8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force on February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945.
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41-28778
B-24 Liberator
Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Ludwigshaven. Hit by flak just after bombs away, causing a fire in the bomb bay and taking out #3 engine. A/C edged out of formation and dove straight down exploding in mid air and crashed at Viernhsim 31-Jul-44. 11 x RTD, 2 x KIA. MACR 7747.
"The Liberator “Hula Wahina II” of pilot Emil Berry was hit by flak over Ludwigshafen on 31 July 1944. The crew members parachuted along the line Idar-Oberstein - St. Wendel - Saarbrücken out of their bomber. Waist gunner Rudy Huddleston landed near Idar-Oberstein (Birkenfeld County), other crewmembers came down near Neunkirchen and Saarbrücken. Three of these men, among them the pilot, were shot by the SS in Saarbrücken. The empty ship hit the ground near Remereville (near Nancy) in France. Huddleston died in 1989".
Service
Units
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389th Bomb Group
Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943... -
564th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Emil Berry
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). Shot down by flak and crashed at Dudweiler in B-24 Hula Wahine II 42-52467. ... -
William Buchsbaum
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and baled out Viernhsim on 31-Jul-44 from B-24 41-28778. Prisoner of War (POW). Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
John Carswell
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW) Shot down by flak and crashed at Dudweiller on 7/31/44 in B-24 Hula Wahine II #4252467 POW -
Everett Cayford
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down on 25th mission in B-24 41-28778, 31-Jul-44. Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag Luft IV. During the winter of 1945 was forced to march west through Germany. Spent 3 weeks in German hospital and had surgery for appendicitis and other... -
Thomas Comi
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and baled out Viernhsim on 31-Jul-44 from B-24 41-28778. Prisoner of War (POW). Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
John Good
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 446th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA) Shot down by flak and crashed at Dudweiler in B-24 Hula Wahine II #4252467 -
Virgil Huddleston
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 446th Bomb Group
Prisoner of War (POW). Shot down by flak and crashed at Dudweiler on 7/31/44 in B-24 Hula Wahine II 42-52467 POW -
John Jircitano
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and baled out Viernhsim on 31-Jul-44 in B-24 41-28778. Prisoner of War (POW). Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Louis Koch
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and crashed at Viernhsim in B-24 41-28778 Killed in Action (KIA). Fighting fire in bomb bay with S/Sgt Marshall A Tharpe when a chute opened catching fire and engulfing them both. Awards: PH. -
Michael Koussa
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 389th Bomb Group
Shot down by flak and baled out Viernhsim on 31-Jul-44 from B24 41-28778. Prisoner of War (POW). Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME.
Places
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Hethel
Military site : airfield
Construction of Hethel airfield began in 1941, and was finished in late 1942. The number of hardstandings was increased from the planned 36 to 50 in 1942, in order to accommodate a full heavy bomb group. The 320th Bomb Group occupied the base for ten...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Manufactured | San Diego, CA, USA | 1943 |
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Built at Douglas. |
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| Delivered | California, USA | 1943 |
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Delivered to USAAF. |
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| Assigned | Hethel, Norwich NR14, UK | 1943 – 31 July 1944 |
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Assigned to 564BS, 389BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Crashed | Viernheim, Germany | 31 July 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) mission to Ludwigshaven. Shot down by flak and crashed at Viernhsim 31-Jul-44. 11 x RTD, 2 x KIA. MACR 7747. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 06 February 2019 13:43:59 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
http://www.flugzeugabstuerze-saarland.de/html/idar-oberstein.html |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 23 August 2016 11:24:00 | Al_Skiff | Changes to markings and description |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=41-28778 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 22 August 2016 20:23:20 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, description, events, unit associations, person associations and place associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/src/dbmsn.asp?SN=41-28778 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:05 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 7747 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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