![Major Joe M. Kilgore [L] and Captain Royden L Lebrecht [R] posing in the pilot's enclosure of B-24 #4111761](https://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/media/media-14407.jpeg?itok=w3TNDL50)
Gilbert Hadley
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Name Gilbert Ben Hadley
...
Royden Louis LeBrecht
Military
-
Pilot Lt. Royden LeBrecht with the nose art and name of his B-24D Liberator bomber, # 4111761 - 'The Squaw' - formerly named, 'Sleepy', from the 343rd BS, the 98th BG, and the 9th AF. Lt. LeBrecht and 'The Squaw' were both survivors of the Ploesti oil refinery bombing raid. Aug 1, 1943. Lt. LeBrecht returned to the USA for a war bonds tour in 'The Squaw'. It's art work was toned down for the war bond tour by painting clothing on the previously naked, "squaw" maiden. 1943
-
Operation Tidal Wave - General Brereton's last Tidal Wave briefing to the flying officers of the 98th Bomb Group. 1943
-
B-24D 'The Squaw' 41-11761 with pilot Lt. Royden LeBrecht and the 9th AF Pilots War Bond Tour - 1943
-
Crew standing and sitting atop of the famous B-24 Liberator, #4111761 "The Squaw", that successfully covered 71 missions without a casualty.
-
L to R Capt Royden L LeBrecht, 1LT Albert J. Mickish (L), Perry, OK - bombardier aboard B-24D serial 41-11761 "The Squaw" of the 343rd Bomb Sq, 98th BG. Standing with him is MSGT John R. Dowdy. Taken during a stopover at Fort Worth Army Air Field, part of a two-ship team with "The Blue Streak" visiting the local Consolidated factory on a War Bond tour.
-
Back Row L to R Gen Hoyt S Vanderberg P 1st Lt Royden L Lebrecht, Denison, TX C 1st Lt Clinton H Killian, Roosevelt, Utah N 1st Lt Grover A Zink, Qron, Kansas B 1st Lt Albert J Mickish, Perry, OK Lt Col Robert H Parham Radio T/Sgt JohnR Reilly, Utica, NY Front Row L to R E T/Sgt Harold F Weir, Lapeer, MI Rad Ast S/Sgt Paul E Davidson, Springfield, Mo Ast Eng S/Sgt John A Givens Jr, Louis, Mo Crew Chief M/Sgt Paul T Bashis, Cambridge, Mass Tail S/Sgt John Gunnu, Albany, NY Gunner S/Sgt Adney J Harmon, Sacco, Maine
-
![Major Joe M. Kilgore [L] and Captain Royden L Lebrecht [R] posing in the pilot's enclosure of B-24 #4111761](https://www.americanairmuseum.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/media/media-14407.jpeg?itok=WZX4YT1V)
Major Joe M. Kilgore [L] and Captain Royden L Lebrecht [R] posing in the pilot's enclosure of B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw", a famed Liberator of 71 missions in the Middle East.
-
Captain Royden L Lebrecht, pilot of the famous B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw", standing next to the plane's insignia. Lebrecht commented, "She's a good old gal" as he winks at the camera.
-
Captain Royden L Lebrecht, pilot of the famous B-24 #4111761 "The Squaw", pointing to ack-ack holes in the much traveled combat ship. Fort Worth, TX.
-
Lt. Sam Neeley's B-24D, "Raunchy", and it's crew. Pilot Lt. Sam Neeley is in the front row, second from right, smiling. Lt. Neeley and most of his crew were killed (KIA), over Ploesti, after "Raunchy" snagged a barrage balloon cable on their right wing, pulling an explosive charge on the cable down, which detonated on contact with the wing and blew the wing off, crashing the airplane into the ground. Lt. Neeley and seven of his crewmen were killed in the crash. 8 (KIA). Two crewmen, SSgt Schiffmacher and SSgt Allen, survived the crash and were captured wounded. 2 (WIA) (POW). August 1, 1943 1
Lt. Royden Louis LeBrecht was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew his B-24D, he named, The Squaw, on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. August 1,1943. He was good friends with most of the the pilots flying alongside him in the 344th bomb Squadron and on Flight One of the 98th Bomb Group's airplanes flying to Ploesti, including, Lt. John Young, Lt. Robert Nespor, KIA, killed on takeoff to Ploesti, and Pilot Sam Neeley, KIA, killed over the target at Ploesti, all pilots in the 98th Bomb Group's 344th Bombardment Squadron.
Lt. LeBrecht's assigned bomber was the B-24D, SN 41-11761, that he named, The Squaw. On the Ploesti mission, LeBrecht flew in the right side of the first line of the line abreast, "V" formation of the 98th Bomb Group's Flight One. After bombing his target at Ploesti and escaping south from the Ploesti refinery area with very little damage to his plane, 'The Squaw', Lt. Lebrecht decided to stay with and provide cover for his friends in the smoking, shot up B-24 stragglers, and joined up with Col. John Kane and his damaged B-24D, Hail Columbia, Lt. "Gib" Hadley, who was KIA, killed later, trying to ditch his shot up B-24D, Hadley's Harem, just off of the Turkish coast. They had all diverted and followed John Kane's, Hail Columbia, as his navigator, Norman, "The Baron", Whalen from set a course across Turkey to the British airfield at Nicosia, Cyprus, as did many other crippled B-24 bombers escaping Ploesti.
After the mission, Lt. LeBrecht and his crew returned to USA for war bonds tour in his airplane, 41-11761, The Squaw, with Lt. John S.Young and his crew, who flew the B-24D, The Blue Streak, and Major Walter Stewart and his crew, flying the B-24, Bomerang, back to Fort Worth, Texas, for their war bond tour. 1944
Service
People
-
-
Ronald Helder
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24D Co-Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
2nd Lt. Ronald Lee Helder was a B-24 pilot in the 8th Air Force, the 389th Bomb Group, and the 564th Bombing Squadron in WWII. He flew as Co-pilot with his friend, Command Pilot Lt. Lloyd H. Hughes, in the B-24D Lt. Helder called, Ole Kickapoo,... -
Lloyd Hughes
Military | Second Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 389th Bomb Group
Lloyd Herbert Hughes Jr., better known to his friends, as "Pete," flew his fifth mission, as pilot of a B-24D Liberator bomber in an attack against the Axis oil refineries in Ploesti, Romania. He was killed August 1, 1943 when his plane was severely... -
John Kane
Military | Colonel | Commanding Officer, Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane (January 5, 1907 – May 29, 1996) was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and later the United States Air Force. He received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II, for his... -
Harold Korger
Military | Colonel | Bombardier Navigator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Harold Korger was a bombardier in the 344th Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. He flew on the famous mission, Operation Tidal Wave, Aug 1, 1943, to knock out the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. ... -
Royden LeBrecht
Military | Captain | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Royden Louis LeBrecht was a B-24D command pilot in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bomb Squadron. He flew his B-24D, he named, The Squaw, on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy the German held oil refineries at... -
Samuel Neeley
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24D Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Pilot Lt. Samual Neeley was a B-24 Bomber pilot in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations in WWII. He served in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th bomb Squadron in North Africa, flying bombing and strafing missions, mostly against... -
Robert Nespor
Military | First Lieutenant | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
1st Lt. Robert James Nespor, Jr. was a B-24D command bomber pilot in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bombardment Group, "The Pyramiders", and the 330th Bombing Squadron. For the huge mission to bomb the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on Operation... -
Ramsay Potts
Military | Major General | Command Pilot, Operations Officer, Commanding Officer, Observer | 389th Bomb Group
Major Ramsay Potts flew 41 combat missions in WWII, including deep penetrations from England to the Messerschmidt factory at Weiner Neustadt, Austria and German synthetic fuel plants. On 21 November 1942, he was engaged by 5 JU-88's over the Bay of... -
Walter Stewart
Military | Colonel | B-24 Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
In 1941, Walter Stewart was a 24 year old, U.S. Army Air Force cadet at the University of Utah. He wrote, "We were pulling guns around with horses as a plane flew overhead. Jack Adamson, who had been my Morman mission companion, said to me, "There's a...
Units served with
-
-
98th Bomb Group
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942. ... -
344th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
The 344th Bombing Squadron was first activated at MacDill Field, Florida as one of the original three squadrons assigned to the 98th Bombardment Group. The 344th soon moved to Barksdale Field, Louisiana, where it began to train as a Consolidated B-24...
Aircraft
-
42-40402 The Sandman
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named, The Sandman, was flown by Lt. Robert Sternfels and his copilot, Lt. Barney Jackson, in the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 345th Bomb Squadron, on Operation Tidal Wave, the famous mission to destroy the German held oil... -
41-24198 The Vulgar Virgin - Hell From Heaven - Shoot You're Faded
B-24 Liberator
- Not to be confused with Lt. Claude A. Turner's B-24D, 42-40608, also named, The Vulgar Virgin, in the 8th Air Force, the 93rd Bomb Group, and the 328th Bomb Squadron, from Britain with the same nose art as aircraft, 41-24198, flown by Wallace... -
41-24311 Hadley's Harem
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, named, Hadley's Harem, was Lt. Gilbert Hadley's personal airplane and the one he flew on the mission to destroy Hitler's oil refineries at Ploesti Romania in 1943. As he was approaching his target refinery, code named, "White IV", Hadley's... -
41-11819 Raunchy
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, Raunchy, 41-11819, was in the 344th Bomb Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, based in Benghazi, Libya, North Africa, during early 1943. ... -
41-11761 Sleepy, The Squaw
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator bomber, SN 41-11761, was first named, Sleepy, and, later, renamed, The Squaw. It flew on the famous Ploesti bombing mission, returning to Cyprus, piloted by Lt. Royden L. Lebrecht. After Ploesti and and the completion of his tour,... -
41-11825 Hail Columbia - Little Chief Big Dog - Grumpy
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, Hail Columbia, 41-11825, was assigned to the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron. It was first assigned to the 344th Squadron's CO, Col. John R. Kane's, personal aircraft until Kane became the 98th Bomb Group's... -
41-11768 Kickapoo
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D Liberator, 41-11768, named, Kickapoo, was piloted by Lt. John S. Young from Dallas, Texas as part of the 9th Air Force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron, which arrived in North Africa in early 1943. This airplane was... -
42-40753
B-24 Liberator
The B-24D, 42-40753, was a Consolidated B-24D bomber from the 389th Bombardment Group, of the 8th Air Force, and the 564th Bomb Squadron from England. It's Command Pilot on Operation Tidal Wave, was 2nd Lt. Lloyd Hughes, and his crew. They flew on...
Missions
-
Operation Tidal Wave
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...
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Denison, TX, USA | 21 April 1919 |
|
21-Apr-19 Royden Louis Lebrecht born in Denison, Texas. He is son of Louis H. and Myrtle Azola Walton Lebrecht. [Source: City of Denison birth records]Dennison, Texas, USA. |
||
| Enlisted | Dallas, TX | 10 November 1941 |
|
Dallas, Texas |
||
| Assigned | Benghazi, Libya | 1943 |
|
343rd Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. |
||
| Survived Ploesti | Ploiești, Romania | 1 August 1943 |
|
Pilot B-24 41-11761 'The Squaw' flew on the 1st Aug 43 Ploesti raid, diverted to Cypress. |
||
| War Bonds Tour | 1944 | |
|
Returned to Fort Worth, TX, USA for war bonds tour with A/C. |
||
| Died | Tucson, AZ | 28 July 2003 |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 September 2021 20:34:12 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Punctuation. - Kickapoo |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 16 May 2021 00:03:44 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 May 2021 10:17:00 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 'Bomerang' |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 May 2021 04:57:47 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 41-11761 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 May 2021 04:29:41 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Best Web - B-24 - 41-11761 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 April 2021 14:09:50 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, service number, biography and events |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/624758697 |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 26 February 2021 00:29:30 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography, events and person associations |
| Sources | ||
Grayson County Texas - GenWeb Family - LeBrecht Family Chronology |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 09:48:49 | Kickapoo | Changes to role |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti -- James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 09:23:03 | Kickapoo | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti -- James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 09:18:34 | Kickapoo | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti -- James Dugan & Carroll Stewart |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 08:18:16 | Kickapoo | Changes to nickname, biography, awards and events |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 07:05:12 | Kickapoo | Changes to role, biography, person associations, unit associations, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 24 October 2020 06:46:33 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 18:56:01 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events and media associations |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 16:30:53 | Al_Skiff | Changes to aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 16:06:01 | Al_Skiff | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 31 March 2015 16:03:52 | Al_Skiff | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, events, unit associations, aircraft associations, mission associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
USAAF Photo. |
||
