George Allen
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
SSgt. George Allen was killed in action on 1 August, 1943, during Operation Tidal Wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
We are currently working on a site-wide upgrade which will be completed in September 2022
You will not be able to search, add or edit information in the American Air Museum archive while this takes place.
You can find out more about our plans here
Military
Major John Jerstad was Killed In Action (KIA) on Operation Tidal Wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench.
John Jerstad enlisted as an aviation cadet at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 12, 1941. He trained at Ontario, California, and Luke Field, Arizona. He was commissioned on February 6, 1942 and served with the 98th and 93rd Bomb Groups at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. In October 1942, he went to Europe with the 93rd and flew B-24s with the 328th Bomb Squadron, as a captain. He was promoted to major in April 1943, and was assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing headquarters a month later. He was picked by Colonel Edward L. Timberlake, former commander of the 376th Bombing Group, "Ted's Traveling Circus", to be Ted Timberlake's chief operations officer.
By August 1943, Jersad had completed more than his tour of missions and was no longer directly connected with the 93rd Bomb Group. He had conducted many of the missions in an aircraft named, Jerk's Natural. "Jerk" was a reference to his own name, Jack Jerstad, and "Natural" referred to the fact the plane's serial numbers added to 7 and 11, was a "natural" in dice games. When Jerstad heard about Operation Tidal Wave, the upcoming low level bombing mission against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, he volunteered to lead a formation of B-24s on the 18-hour, 2,400 mile round-trip mission to destroy the largest of the oil refineries at Ploesti, 30 miles north of Bucharest, Romania. This mission ended with five U.S. Air Force airmen, including Maj. Jerstad, earning the Medal of Honor, three, including Major Jerstad, posthumously. Sixty aircraft were lost on the mission.
Three miles from the target, Jerstad's bomber, named, Hell's Wench, was badly damaged and set aflame by enemy flak guns. More than 230 antiaircraft guns, supported by many barrage balloons and smoke pots, surrounded the refineries, with more than 400 fighters in the area. Ignoring the fact he was on fire and flying above a field suitable for a forced landing, Maj. Jerstad and his Group Commander Col. Addison Baker kept on course in order to lead their group to their target. After the bombs were released on the target, the fire in his aircraft became so intense that it made further progress impossible, and their B-24D, Hell's Wench, crashed into the target area. Col. Baker, Major Jerstad, and their crew were killed, and listed as missing in action. For these actions, Major Jerstad was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His family accepted the medal on his behalf during a presentation ceremony at Holy Communion Church in Racine, Wisconsin, October 28, 1943.
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
SSgt. George Allen was killed in action on 1 August, 1943, during Operation Tidal Wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | Lieutenant Colonel | Commanding Officer 93rd Bomb Group - B-24 Command Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
Lieutenant Colonel Addison Baker was the Commanding Officer of the 93rd Bomb Group from May 17, 1943. He was killed in action (KIA) over Ploesti during Operation Tidal Wave on 1 August, 1943.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | B-24 Top Turret Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
TSgt. Charles Bennet was killed in action on Operation Tidal Wave onboard his assigned B-24D Liberator bomber, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio Operator | 93rd Bomb Group
TSgt. John Carrol was killed in action (KIA) on Operation Tidal Wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Waist Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Killed in action on 1 August 1943 during Operation Tidal wave onboard B-24 Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 93rd Bomb Group
Killed in action on 1 August 1943 during Operation Tidal wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 93rd Bomb Group
KIA over Ploesti, Romania Aug 1 1943: I grew up knowing him as "Uncle Bud". He was known as "Bud" to his family. He had two sisters, and twin brothers. He was the second oldest child of my great grandparents.
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
Killed in action on 1 August 1943 during Operation Tidal wave onboard B-24 Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
...
Military | Brigadier General | Commanding General | 453rd Bomb Group
From FindAGrave:
...
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Tail Gunner | 93rd Bomb Group
SSgt. Willam O. Wood was Killed In Action (KIA) during Operation Tidal wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994. 1 Aug 43.
...
Group
Constituted as 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 19 Oct 1942 and activated in Palestine on 31 Oct. Began combat immediately, using B-24 aircraft. Operated with Ninth AF from bases in the Middle East, Nov 1942-Sep 1943, and with Twelfth AF from Tunisia...
Group
The 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated 1 Mar 42 at Barksdale Field, Louisiana. On 15 May 42. the Group moved to Ft. Myers, Florida, to continue advanced flight training and also to fly antisubmarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico. They...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
...
Squadron
Headquarters
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, 41-23771, named, Jerks Natural, was in the 8th Air Force, the the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bomb Squadron, based in Britain. It was detached (TDY) to the 9th Air Force in North Africa to assist the 9th Air Force on Operation...
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 42-40994, Hell's Wench, was shot down and crashed, over Ploesti, Romania, on Operation Tidal Wave. All crewmen were Killed In Action - 10 KIA. Aug 1, 1943
...
1 August 1943
Operation TIDAL WAVE. B-24D Liberators attack the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The bombers flew low to avoid radar detection and dropped time delayed bombs. Out of the 177 B-24s that took part in the raid 167 managed to attack their targets. 57...
Crash site
Event | Location | Date |
---|---|---|
Born | Racine, Wisconsin | 12 February 1918 |
Died | 1 August 1943 | |
Buried |
Date | Contributor | Update |
---|---|---|
08 October 2021 09:44:17 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
Sources | ||
Punctuation. - Kickapoo |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
08 October 2021 09:41:42 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, role and biography |
Sources | ||
Added details. - Kickapoo |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
10 March 2021 02:04:53 | decwriter | Changes to service number and awards |
Sources | ||
NARA files verified Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Silver Star and the Medal of Honor. No NARA DFC file exists for Maj Jerstad, but could be lost in 93rd Bomb Group records. |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
27 August 2019 15:30:02 | Emily | Changes to nickname, biography, events, person associations, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
Sources | ||
Ploesti Sortie Report, 93rd Bomb Group Removed associations to people who did not fly as a part of Jerstad's crew during his service or on board his aircraft Operation Tidal Wave. |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
17 July 2019 20:09:22 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, biography, person associations, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill ---- Into the Fire - Duane Schultz ---- Wikipedia - Major John L. Jerstad |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
28 November 2018 10:13:39 | Kickapoo | Changes to media associations |
Sources | ||
personal collection |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
28 November 2018 10:11:33 | Kickapoo | Changes to media associations |
Sources | ||
personal collection |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
12 February 2018 10:59:39 | Lucy May | Changes to unit associations and aircraft associations |
Sources | ||
Date | Contributor | Update |
24 December 2016 18:42:52 | millebr | Changes to middlename, service number and awards |
Sources | ||
TogetherWeServed.com; Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Cemeteries on Foreign Soil; Ancestry.com (Family Trees); fieldsofhonor-database.com |
||
Date | Contributor | Update |
27 September 2014 18:16:23 | AAM | AAM ingest |
Sources | ||
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / Freeman, MOH Citation |