Raymond H Warns

Military

media-42119.png UPL 42119 2nd Lt Raymond H. Warns

Took a screenshot of the squadron photo on the page and singled out 2nd Lt Warns

Object Number - UPL 42119 - 2nd Lt Raymond H. Warns

After bombing the target of Lechfield, GR on 18 Mar 1944, B-17G #42-97515 'Little Runt' lost two engines and turned towards Switzerland and crash landed at Dubendorf airfield. Interned.

Connections

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Units served with

B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 92nd Bomb Group fly in formation over countryside. The aircraft, from left to right, are B-17G (NV-P, serial number 44-8354), B-17G (NV-U, serial number 42-97288) nicknamed "Flag Ship" and an unknown B-17G (NV-E) from the 325th Bomb Squadron. Image stamped on reverse: 'The R.L. Cavanagh Photo Collection' [stamp]. Handwritten caption on reverse: '48354, Little Runt. PFF.' [Caption refers to another B-17 nicknamed"Little Runt" either B-17G (NV-P, serial number 42-97515) or B-17

325th Bomb Squadron

Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

92nd Bomb Group

Unit Hierarchy: Group
Air Force: Eighth Air Force
Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

42-97515

Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Nicknames: Little Runt
Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 325th Bomb Squadron

Events

Event	Location	Date	Description
Born	St Paul, Minnesota, USA	24 July 1920	"I am one of the four - three surviving - sons of then Lt. Ray Warns, co-pilot of "Little Runt," a B-17 crew flying out of Poddington, and Dad was one of 92nd Bombardment Group's "Fame's Favored Few." "Little Runt got shot up south of Munich on her crew's thirteenth mission, and her pilots crash-landed her in Switzerland. All the crew members survived and were interned there, but I believe that they all at least tried to escape, and most were successful. Dad made it out on his second attempt, this time following the OSS pathway through occupied France with the French Underground, to whom our family owes its everlasting thanks. "Lt. Warns - dirty and haggard - returned to his unit in England, but was reassigned to the States and was finally stationed in Santa Barbara, California to await the expected general assault on Japan which was made unnecessary by the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "Lt. Warns returned to his hometown, St. Paul, Minnesota, after the war. He married his wife Ruth in 1947 - she's alive and pushing 91 - and he fathered four sons. Dad graduated from law school in 1952, and after a long career as a lawyer, he was appointed a U.S. Administrative Law Judge. He retired from that position in 1985, and passed away in 1995. "War leaves wounds, and the wounds of war linger longer in the survivors. Dad survived the war, and he got past his wounds, but his service with the Eighth Air Force was always the centerpiece of his life. "I am pleased that your website includes a photograph of Little Runt's crew - Dad is the tall one standing in the middle - but I am thrilled that you included a picture of them flying in a wonderfully tight formation. Dad would have thought it absolutely natural, but none of his sons had ever seen it, and we are deeply appreciative."
Died	Kingston, WA, USA	7 December 1995
Other Interned (INT)	Switzerland	18 March 1944

Event

Location

Date

Description

Born

St Paul, Minnesota, USA

24 July 1920

"I am one of the four - three surviving - sons of then Lt. Ray Warns, co-pilot of "Little Runt," a B-17 crew flying out of Poddington, and Dad was one of 92nd Bombardment Group's "Fame's Favored Few." "Little Runt got shot up south of Munich on her crew's thirteenth mission, and her pilots crash-landed her in Switzerland. All the crew members survived and were interned there, but I believe that they all at least tried to escape, and most were successful. Dad made it out on his second attempt, this time following the OSS pathway through occupied France with the French Underground, to whom our family owes its everlasting thanks. "Lt. Warns - dirty and haggard - returned to his unit in England, but was reassigned to the States and was finally stationed in Santa Barbara, California to await the expected general assault on Japan which was made unnecessary by the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "Lt. Warns returned to his hometown, St. Paul, Minnesota, after the war. He married his wife Ruth in 1947 - she's alive and pushing 91 - and he fathered four sons. Dad graduated from law school in 1952, and after a long career as a lawyer, he was appointed a U.S. Administrative Law Judge. He retired from that position in 1985, and passed away in 1995. "War leaves wounds, and the wounds of war linger longer in the survivors. Dad survived the war, and he got past his wounds, but his service with the Eighth Air Force was always the centerpiece of his life. "I am pleased that your website includes a photograph of Little Runt's crew - Dad is the tall one standing in the middle - but I am thrilled that you included a picture of them flying in a wonderfully tight formation. Dad would have thought it absolutely natural, but none of his sons had ever seen it, and we are deeply appreciative."

Died

Kingston, WA, USA

7 December 1995

Other

Interned (INT)

Switzerland

18 March 1944

Revisions

Date1 Dec 2020 04:52:03

Contributorjmoore43

Changes

Sources

Added a S/N from WWII Army Enlistment Records ar fold3.com.
Source: https://www.fold3.com/record/84603314-raymond-h-warns

Date5 Feb 2015 07:04:19

ContributorRaymond

Changes

Sources

Mark Warns

Date27 Sep 2014 18:22:08

ContributorAAM

Changes

Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 3226 / MACR 3226, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Raymond H Warns: Gallery (1 items)

Object number: UPL 42119 - 2nd Lt Raymond H. Warns