Shot down 8 April 1944 in B-24 42-110083. Killed in Action.



Two planes and crews were lost by the 67th Squadron plus one other that crashed in England, killing another crewman. 2nd Lt. Robert A. Mayes was the pilot of aircraft #42-110083-X and was probably one of the first 44th aircraft to go down. The MACR states that in the vicinity of Langenhagen Airdrome, at 1410 hours, Lt. Mayes gave orders to bail out on the interphone. The plane was on fire and in a spin. This plane had been hit by enemy aircraft before the target and went down. Sgt. Archie M. Thomas was the first to bail out, and probably the last, as his chute opened at about 400 feet. The plane exploded when it hit the ground. Archie Thomas wrote that there wasn't much that he could add to the data in the MACR. "We were hit by enemy aircraft fire on their initial pass through our formation. Our plane caught fire and went into a spin immediately, probably indicating that our pilots were injured, too. We had been flying in the "tail end Charlie" position. I am certain that the other men in the rear of our ship with me were KIA - William J. Burk, Roger J. Newton and Donald J. Logan. "The craft went down in a tight spin, on fire, and I was the first one to leave from the rear area. My chute opened probably no more than 150 feet from the ground. It is also safe to say that there were no other survivors. But I did see that there was another plane that went down at the same time that we did. "I spent my POW time in Stalag 17B until the war was over.



4/8/44 The 8th brought an ill-fated day for the Group - one of its worst so far as losses were concerned. On this mission briefed for Brunswick, Germany as primary eleven planes were lost to both flak and heavy fighter attacks. The 506th lost five, the 68th lost three, 67th lost two and the 66th one. The 44th sent out 38 aircraft ‎(8 were 67th)‎ with only 27 actually bombing. Take-off was at 0945 hours and return at 1625 hours. The Primary, Brunswick, as well as the secondary were obscurred by a smoke screen, so a target of opportunity Langenhagen A/D, was bombed instead. Bombing results were fair, with hits seen on the hangers on the northern end of the field. Claims of the Group were: 12 E/A destroyed, 6 probable and 1 damaged. Group Commander Colonel Gibson was Command Pilot leading the Group's formation and the 68th squadron reported bombing as "excellent". Losses: 66th A/C #42-99996 W piloted by 2nd Lt. W.M. Richardson ALL KIA 68th A/C #42-110020 Z piloted by 2nd Lt. W.B. Altemus 7 KIA 68th A/C #42-99987 S piloted by 2nd Lt. W.H. Barry 1 KIA 68th A/C #42-109822 0 piloted by 1st Lt. R.H. Townsend 5 KIA 506th A/C #42-109827 Q piloted by 2nd Lt. D.L. Sprinkle 6 KIA 506th A/C #42-73506 X piloted by 1st Lt. G.W. Johnson 1 KIA 506th A/C #42-100423 piloted by 2nd Lt. J.M. Winn All POW 506th A/C #41-29153 L piloted by 1st Lt. R.H. Marx All POW 506th A/C #42-110023 piloted by 2nd Lt. E.A. Herzing All POW 67th A/C #42-110083 X Mayes, Robert A. 2nd Lt. Pilot San Antonio, Texas Unreported; later KIA Russell, James F. 2nd Lt. Co-pilot Ashville, N.C. Unreported; later KIA Russell, Robert P. 2nd Lt. Navigator Ashville, N.C.? Unreported; later KIA Plaszczykowski, Edmund M. 2 Lt. Bombardier Chicago, Illinois Unreported; later KIA O'Neal, Charles E. S/Sgt. Engineer Cumberland, Maryland Unreported; later KIA Siegert, Paul C. S/Sgt. Radio Oper Toganoxie, Kansas Unreported; later KIA Logan, Donald J. Sgt. LW Gunner Peru, Indiana Unreported; later KIA Thomas, Archie M. Sgt. RW Gunner Palestine, Texas Officially reported POW Burk, William J. Sgt. Tail Tur. Talladega, Ala. Unreported; later KIA Newton, Robert J. Sgt. Ball Tur. Burlington, Vt. Unreported; later KIA Sgt. Thomas was the only one to parachute and then only at an altitude of approximately 400 feet. Plane spun all the way down.