42-102515

media-33786.jpeg UPL 33786 The Crew Of 42-102515 on the day she went down after a collision with 42-97269
Row 1:
1/LT Joseph Borkowski, 2/LT Walter Hester, F/O William Ahearn, 1/LT Theodore Ream

Row 2:
T/SGT William Anderson, S/SGT Ralph Bazzell, S/SGT Wallace Young, S/SGT Ernest Grant, S/SGT Ralph Hagenmaier, T/SGT Ross Welch

Michael Young. Son of Wallace

Object Number - UPL 33786 - The Crew Of 42-102515 on the day she went down after a collision with 42-97269 Row 1: 1/LT Joseph Borkowski, 2/LT Walter Hester, F/O William...

Delivered Cheyenne 10/3/44; Gr Island 29/3/44; Grenier 7/4/44; Assigned 338BS/96BG [BX-J] Snetterton 8/4/44; Missing in Action Magdeburg 27/5/44 with Joe Borkowski, Co-pilot: Walt Hester, Navigator: Bill Ahearn, Bombardier: Theo Ream, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Ross Welch, Ball turret gunner: Bill Anderson, Waist gunner: Ralph Bazell, Waist gunner: Ralph Hagermaier (8 Killed in Action); Radio Operator: Ernie Grant(1 Evaded),Tail gunner Wallace Young (Prisoner of War); mid air coll with 42-97269 (96BG); crashed Massards Farm, Villy le Haut, nine miles SE of Le Treport, Fr. Missing Air Crew Report 5163.

There are two records of what happened from interviews with Ernest Grant and Wallace Young.

Ernest Grant "We were headed for Germany again, but we were over France when the plane took a sudden jerk. It stopped and started, like. And nobody could figure out what caused it. I came out of the turret, looked at the pilot, and he said he didn’t know and the next moment the plane just turned over and went into a spin headed for the ground. Just flipped over and heads into a spin, and of course we fly at 20,000 feet and I was looking out the front window. I could see the ground coming and we were headed down. I was on the ceiling, then we come around and I was on the floor and there was my chute. When you’re in the turret, you can’t wear it because it won’t fit in the turret, see. So when I come around and it was on the floor I tried to grab it and it wouldn’t come loose. So I was on the ceiling again, pretty soon around and round the floor and there it is again. So I grab it, and it’s loose. So I took the chute and I hooked the one side and in the meantime I’m looking out the window and I could see the ground getting closer and I didn’t know if I was going to get out of the plane. So all of a sudden I felt a big breeze coming form part of the plane. It was just like a big whirlwind, you know. And I kind of laid forward into this breeze and it took me right out of the plane. Now where that hole came from I don’t know, because the only thing I could ever think of was when this other plane and they cut our tail off that’s what made the plane jerk. It must have cut a hole close to where I was standing. You know, that’s the only possible answer I can give you where this hole came from. And what happened was a plane above us in a formation above us got hit and they came down and they cut the tail off our plane. That’s how the tailgunner got out when they cut the tail off, it just floats and he crawled out and him and I were the only two out of the two planes. There was 18 killed and two of us got out. But, when I got out of the plane I was floating. You float on the air and my chute was only hooked on the one side and I had to pull it down and hook the other side and I know the ground is getting closer. So I pulled the cord right away and I opened it up, the chute opened up and I looked around once and the next thing I know I was on the ground."



Wallace Young "Somewhere over the edge of France," he said, "we were attacked at 23,000 feet. I could see from my tail gun position my bomber was afire, but it seemed to be under control. As a safety measure, however, I reached back and started to harness on my parachute and a personal oxygen container.



"Just then the bomber next to mine exploded. A huge section of it crashed the tail of mine, splitting it wide open. I was thrown into the air, 23,000 feet up, with 'half a parachute'; that is, it was fastened to me and dangling.



"I managed to get it on properly. Had I had more parachute training I might have waited then until I was down to 3,000 or 4,000 feet before opening it, and I might have made my way back to fly again.



"But when you're alone 23,000 feet up, the first impulse is to get that chute open. I pulled the cord. The little pilot chute popped out and fluttered near my head. But I wanted that chute open fast, so I began to paw it out of the sack in great folds until it opened. Of course, the Germans could watch me all the way down, so I was a prisoner for the rest of the war."

Connections

See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.

Units served with

The insignia of the 96th Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Navigator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: waist gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 96th Bomb Group 338th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Other

Failed to Return (FTR)

France 27 May 1944

Revisions

Date
ContributorkstrykerAK
Changes
Sources

Snetterton Falcons II: The 96th Bomb Group in World War II by Robert E Doherty & Geoffrey Ward, Second Edition with Errata & Supplemental Information, Taylor Publishing, 1996. pages 143, 149, 293

Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

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Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

x

Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

Michael Young Son of Wallace Young

Date
ContributorRayWells
Changes
Sources

All Photos courtesy of Michael Young son of Wallace Young crewmember of 42-102515

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

Changed date from 'Missing in Action Magdeburg 27/5/45' to 'Missing in Action Magdeburg 27/5/44' to bring it in line with when each of the crew's entries list their aircraft as Failing to Return.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Dave Osborne, B-17 Fortress Master Log / MACR 5163 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

42-102515: Gallery (11 items)