42-95390 Rough Buddy
Complements to nose art.
Object Number - UPL 33215 - Rough Buddy nose art of 707th Bomber Squadron B-24 coded JU*U, s/n 42-95390, destroyed over Schirmeck on September 10, 1944. Note that all crew...
"Rough Buddy" was a four-engine heavy bomber of the B-24-H-30-FO type. "Rough Buddy" was originally flown by the crew of Alfred Knopf Jr., who would go on to become a distinguished publisher. According to a NY TImes obituary, Knopf flew 100 missions in "Rough Buddy", alongside his engineer, Richard E, Morton. "Rough Buddy"'s operational career ended in Alsace (eastern France) on September 10, 1944 while she was flying her 21st mission against Heilbronn marshalling yards (secondary target) in Southwestern Germany. While flying over Schirmeck, in the Eastern part of the Vosges mountains, Rough Buddy (code JU*U) got hit by German Flak at 10.38 am. She fell on Barembach village, in Schirmeck suburb, with her incendiary bomb load and crashed in Heydé street, burning 9 houses and killing one - houses were sometimes empty due to liberation battles which were starting in the nearby mountains. The crash was witnessed by 1st Free French Army NCOs. One airman only, S/Sgt Albert E. Forton (ball turret gunner), managed to bale out, landed in the German-occupied zone of Alsace and became POW in Stalag Luft 4 (Gross Tychow, now Tychowo in Poland). Unfortunately, all other crew members deceased in the crash : 2Lt Clarence B Jr Lloyd (pilot) 2Lt John M Barksdale (copilot) 2Lt John L Cushing (navig) S/Sgt George R Mellott (Nose gunner) T/Sgt Ray B Ege (mechanics/gunner) T/Sgt Gunter W Schilling (radio/gunner) S/Sgt Gerald J Miller (tail gunner) S/Sgt Roderick Mellgren (right waist gunner) Wilson M Brockman (left waist gunner) Initial burial of the crew members took place in Schirmeck - Barembach cemetery. Today, related places of burial are : Arlington Cemetery Virginia for Lloyd, Mellott, Schilling and Miller; American cemetery and Memorial of Saint-Avold (Eastern France) for Cushing and Brockman; Golden Gate National Cem. (San Bruno, CA) for Ege and Long Island National Cem. (Farmingdale, NY) for Mellgren. Finally, it is assumed that Barksdale might be still buried in Schirmeck cemetery near Barembach : in this case, the grave could bear mention "unknown".
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: waist gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
- Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 707th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
Missions
- Date: 10 September 1944
Revisions
Source: francecrash39-45.net, created and maintained by Mr Daniel Carville)
All information regarding biography from French site "francecrashes39-45.net - file # 2860 linked to loss of B 24 "Rough Buddy". This site has been created in 2008 and maintained since by Mr Daniel Carville and covers all crashes of Allied aircraft on French territory for WWII : 8,282 aircraft and 27,612 airmen listed to date.
Information regarding colours of "Rough Buddy" from observing your museum's pictures of 707th BS liberators and the knowledge that Rough Buddy has been produced in Ford/Willow Run factory after mid-October 1943. At that date, USAAF Spec 24114 regarding aircraft painting had been amended by a USAAF Technical Order recommending factories to abandon in-shop camouflage painting on Air Force aircrafts. Rough Buddy was then left natural metal as all other US aircraft issued after that date.
Hello.
First of all, congratulations to the American Air Museum in Britain, which may be the only one providing such an excellent and unique presentation of air warfare over Europe during WWII.
I was delighted to browse through your databases.
Looking for data regarding the following 8th Air Force B-24 H-60-FO Liberator : "Rough Buddy" of the 707th BS (446 BG), I found that there were some blank areas in your database ; so I allowed myself to present you with some I have.
Again, all my due consideration.
Kind regards.
Nath Noff.
