lester Rambo was Ball Turret gunner on B-24 #41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 93rd Bomb Group
Richard Schoenberger was the Navigator on B-24 #41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action ...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
James Thomas was Right Waist gunner on B-24 41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 93rd Bomb Group
Carlus Turner enlisted in the Air Corps a few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was sent to various bases and was stationed at the Midland Army Flying School - Class 42-7 in June 1942, training as a Bombardier. He was credited for the sinking...
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Bill Williams was Pilot of B-24 41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). Still listed as Missing In Action (MIA)
Military | Technical Sergeant | Engineer / Top Turret Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Alfred Windle was Engineer/Top Turret gunner on B-24 #41-24025 'Satan's Chariot' on the 31 March 1943 mission to Rotterdam. The plane was last seen heading for England and was lost in the North Sea. Killed in Action (KIA). His body was washed ashore on...
31 March 1943
The shipyards ar Rotterdam, Holland are the primary target. 78 B-17s are despatched: 91BG (20); 303BG (20); 305BG (19) and 306BG (19). The weather prevents bombing by 91BG and 306BG reducing the total effective on the target to 33 of the 78 despatched....
Military site : airfield
Planned as an RAF bomber airfield, Hardwick was used first by the 310th Bomb Group, equipped with B-25 Mitchells. In December 1943, the B-24 Liberators of the 93rd Bomb Group moved in, and remained until the end of the war, flying over 330 missions....
Not yet known
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2016 12:44:03 | ED-BB | Created entry with serial number, aircraft type, production block number, manufacturer, nicknames, description, unit associations, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
41-24025's crew members had page on the site but not that aircraft they went down with on 31 March 1943... |
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