1st Air Division
Division
In December 1944, the 1st Bomb Division was redesginated the 1st Air Division.
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817
3 February 1945
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Crew #551 Seward M. Meinstma Crew Standing Left to Right: Jack Veach (R/O), George Wood (BTG), William Osborne (NG), John O'Donnell (FE), Howard Wade (TG), Sherell Campbell (G) Kneeling Left to Right: Seward Meinstma (P), Donald Vanderwall (CP), Eugene Gjertsen (N), Harvey Levine (B) This crew completed a 35 mission tour. Gjertsen transferred to the Welsh Crew of the 784th BS at some point during the tour. Also Daniel Chadbourne replaced O'Donnell as Flight Engineer during the tour.
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Crew #664 Elmo Maiden Crew 466th BG - 786th BS Standing Left to Right: Bernard M. Atkins (TG), Vernon R. Hayden (WG), William R. Hoopes (B), Gustave J. Roussel (E), Guerino G. Petti (N), Herbert Rosenkoff (CP), William A. Thomason (TT), Elmo Maiden (P), Kenneth W. Chester (NG), Joseph R. Zebrowski (R/O) B-24J-5-DT #42-51532 Code: U8-W Photo taken on 27 December 1944 after crash landing at an airfield in Belgium.
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42-102501 BK-H, THE CHALLENGER, 384th Bomb Group, 546th Bomb Squadron
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Guy Byam was with the BBC and was doing a story on the Mighty Eighth. He covered D Day and many other major events. Killed in Action (KIA) crashed into North Sea in B-17 'Rose of York' #42102547.
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Page 281 of the 401st Bomb Group unit history. Many of the 8th Air Force Groups produced an unofficial unit history in the months after the war ended in Europe but before they were redeployed out of the ETO (European Theater of Operations). Resembling a college yearbook, unit histories were an unofficial – and often tongue-in-cheek – record of the unit’s time based in the UK. They include photo montages showing different aspects of base life. Often the servicemen in the photos are unnamed. The American Air Museum hopes that by adding unit histories to the website as individual pages, the men in the photos will be identified and associated to their person entries. Many included lists of personnel and a mailing address, providing a means for servicemen to keep in contact with each other after the war. These lists are now incredibly useful records of where US airmen in England in 1945 called their home.
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8th Air Corp., 390th Bomb Group, 571 Squadron - 1943-45 "Cabin In The Sky" crew: Leonard B. Welton Jr. (pilot), Lt. Meyer Rothchild (B), Lt. Walter H. Weinberg (CP), Lt. James C. Smith, Sgt. Robert A. Kelly, T. Sgt. Denzel D. Martin (Engineer/Top Turrent Gunner) back row right end, Sgt. John W. Cox, Sgt. Blair L. Weamer, Sgt. Stanley F. Ostrowski.
Official description
Not yet known
Description
Not yet known
Mission details
1.
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
2. BAD ZWISCHENAHN
Description
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
3. BERLIN/TEMPELHOF
Description
MARSHALLING YARDS
Aircraft type
B-17 Flying Fortress
Notes
457th BG MISSION NO. 182 : BERLIN, GERMANY : 3 FEBRUARY, 1945
The Eighth Air Force dispatched 2000 Heavies to the heart of the Third Reich, to attack communications, transportation, military and governmental targets. Now that the Andennes Offensive was crushed, it was the High Command's intent to carry the war directly into the heart of the Nazi war machine.
Col. Lewis E. Lyle, Commanding Officer of the 379th Bomb Group was the Air Commander of the mission. The 457th comprised the 94th A Combat Wing with Col. Rogner as Air Commander. The marshalling yards at Berlin was its assigned target. Aiming point was a bridge over the River Spree, near the Friedrichstrasse Railway Station.
Wing assembly was accomplished without difficulty. Division assembly line was flown as briefed, with the Group in seventh position in Division formation. The route to the IP was flown north of course in order to stay in Division formation. Prior to the last turn before the IP, the groups in Division formation were bunched up, and it was necessary for the 94th A Group to deviate to the left of course in order to gain more interval and avoid bunching at the IP. The Group was nine minutes late at the IP, because winds were not as briefed.
The turn was made at the approximate IP, and the Group headed down a long bomb run. The target area was clear, CAVU conditions existing, and bombing was done visually with squadrons in trail. The MPI was identified about twenty miles from the target. Bombs were dropped from 25,000 feet. Bomb results were observed to be very good, with some direct hits. Flak was moderate but accurate, with nine aircraft sustaining damage.
The aircraft piloted by Lt. Craig P. Greason crash landed near Ypres, Belgium, with no injury to the crew. Col. Lyle stated:
"There was a bomber stream three to five hundred miles long. Turning off the target and heading back to England, there were bombers heading for Berlin, practically all the way back to England. It was a very successful mission."
(Compiler Note: The Aiming Point was Peter the Great Statue.)
(Editor's comment: We were briefed to aim at a bridge over the River Spree, near the Friedrichsirasse railway station. Not far away, on Unter den Linden, is a statue of Frederick the Great, on horseback. The only Peter the Great I know about was Russian.) (Ed Note: For an account of the mission by Spleth's/ Welch's crew, see DEAD EWGINE KIDS.)
Units
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457th Bomb Group
Group
The 457th Bomb Group began combat operations during the Big Week of 20-25 February when American bombers carried out concentrated raids against German aircraft bases, factories and assembly plants. The air crews' targets on that first mission were...
Mission Statistics
4. BROMSCHE
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
5. CUXHAVEN
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
6. FRIEDERSDORF
Description
AIRFIELD
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Fighter-bomber mission
Mission Statistics
7. GATOW
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
8. LUNEBURG
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
9. MAGDEBURG
Description
MARSHALLING YARDS
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
10. MAGDEBURG/ROTHENSEE
Description
OIL REFINERY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
11. MOCKERN
Description
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
12. SOGEL
Description
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
13. WESERMUNDE
Description
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
14. YECTA
Description
AIRFIELD
Aircraft type
Not yet known
Notes
Not yet known
Mission Statistics
Service
People
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Jesse Adcock
Military | Chief Master Sergeant | B-17 Toglier in WWII; Aircraft Maintenance until 1967 retirement | 96th Bomb Group
Assigned Dec 1944. Flew 55+ missions in B-17 as togglier. Adcock grew up on a farm in Ellisville, Mississippi, USA. He was career Air Force, retiring in 1967 as a Chief Master Sergeant (CMSAF). Born 3/8/1924 Died 3/16/2017 -
Albert Aleksyn
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 398th Bomb Group
Assigned to 603BS, 398BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Berlin; mid air collision near Lehmke in B-17 43-38697, Killed in Action (KIA). MACR 12215. Awards: PH. -
Robert Atkins
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Robert Atkins served as a tail gunner with the 733rd Bomb Squadron of the 453rd Bomb Group, flying missions out of Old Buckenham, England. -
Joseph Bancroft
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 398th Bomb Group
Assigned to 603BS, 398BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Berlin 3 February 1945. Mid-air collision near Lehmke in B-17 43-38697. Prisoner of War (POW). Sole survivor of crew. MACR 12215. Awards: POW, WWII Victory, EAME. -
Paul Becker
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 306th Bomb Group The Reich Wreckers
Navigator B-17 #42102547 'Rose of York' [62 mission veteran], on return from 63rd bombing mission [ Berlin ], A/C hit by concentrated and accurate AA fire, last contact indicated one engine out and another trailing gasoline, failed to return FTR,... -
Marion Bell
Military | Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 95th Bomb Group
Assigned to 334BS, 95BG, 8AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Berlin 3-Feb-45 in B-17 42-102951; flak and mech failure, crashed Den Berg Texel, Netherlands Killed in Action (KIA) MACR 12048 Awards: PH. -
Peter Brennan
Military | Technical Sergeant | Togglier | 388th Bomb Group
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David Bridgers
Military | Captain | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
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Keith Bryant
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator/Gunner | 351st Bomb Group
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Guy Byam-Corstiaens
Civilian | War Correspondent BBC
Guy Byam-Corstiaens (later known as just Guy Byam) had joined the Royal Navy and was among the 68 survivors of the 254 men on board HMS "Jervis Bay" which was sunk on 5 November 1940 in the North Atlantic. Byam had swum through oily waters before being...
Aircraft
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42-102501 The Challenger
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 9/3/44; Gr Island 11/4/44; Dowe Fd 28/4/44; Assigned 546BS/384BG [BK-H] Grafton Underwood 12/5/44; Missing in Action Berlin 3/2/45 with Robert Clax Long, Frederick Arnold Maki, Jack Coleman Cook (3 Killed in Action); Ralph John Vrana... -
42-102547 Elizabeth, The Princess, Rose of York
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 12/3/44; Gr Island 22/3/44; Dow Fd 3/4/44; Assigned 401BG Deenethorpe 2/5/44; transferred 367BS/306BG [GY-F] Thurleigh 5/5/44. Missing in Action 63M Berlin 3 February 1945 with Vernor F. Daley Jr, Co-pilot: Joseph J. Carbine,... -
42-102951
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/4/44; Kearney 6/5/44; Grenier 27/5/44; Assigned 334BS/95BG [BG-Q] Horham 30/5/44; with A.E. McCulley 25/8/44 wia-b Lt Bill Kehoe, Waist gunner: Larry Roberts; with W.C. Bramlett force landed RAF Woodbridge 25/12/44; with R.W.... -
42-107208 Why Not?
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 21/3/44; Kearney 2/4/44; Dow Fd 21/4/44; Assigned 338BS/96BG [BX-U] Snetterton 25/4/44; detailed Mainz 8/9/44 with Nick Jorgensen, Co-pilot: Dave Tritsch, Navigator: Leo Fleming, Bombardier: Tom Hooper, Flight engineer/top turret gunner... -
42-37788 HELL'S MESSENGER
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 28/8/43; Scott 16/9/43; Assigned 544BS/384BG Grafton Underwood 7/11/43; transferred 547BS [SO-N]; transferred to 364FG Leiston, Sfk, UK. 11/43; Returned to the USA Bradley 14/7/45; 4185 BU Independence 17/7/45; Reconstruction Finance... -
42-38013 "NEVADA AVENGER"
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/11/43; New Castle 10/12/43; Presque Is 15/12/43; Assigned 547BS/384BG [SO-C] Grafton Underwood 21/1/44; sal battle damaged 27/4/44. NEVADA AVENGER. ... -
42-97387 "Maude an' Maria"
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 27/2/44; Kearney 16/3/44; Dow Fd 6/4/44; Assigned 602BS/398BG [K8-H] Nuthampstead 28/4/44; (81m). About an hour after bombs away, B-17 #42-97387 was observed to be involved in a mid-air collision with B-17 #43-38697 (of 603rd BS) on... -
42-97678 The Birmingham Jewell
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 25/1/44; Kearney 15/3/44; Grenier 2/4/44; Assigned 526BS/379BG [LF-J] Kimbolton 11/4/44; 525BS; Missing in Action Chemnitz 127m 3/2/45 with Bill Webber, Ray Weatherbee, Carl McHenry, Bill Wells (4 Killed in Action); Jim Kiester, Tom... -
42-97844
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 14/3/44; Kearney 13/4/44; Dow Fd 29/4/44; Assigned 336BS/95BG [ET-R] Horham 20/4/44; with Glovik 7/10/44, Waist gunner: Chas Buda KIA; 97m, Missing in Action Frankfurt 9/3/45 with Bill Durant (Ouratt?), Co-pilot: Dwight King, Navigator... -
43-37904 Princess Pat aka Hannah’s Children
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 2/6/44; Hunter 13/6/44; Dow Fd 24/6/44; Assigned 569BS/390BG [CC-L] Framlingham 29/6/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 3/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 4/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA)...
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 29 April 2015 11:19:52 | general ira snapsorter | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Mission details added courtesy of Diane Elizabeth Reese from 457th Bomb Group Mission Documents. http://www.457thbombgroup.org/ |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:09 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
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