42-102703 Pella Tulip
Uploaded
Delivered Cheyenne 26/3/44; Kearney 14/4/44; Grenier 29/4/44; Assigned 532BS/381BG [VE-M] Ridgewell 22/5/44; 30+m battle damaged Cologne 16/10/44 with Chas Reseigh; two minutes before bombs away a flak hit smashed cockpit and nose comp. Pilot Reseigh severely wounded and cp Dave Rautio knocked unconscious by shrapnel; ice cold air revived him whose oxygen mask, goggles and flak helmet torn away; instruments were all out, while blood from Reseigh’s head wounds, shattered left arm and leg splattered everything, plus the plexi-glass over the navigator Maryan Winicki’s astrodome was shattered. Four hours later frostbitten and nearly blinded by the open cockpit Rautio skidded in at an US base on the English Channel coast. En route home engineer Nushy extinguished the fire, bombardier Paul Smith closed the bomb bay doors, and along with radio op Leon Kaplan, ball turret man Herb Penner and waist gunner Erling Anderson hand cranked the wheels down, and they made it back, just missing out on colliding with another ship; Salvaged 2 SAD 16/10/44. PELLA TULIP.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 12158504
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 37345739
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Flight Engineer; Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 17144841
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 381st Bomb Group 532nd Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16138760 / O-768663
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-pilot
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Delivered |
Cheyenne AAF, WY | 26 March 1944 | Delivered Cheyenne AAF 26-Mar-44. |
Assigned |
Ridgewell, Halstead, UK | 22 May 1944 | Assigned 532BS, 381BG, 8AF USAAF. |
Other Severe battle damaged RTD |
Cologne, Germany | 16 October 1944 | Battle damaged Cologne 16-Oct-44 with Chas Reseigh crew; 3 x WIA, 10 x RTD No MACR |
Manufactured |
Long Beach, CA | Built at Boeing. |
Revisions
https://www.fold3.com/image/55664731
Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II By Nicholas A. Veronico