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15 March 1944
Statement of F/O Steven Gerick (from MACR 3052)
Not yet known
The industrial areas of the secondary target of Brunswick, Germany. A combined force of 344 heavy bombers from 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions are despatched. Mission Summary follows:
3rd Air Division: 187 B-17 from: 94BG; 95BG; 96BG; 100BG; 385BG; 388BG, 390BG; 447BG; and 452BG are despatched. 185 are effective on the the industrial area of Brunswick, Germany. 1 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) - 7KIA 3POW. 31 aircraft are damaged. 1 airman is KIA and 1 airman WIA in returning aircraft. The bomber gunners claim 0-0-1 of attacking German aricraft. There are no other losses, casualties or claims.
2nd Air Division: A combined force of 157 B-24s from: 44BG; 389BG; 392BG; 445BG; 453BG; and 458BG are despatched to bomb the industrial areas of Brunswick Germany. 145 are effective on the target. 1 aircraft bombs Wolenbuttel, Germany as a Target of Opportunity (TO); and 1 bombs Hildesheim as a TO. 2 aircraft Failed to Return (FTR) - 12KIA 8POW. 15 aircraft are damaged. 3 airmen in returning aircraft are WIA. There are no other losses, casualties or claims.
INDUSTRIAL AREA
B-17 Flying Fortress
All Groups participating are from 3rd Bomb Division.
Group
"The Bloody Hundredth", so-called because of a reputation for losing a high number aircraft and crews, flew B-17s from Thorpe Abbotts, Norfolk. Their losses were not the highest of any Eighth Air Force Group but on several occasions the Group lost many...
Group
The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Col. Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9...
Group
The 388th Bomb Group flew strategic bombing mission from Knettishall, Suffolk from June 1943 to the end of the war. During this time, though, detachments were sent to Fersfield, Norfolk to conduct Aphrodite missions. In these Aphrodite missions veteran...
Group
The 390th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Framlingham, Suffolk, between July 1943 and the end of the war in Europe. The Group was engaged in strategic missions until the invasion of Europe when its role became more of a tactical one. This...
Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Group
The 452nd Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deopham Green, Norfolk, from January 1944. The air crews hit strategic sites in Germany but also supported the movement of ground forces across Europe after D-Day. On 6 June 1944 itself, the Group...
Group
Activated 15 June 1942 at MacDill Field, Florida. Initial organization and training at Pendleton Field, Oregon on 29 June 1942. Primary flight training at Davis-Monthan Field in Arizona from 28 Aug. 42 to 31 Oct. 42; then at Biggs Field, El Paso, Texas...
Group
The 95th Bomb Group was the only Eighth Air Force Group to be awarded three Distinguished Unit Citations. The first, shared by all four Bomb Wing Groups, was for the bombing of an aircraft factory under intense enemy fire at Regensburg on 17 August...
| Tonnage dropped | 562.00 |
| Number of aircraft Sent | 187 |
| Number of aircraft Effective | 185 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 1 |
| Number of aircraft Damaged | 31 |
| Number of people Killed In Action | 7 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 3 |
| Enemy aircraft claimed as Damaged by Bomber Command | 1 |
INDUSTRIAL AREA
B-24 Liberator
1 B-24 dropped on Wolfenbuttel as a T/O and another B-24 dropped on Brunswick as a secondary target and Hildeshime as a T/O. All Groups participating are part of 2nd Bomb Division.
Group
The 389th Bomb Group, known in more familiar terms as "the Sky Scorpions", flew strategic bombing missions in B-24 Liberators from Hethel, England. They also sent detachments to join bases in North Africa at Benghazi No. 10, Libya, between 3 July 1943...
Group
The 392nd Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators out of Wendling, Norfolk from August 1943 until April 1945. They were the first Group allocated B-24H Liberators, the first B-24 series fitted with a nose turret on the production line. The adaptation increased...
Group
The 445th Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators from Tibenham, Norfolk. The crews' first mission was bombing U-boat installations at Kiel on 13 December 1943. The Group continued to hit strategic targets in Germany, including the aircraft components factory...
Group
The 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 15-January-1942 at McDill Field, Florida and equipped with B-24Cs. The Group moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana and acted as a training unit for the 90th 93rd and 98th Bomb Groups and flew anti...
| Tonnage dropped | 183.00 |
| Number of aircraft Sent | 157 |
| Number of aircraft Effective | 145 |
| Number of aircraft Missing In Action | 2 |
| Number of people Killed In Action | 12 |
| Number of people Prisoners of War | 8 |
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 18 April 1944 in B-17 #42-37902 'Sure Thing', while performing his duties as the aircraft's Navigator. Became a Prisoner of War, surviving the war.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 453rd Bomb Group
Shot down 8 April 1944 in B-24 #41-28650 'Rooster', Prisoner of War (POW).
POW
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Crew Number 7
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball turret gunner | 389th Bomb Group
James Braa served as a ball turret gunner with the 566th Bomb Squadron of the 389th Bomb Group, flying bombing missions out of Hethel, England. He completed his tour of 30 missions between March and June 1944, flying his final two missions on D-Day.
Military | Captain | Pilot/Lead Pilot | 458th Bomb Group
Military | Technical Sergeant (2nd Grade) | Flight Engineer | 390th Bomb Group
Crew Number 7
Military | Technical Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 18 April 1944 in B-17 #42-37902 'Sure Thing' while manning the ball turret. He would become a POW, but survive the war and return safely back to Texas.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Airplane Mechanic Gunner 748 - Waist Gunner | 447th Bomb Group
Military | Technical Sergeant | Waist Gunner | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down 18 April 1944 in B-17 #4237902 'Sure Thing;, where he was manning the left waist gun. He suffered the same fate as the rest of his fellow crewmen, becoming a Prisoner of War (POW). However, he would safely make it home at the end of the war.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 390th Bomb Group
Shot down on 19th mission. Had 2 missions over Berlin. Liberated Lubeck Prisoner of War (POW) Plane was Hard to Get B-17 #448225
POW
P-47 Thunderbolt
Shot down 15 March 1944 on an escort mission to Brunswick, with Pilot Lt John Kozey Jr - Prisoner of War (POW) - Missing Air Crew Report - MACR 3052.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/6/43; Smoky Hill 13/7/43; Kearney 16/7/43; Dow Fd 19/7/43; Assigned 560BS/388BG Knettishall 20/7/43; (34m) transferred Aphrodite project as OLIN'S 69'ERS; when War Weary, fuselage cut down and vehicle windshield fitted before open...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 31/10/43; Kearney 13/11/43; Assigned 336BS/95BG [ET-G] Horham 1/1/44; flak damage Berlin 6/10/44 with Lester Lennox, Co-pilot: Bob McCoy (2 Returned to Duty); Navigator: Bill Tate, Bombardier: Dick White, Flight engineer/top turret...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Note : The B-17G, 42-31892, was one of several B-17Gs in the 8th Air Force named, I'll Be Around, after the popular song in 1944, "I'll Be Around". WWII air crews often chose to name their airplanes with names already in use. ...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 6/1/44; Kearney 15/1/44; Romulus 23/1/44; Grenier 25/1/44; Assigned 336BS/95BG [ET-J] Horham 2/2/44; transferred 412BS [QW-J]; 98m, with S.D. Reed, force landed RAF Coltishakk, 8RTD, 1WIA; Returned to the USA 121 BU Bradley 21/6/44;...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 30/4/43; Dow Fd 13/6/43; Assigned 561BS/388BG Knettishall 14/6/43; on training mission 12/7/44 with Major Boardman Reed, Co-pilot: Major Melvin Buckner, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Paul Weathers, Radio Operator: Ora Kelsey, pass...
B-24 Liberator
Suffered a landing gear collapse on 11 May 1944
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 24 February 2016 16:56:52 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Feb-2016. Added bomber gunner claims on enemy aircraft to 3AD statistics per "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 February 2016 16:55:11 | Lee8thbuff | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham 24-Feb-2016. Added Mission Narrative based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary", Roger A. Freeman and "Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces" Stan Bishop & John A. Hey MBE. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:12 | 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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