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

Events

Event	Location	Date
Survived Ploesti	Ploiești, Romania	1 August 1943
Flew 1st Aug 43 Ploesti oil refinery raid piloted by Charles A Sayler, returning safely to Libya.
Failed to Return (FTR) Over Water (OW)	English Channel	13 November 1943
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.
Assigned	Benghazi, Libya
415th BS, 98th BG, 9th AF.