Ralph Waldo Cummings

Military ROLL OF HONOUR

Object Number - UPL 54470 - 1st Lt. Ralph W. Cummings

Enlisted January 1942, trained at Roswell, NM. Assigned to 330BS,93BG,8thAF USAAF. Bombardier for Utah Man for Operation Tidal Wave. He dropped the first bombs on a Ploesti target. Failed to return (FTR) from Bremen, attacked en-route to target 13-Nov-43; Joisey Bounce, lost right wing and suffered a mid-air collision with B-24, 42-40765, 'The Valient Virgin' spiraling to the ground. Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 2179

Awards: DFC, PH.

Connections

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

Units served with

The insignia of the 93rd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Ball Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Flight Officer
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Aircraft

A B-24 Liberator ( serial number 41-24226) nicknamed "Joisey Bounce" of the 93rd Bomb Group in flight.
  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Nicknames: - Joisey Bounce - Utah Man
  • Unit: 93rd Bomb Group 330th Bomb Squadron

Missions

  • Date: 1 August 1943
  • Official Description: 177 B-24’s, of IX Bomber Command (including Heavy Bombers on loan from Eighth AF) are dispatched to bomb oil refineries at Ploesti and nearby Campina. The operation (TIDALWAVE) is costly, 54 planes and 532 airmen being lost, but damage to the targets...

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Great Falls, MT 27 December 1919 Son of Hiram C and Dolly E Cummings.

Enlisted

Seattle, WA 13 January 1942 Seattle, Washington

Other

Killed in Action (KIA)

Husum, Germany 13 November 1943 Failed to return (FTR) from Bremen in B-24 41-24226 'Joisey Bounce' 13-Nv-43; mid air collision with B-24 Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 2179

Based

Hardwick 13 November 1943 Assigned to 330BS, 93BG, 8AF USAAF.

Buried

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Lemay, St. Louis County, MO Re-Interred Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery Lemay, St. Louis County, Missouri

Revisions

Date29 Dec 2021 08:50:14
ContributorJim Stocking
ChangesChanges to media associations
Sources

added photo

Date29 Dec 2021 08:47:28
ContributorJim Stocking
ChangesChanges to biography and media associations
Sources

Added Tidal Wave raid info

Date26 Jul 2021 21:23:50
ContributorJim Stocking
ChangesChanges to highest rank
Sources

Asper listed on Purple Heart citation

Date26 Jul 2021 21:21:59
ContributorJim Stocking
ChangesChanges to media associations
Sources

1st Lt. Ralph W. Cummings in front of Utah Man

Date26 Jul 2021 21:05:47
ContributorJim Stocking
ChangesChanges to awards, person associations, place associations and mission associations
Sources

Ralph Cummings Personal diary, as well as a letter written in Nov. 1945 from Joisey Bounce (B24 # 41-24226) top turret gunner Robert L. Cox (who was able to bail out from the plane as it fell to the ground on Nov. 13th, 1943, and who was taken prisoner) to Ralph's mother describing the action.

Date20 Sep 2019 14:36:12
ChangesChanges to events and mission associations
Date27 Sep 2014 18:21:54
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

MACR 2179 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database

Ralph Waldo Cummings: Gallery (1 items)