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.
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Edgar C Faith
Military
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Page 18 of the 93rd 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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93rd Bomb Group Roll of Honor at Hardwick Airfield Memorial Museum.
Killed in action on 1 August 1943 during Operation Tidal wave onboard B-24 Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994.
Dispatched to North Africa in 1943 with the 93rd Bomb Group to take part in Operation Tidal Wave. Part of the crew of B-24 Liberator, Hell's Wench, 42-40994, on 1 August 1943. Upon reaching the target area the 93rd Bomb Group's element lead pilot, Col. K.K. Compton, turned at the wrong point away from Ploesti, and headed for Bucharest. The pilots following Compton attempted to warn him and the mission commander on his airplane, Teggie Ann, but, when they deliberately failed to respond, Baker broke formation and led the remainder of the two bomb groups back toward Ploesti.
On approach to their target of opportunity, Hell's Wench, was hit by flak Compton jettisoned his bombs as both wings were hit, and the aircraft began leaking fuel, and became engulfed in flames. At almost the same time, the aircraft had to break formation and pull up to give his crewmen a desperate last chance to bail out and save themselves. Despite his attempts to gain altitude, the aircraft lost speed in the climb, rolled over, crashed, and exploded in flames, killing everyone aboard. 10 KIA. 1 Aug 1943.
Service
People
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Addison Baker
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. ... -
Charles Bennett
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. ... -
John Carroll
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. ... -
John Jerstad
Military | Major | B-24 Command Pilot | 376th Bomb Group
Major John Jerstad was Killed In Action (KIA) on Operation Tidal Wave onboard the B-24D Liberator, Hell's Wench. ... -
Alfred Pezzella
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. ... -
George Reuter
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. ... -
Morton Stafford
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. ... -
William Wood
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. ...
Units served with
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93rd Bomb Group
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... -
328th Bomb Squadron
Squadron
Aircraft
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42-40994 Hell's Wench
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 ...
Missions
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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...
Associated Place
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Concordia-Vega Refinery (White II)
Crash site
Events
| Event | Location | Date |
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| Born | Denver, Colorado | 12 September 1918 |
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Iowa |
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| Enlisted | 12 March 1942 | |
| Died | 1 August 1943 | |
Revisions
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 October 2021 00:39:03 | decwriter | Changes to awards and events |
| Sources | ||
NARA files verified DFC with oak leaf cluster and Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He earned the American Campaign Medal based upon his enlistment date and the EAME with at least one bronze service star for his ETO flights. The date he entered service is from the NARA website. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 October 2021 11:39:05 | Kickapoo | Changes to role and biography |
| Sources | ||
Black Sunday - Ploesti - Michael Hill |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 August 2019 15:16:37 | Emily | Changes to biography, events, person associations, place associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:08:06 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
ABMC MACR 331 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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