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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42-40973
B-24 Liberator
B-24 #42-40973 "Battleaxe" 415th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF, flew 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Charles A Sayler, returning safely to Libya.
13th Nov 42, A/C flew through inaccurate flak and German fighter attacks which petered out the moment the P-38 escort fighters joined the fight. The port of Bremen was bombed at 11.47. A/C was hit by either flak or fighters and one engine was trailing smoke. Over the North Sea it started to glide out of formation, but under control. This was when the Bomb Group was within 20 minutes flying time to the English coast. No one had seen it crash or ditch, but in the following days and weeks, the bodies of five crew members washed ashore on the Dutch coast. 5 KIA 5 MIA/KIA. MACR 1375.
Crew:
Pilot 1st Lt. Harlan C Almlie, MN, Co Pilot 2nd Lt William E. Hacker, MA
Navigator 2nd Lt Joseph L Schexnayder, Garyville, LA, Bombardier 2nd Lt Walter J Seiler, IL
Engineer T/Sgt Donald A Davis, IL, Radio Op. T/Sgt Everett E Permar, IN
Belly Gun S/Sgt George W Iorgov, TX, RW Gunner S/Sgt John L Towning, CA,
LW Gunner S/Sgt John V Lundstrom, IN, Tail Turret S/Sgt Frederick A Robinson, NY.
Service
Units
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44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti... -
66th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
People
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Harlan Almlie
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA). -
Donald Davis
Military | Technical Sergeant | Top Turret Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA). -
Robert Felber
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Assigned to 66BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1-Aug-43, flying B-24 Liberator 41-23778 'Lady Luck'. 25 x combat missions. Moved up to Group Operations. ETD. Awards: DFC, AM (3OLC), WWII Victory, EAME. -
James Gover
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 389th Bomb Group
HIS HEART WAS BRAVE HE WAS UNAFRAID FOR HIS WAS THE SOUL WHICH HEROES ARE MADE. -
William Hacker
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA). -
George Iorgov
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe'. Killed in Action (KIA). -
John Lundstrom
Military | Staff Sergeant | Left Waist Gunner, Waist Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA). -
Claron Markham
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Assigned to 66BS, 44BG, 8AF USAAF. Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying B-24 Liberator 41-23778. 31 x combat missions. ETD ... -
Everett Permar
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator, Radio Operator Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA). -
Frederick Robinson
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 44th Bomb Group The Flying Eightballs
Shot down 13 November 1943 in B-24 #42-40973 'Battle Axe', Killed in Action (KIA).
Missions
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Operation Tidal Wave
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57... -
VIII Bomber Command 130
13 November 1943
The port area of Bremen, Germany is the focus of this mission composed of three elements. The first element is a combined force of 154 B0-17 of 1st Bomb Division including 94BG (16); 385BG (17); 95BG (21); 100BG (18); 390BG (21); 96BG (40); and 388BG ...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
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Flew 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Charles A Sayler, returning safely to Libya. |
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| Failed to Return (FTR) Over Water (OW) | English Channel | 13 November 1943 |
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13th Nov 42, A/C flew through inaccurate flak and German fighter attacks which petered out the moment the P-38 escort fighters joined the fight. The port of Bremen was bombed at 11.47. A/C was hit by either flak or fighters and one engine was trailing smoke. Over the North Sea it started to glide out of formation, but under control. This was when the Bomb Group was within 20 minutes flying time to the English coast. No one had seen it crash or ditch, but in the following days and weeks, the bodies of five crew members washed ashore on the Dutch coast. 5 KIA 5 MIA/KIA. MACR 1375. |
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| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | |
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415th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF. |
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Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 20 April 2015 17:25:45 | Al_Skiff | Changes to production block number, nicknames, description, events, unit associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
http://www.freewebs.com / http://www.aviationarchaeology.com / MACR 1375 / http://usaafdata.com |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:40:52 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
MACR 1375 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database |
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