William Schoenhals Koenig
MilitaryCrashed at Koln on 10/14/44 in B-24 #42-95195, Prisoner of War (POW).
Target: Cologne - 14 October 1944 - Mission #184
This date would start the first of three consecutive raids to this big German industrial complex on the upper Rhine. The (KOLN) railroad marshalling yards closely adjacent to the magnificent Cologne Cathedral was targeted for this day. (A combination of Divine Providence and Eighth Air Force, RAF, precision bombing managed to save this beautiful shrine with only relatively minor damage during World War II — a rather miraculous fact when the many times this city was bombed are considered.) At 0530-0630, (36) aircrews were given briefing, and at 0845 hours (34) Group bombers started take-off in a heavy overcast with the 579th leading and Lieutenant Crowell as Bombardier. A force of (30) B-24s went over the target bombing by PFF means. A total of (450) bombs were dropped in a mixed load of 250 and 500 pounders. These impacted off the MPI to the east and southeast. (The Cathedral lies about 1/4 mile just north of the main railroad passenger terminal now.) Two aircraft were lost on this raid, (1) over target and the other left in Belgium, battle damaged. From the 578th in #195, Lieutenant T. G. Crenshaw’s crew was struck by AA fire over target at 1227 hours, position 5055N-0715E, peeling out of formation with #4 engine smoking and going down. One man egressed through the bomb bay but his chute failed to open. Two others were seen with chutes open. The ship was last observed at 15,000 feet, apparently under control and not on fire as it disappeared into clouds. In ship #432 of the 576th, Lieutenant T. A. Jones was severely hit by flak but managed to land his crippled bomber at Brussels. From the 577th, Lieutenant Propper’s crew landed back at base with a wounded crew member. No fighters were engaged but flak was intense and accurate, particularly over target, which inflicted damage to (20) Group aircraft. The remaining returned by 1340 hours.
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
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
- Unit: 392nd Bomb Group 578th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 14 October 1944
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Baltimore MD USA | 31 January 1919 | |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Germany | 29 April 1944 - 14 October 1944 | Discharged: Nov 23 1945 |
Revisions
Added a "-" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.
MISSING AIR CREW REPORT SECTION
14 OCTOBER 1944 - TARGET: COLOGNE
MISSING AIRCREW REPORT: #09485 AIRCRAFT: #42-95195 (NO NICKNAME) "Bar M" 24th Mission
AIRCREW: CRENSHAW * SQUADRON: 578th
CREW POSITIONS AND STATUS:
P 2/LT Crenshaw, Thomas G. POW
CP F/O Jones, John P POW
N 2/LT Thomas, William L. POW
B F/O Koenig, William S. POW
R/O CPL Church, Clarence R. POW
EnG CPL Rupp, Paul R. Jr. POW
WG CPL Frederick, John E. POW
WG CPL Walton, Raymond T. POW
TG CPL Lawler, David J. POW
MISSION LOSS CIRCUMSTANCES: 579th pilot 1/Lt Clark, flying in the Group's Deputy Lead slot, provided a brief after-mission account about the loss of this aircraft and crew. "An aircraft from our group was reported going down in the target area after being hit by flak. Two chutes were observed. As this was the only ship lost by our group, it is believed to be A/C No. 42-95195." German Report #KU1050 indicated that all nine members had been taken prisoner; however, another supplementary account (#1050A), Air Base Hqs A (o) 10/VI at Bonn/Hangelar, noted that two crew men, Cpls. Church and Walton, had evaded capture for about twelve days and were taken prisoner finally near a village of Gruenbroich on 26 October. The other men had been taken as POWs on the day of their downing, 14 October, near Much, (15) kilometers northeast of Sieburg.
INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS OF CREWMEN FATES: Cpl Walton later reported that his B-24 was hit several times with flak fired by a German 88mm gun. With three of the four engines on fire, the pilot ordered the crew to bail out. Walton "dove through the hatch and was swept up by the prop wash and whipped into20a crazy tail over teacups somersault. Down through the lower elements I plummeted, rolled up in a ball with my arms locked around my knees. There were fleeting glimpses of B-24s rushing by." He opened his parachute in the clouds and landed safely.
BURIAL RECORDS: Not applicable to this crew as there were no reported casualties in this MACR.
NEXT OF KIN DATA IN WWII: Crenshaw (Wife, Beatrice M., 6025 West 85th Place, Los Angeles, California); Jones (Wife, Frankie A., Wrens, Georgia); Thomas (Wife, Doris A., Beverly Park Apartments Colorado 11, Alexandria, Virginia); Koenig (Mother, Eva, 3806 Kimble Road, Baltimore, Maryland); Church (Mother, Mary M. Anderson, 3545 Copley Avenue, San Diego, California); Rupp (Mother, Mable, 1612 Lee Avenue, McKeesport, Pennsylvania); Walton (Father, Frank T., 712 13th Avenue South, Clinton, Iowa); Frederick (Wife, Agnes, Box 325, West Linn, Oregon); and Lawler (Mother, Florence, 5442 Master Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 9485 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database