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Military
The B-24D - Hail Columbia, after the Ploesti mission and crash Landing at Nicosia, Cyprus - Aug 1, 1943. From left : Lt. Harry Korger/ Bombardier - Lt. Norman Whalen Navigator/Nose Gunner - Kneeling, second from right, 1st Lt. Raymond Hubbard/ Radio Operator/ Gunner, SSgt. Harvey Treace/Gunner, TSgt Clarence Weckesser/ Engineer/ Top Turret Gunner, SSgt. Neville Benson/Waist Gunner, SSgt. Joseph LaBranch/ Gunner, SSgt. Frederick Leard/Waist Gunner . This photo taken the next morning after the Ploesti mission. Monday August 2nd, 1943.
Took part in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying in B-24 Liberator 41-11825, Hail Columbia. 1 Aug 1943.
Military | Staff Sergeant | B-24 Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
SSgt. Neville C. Bensen took part in Operation Tidal Wave, over Ploesti, Romania, on 1 Aug 43. He was a waist gunner in the Element Lead B-24D Liberator, 41-11825, Hail Columbia, piloted by Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and Lt. John S. Young. He survived...
Military | First Lieutenant | Radio Operator | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Raymond B. Hubbard was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bombardment Group, and the 344th Bombing Squadron in Libya, North Africa, 1943. He flew in Operation Tidal Wave, the raid on Ploesti on 1 August 1943, flying as a Waist Gunner and Radio...
Military | Colonel | B-24 Bomb Group Commanding Officer / B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
John Riley Kane was a colonel in the United States Army Air Corps and, later, in 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 leadership, courage, and...
Military | Colonel | B-24 - B-52 Bombardier | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. Harold Francis Korger was a B-24 bombardier in the 344th Bombardment Squadron, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 9th Air Force, based in Benghazi, Libya, 1943. He flew on the B-24D, Hail Columbia, with the Element Group Leader Col. John R. Kane, on the...
Military | Technical Sergeant | B-24 Right Waist Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Technical Sgt. Frederick A. Leard was a waist gunner assigned to the Element Lead B-24D Liberator bomber, named, Hail Columbia, 41-11825, flown by Col. John R. "Killer" Kane and Lt. John S. Young on Operation Tidal Wave, the large mission to destroy...
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
SSgt Harvey L. Treace - Born Dec 19,1918 -
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Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | B-24D Flight Engineer / Top Turret Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
SSgt. Clarence Weckesser was the flight engineer and top turret gunner on the B-24D, named, Kickapoo, in the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, called "The Pyramiders", and the 344th Bomb Squadron out of Benghazi, Libya, in 1942 and 1943. He flew on,...
Military | Major | Navigator / Nose Gunner | 98th Bomb Group
Norman Mathew Whalen joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. After graduating from Navigator School in Monroe, Louisiana, he received his commission as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 9th Air force, the 98th Bomb Group, and the 344th Bombing...
Military | Major | B-24 Command Pilot | 98th Bomb Group
Lt. John S. Young was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Bored with college at SMU in Dallas, and knowing the country was headed for war, he joined the Army Air Force early in 1941 and began training as an aviation cadet. He was known as "Johnny" and ...
Group
The 98th trained for bombardment missions with B-24 Liberators during the first half of 1942.
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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...
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...
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...
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 03 September 2021 20:30:09 | Kickapoo | Changes to highest rank, biography and awards |
| Sources | ||
Personal archives - Kickapoo |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 14 August 2021 10:13:47 | Kickapoo | Changes to biography and awards |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 March 2021 13:20:32 | Kickapoo | Changes to person associations, unit associations, place associations and media associations |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 September 2020 11:06:50 | general ira snapsorter | Created entry with surname, middlename, firstname, nationality, highest rank, role, biography, unit associations, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
Ploesti Sortie Reports for the 98th Bomb Group; |
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