Russell William Polivka
MilitaryLt. Russell W. Polivka was a navigator, and part of the replacement crew assigned to the B-24D Liberator, 41-11768, Kickapoo, in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, for Operation Tidal Wave over Ploesti, Romania. Flown by Lt. Robert Nespor and Lt. John C. Riley, Kickapoo, crashed shortly after taking off for the mission, losing an outboard (#4) engine just after getting airborne, which, then, caught fire while the pilots were banking back toward the field to try to land. After bouncing and drifting off the centerline of the runway, their left wing hit a concrete pole, cartwheeling the plane into the ground in a fireball of flames. Lt. Russell Polivka, the navigator and fellow crewman Staff Sgt. Eugene Garner, their engineer/gunner, were the only two men to escape alive from the burning and wrecked airplane and survive their burns. 8 KIA - 2 WIA. 1 Aug 43.
~ The B-24D - Kickapoo's Replacement Crewmen For The Ploesti Mission 1943 :
1st Lt. Robert J. Nespor - Pilot (KIA)
2nd Lt. John C. Riley - CoPilot (KIA) Detached Service from 93rd BG
2nd Lt. Russell W. Polivka - Navigator / nose gunner (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
2nd Lt. Thurman L. Ward - Bombardier (KIA) D.S. from the 93rd Bomb Group
TSgt. Vaun D. Wenrich - Top Turret Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
TSgt. Armand R. Massart - Radio Operator (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
SSgt. George W. Lawlor - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
SSgt. Edwin G. Sliwa - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
SSgt. Eugene R. Garner - Gunner (WIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
SSgt. John P. D'Armour - Gunner (KIA) D.S. from 93rd BG
Due to the abort after takeoff and subsequent crash, Lt. Nespor's crew did not receive mission credit and their names do not appear in the official AAF History Roster of Personnel for DFCs.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 389th Bomb Group 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron 567th Bomb Squadron 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18124310
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 33278362
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Radio Operator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 18051855 / O-435980
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 16006213 / O-?
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron 98th Bomb Group 344th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-519127
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 1 August 1943
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Neenah, WI, USA | 8 June 1919 | Son of William and Ina [Carpenter] Polivka. |
Enlisted |
Milwaukee, WI | 7 September 1940 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
Other Wounded in Action |
Benghazi, Libya | 1 August 1943 | Navigator B-24 liberator 41-11768 'Kickapoo' of 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. Crashed shortly after take-off for the 1-Aug-43 low-level Ploesti, Romania mission. She lost an engine just after getting airborne and then caught fire while banking back toward the field to land, then a wing touched the ground and she smashed into a concrete pole and burst into flames. WIA. |
Other Hospitalised |
1 August 1943 - 1 February 1945 | Year and a half reconstructive surgery for burns from accident. | |
Died |
Neenah, WI, USA | 28 April 2005 | |
Other Assigned |
Benghazi, Libya | 344th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. | |
Buried |
St Margaret's Cemetery Neenah, WI | St Margaret's Cemetery Neenah, Wisconsin, USA. |
Revisions
Wording and punctuation changes for clarity - John S Young Jr ----- Personal Archives - John S Young Jr
Merged with duplicate entry to include details from:
- the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia ;
- Ted's Traveling Circus