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Military
S. Sgt. Frank Hearne
The Official Report of Aircraft Accident (A.A.F. Form No. 14) for B-17G 42-31083, Tenny Belle on 11 April 1944. Lists all crew members, reports from ground personnel, the one survivor and official findings.
DALY'S CREW September 1944 Peyote Air Base, Texas From L-R 1 William Evans 2 Robert W. Koerber 3 Omer L. Young 4 Howard G. Polizzo 5 John E. Daly 6 Harvey W. Tuber 7 Adriel W. Langendorfer 8 Frank J. Hearne 9 John MacCallum 10 Joseph Jennings
DALY'S CREW Pyote Air Base, Texas - September 1943 Front Row (L-R) 1 John Daly, Pilot 2 Robert Koerber, Copilot 3 William Evans, Navigator 4 Joseph Jennings, Bombardier Back Row (L-R) - Gunners 1 Omer "Lyle" Young 2 Frank Hearne 3 John MacCallum 4 Adriel "Wayne" Langendoerfer 5 Howard Polizzo 6 Harvey Tuber This ten-man crew earned the Air Medal on their second mission -- Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, where they bombed a Messerschmidt airplane factory.
DALY'S CREW, September 1943, Pyote Air Base, Texas L-R: William Evans, Navigator; Robert Koerber, Copilot; Lyle Young, Radio man; Howard Polizzo, Tail gunner; John Daly, Pilot; Harvey Tuber, Ball turret gunner; Wayne Langendoerfer, Top turret gunner; Frank Hearne, Left waist gunner; John MacCallum, Right waist gunner; Joseph Jennings, Bombardier.
DALY'S CREW - September 1943 Pyote Air Base, Texas Front row: John Daly, Pilot; Robert Koerber, Co-pilot; William Evans, Navigator; Joseph Jennings, Bombardier. Back Row, Gunners: Lyle Young; Frank Hearne; John MacCallum; Wayne Langendoerfer; Howard Polizzo; Harvey Tuber. This ten man crew was awarded the Air Medal on their second bombing mission, to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
Frank J Hearne, Jr. Tombstone
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) in 42-31083. A/C exploded mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Sorau, Germany mission 11-Apr-44 'Tenny Belle' exploded in mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA). No MACR
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Navigator | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 17 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Sorau, Germany mission 11-Apr-44 'Tenny Belle' exploded in mid-air near Downham Market, England. Sole survivor, blown out of A/C with chute. Wounded in Action (WIA) RTD....
Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier; Navigator; Bombardier Instructor | 379th Bomb Group
Joe Jennings served as a bombardier and navigator with the 525th Bomb Squadron of the 379th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Kimbolton, England. While Joe is at Alconbury receiving Radar training, he learns about the crash of April 11 that kills John...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Sorau Germany mission 11-Apr-44 'Tenny Belle' exploded in mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | Technical Sergeant | Radio man | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USSAF. John Daly crew. Failed to Return (FTR) in B-17 42-31083. A/C exploded in mid-air near Downham Market, England Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | Staff Sergeant | Right Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. Failed to Return (FTR) Sorau Germany mission 11-Apr-44 'Tenny Belle' exploded in mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Bombardier/Left Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Served as a reserve crewmember on the following missions/position
Mission 253:
B-17 42-31394
Left Waist Gunner
Mission 273:
B-17 42-39800
Bombardier
Military | Staff Sergeant | Tail Gunner / Armorer | 379th Bomb Group
Killed in Action (KIA). Plane exploded mid-air near Downham Market, England
...
Military | Staff Sergeant (3rd Grade) | Nose Gunner / Togglier, Right Waist Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Military | Staff Sergeant | Ball Turret Gunner | 379th Bomb Group
Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. 11 x combat missions. John Daly crew. Failed to Return (FTR) in B-17 42-31083. A/C exploded mid-air near Downham Market, England, navigator survived. Killed in Action (KIA)
Awards: AM, PH.
Group
The 379th Bomb Group (H) (heavy), based at Kimbolton, flew more sorties than any other Bomb Group in the Eighth Air Force and dropped a greater bomb tonnage than any other Group. The B-17 Flying Fortress Group was awarded two Distinguished Unit...
Squadron
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 5/2/43; Assigned 94BG Presque Is 4/43; transferred 324BS/91BG [DF-B] Bassingbourn 15/9/43; 525BS/379BG Kimbolton 27/9/43; Returned to the USA 21/5/44; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Altus 24/1/45.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 15/9/43;
...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 6/12/43; Kearney 26/12/43; Nutts Corner, Belfast, N.I. 14/1/44; Assigned 525BS/379BG [FR-L] Kimbolton 29/1/44; Missing in Action Berlin 24/5/44 with Capt Lytle Shumake, Co-pilot: George Smith, Navigator: Regis Savage, Bombardier:...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 3/1/44; Kearney 14/1/44; Assigned 525BS/379BF [FR-O] Kimbolton 19/2/44; Missing in Action Berlin 7/5/44 with Clarry Darnell, Co-pilot: John Jones, Radio Operator: Tom Wilkens, Ball turret gunner: Bill Snider, Waist gunner: Lewis Rule...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 8/1/44; Albuquerque 12/1/44; Assigned 525BS/379BG [FR-C] Kimbolton 10/2/44; then 524BS [WA-G] ; flak battle damaged during raid on Magdeburg 28/9/44. Took out 2 engines on one wing, flak came through the windshield and glass got into...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered 4/9/43; Assigned 303BG Molesworth 18/10/43; transferred 1 Base Air Depot, Burtonwood 23/10/43; re-ass 547BS/384BG [SO- ] Grafton Underwood 2/11/43; transferred 526BS/379BG [LF-T] Kimbolton 7/11/43; crashed RAF Wilton, UK 2/12/44; sal 2 SAD...
16 March 1944
The two primary targets for this mission are: the industrial areas of Augsburg, Germany and Friedrichshafen, Germany. A combined force of 720 heavy bombers are despatched from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions. The bomber gunners of the combined despatch...
18 March 1944
The German aircraft industries and aie depots are the main objectives of this mission. A combined total of 738 heavy bombers from 1st, 2nd and 3rd Air Divisions are despatched to bomb the German aircraft industries at Oberpfaffenhofen and...
19 March 1944
V-Weapon sites in France are the targets for this mission. A combined force of 193 B-17s of 1st and 3rd Air Divisions are despatched. Mission Summary follows:
...
20 March 1944
The industrial areas of Frankfurt and the railroad marshalling yards there are the targets for this mission. All three Air Disivisions despatch aircraft but high clouds frustrated bombing attempts and many formations abandoned the mission even after...
22 March 1944
The German aviation industries at Oraneinburg and Basdorf were the intended primary target for this mission but dense cloud cover prevented the attack on these targets. The secondary target of Berlin, Germany and surrounding Targets of Opportunity (TOs...
23 March 1944
The industrial areas of Brunswick, Munster, Osnabruck, and Achmer, Germany as well as the airfield at Handorf, Germany become the targets for a force of 768 heavy bombers despatched by all three Air Divisions. The bomber gunner claims on German...
27 March 1944
This mission might be likened to a "shotgun blast" as a combined force 714 heavy bombers are despatched form all three Air Divisions to attack 11 different German airfields and air depots in France. Mission summary follows:
...
28 March 1944
A force of 450 heavy bombers from all three Air Divisions is despatched to bomb the German E-Boat pens at Ijmuiden, Holland and German airfields in France. Mission Summary follows:
...
9 April 1944
10 April 1944
Military site : airfield
Planned for RAF use, Kimbolton airfield was built by W and C French Ltd. in 1941. The airfield was increased in size to accommodate a full US heavy Bomb Group, and the first such unit to us it was the 91st Bomb Group, who arrived in September 1942....
Military site : non-airfield
Sometime after late summer in 1943 an RAF Gunnery Range was taken over to provide gunnery training for B-17 crews close to where they would be deployed at East Anglian airfields.
...
Crash site
Military site : airfield
| Event | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Born | Indianapolis, Indiana | 1 June 1923 |
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Son of Frank John Snr and Altha [Russell] Hearne. |
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| Enlisted | Indianapolis, IN, USA | 8 January 1943 |
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Indianapolis, Indiana |
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| Based | Pyote Army Airfield | 23 September 1943 – 8 December 1943 |
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B-17 Flying Fortress crew training |
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| Based | Snettisham | January 1944 – 19 February 1944 |
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Intensive gunnery training |
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| Based | Kimbolton | 20 February 1944 – 11 April 1944 |
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Assigned to 525BS, 379BG, 8AF USAAF. |
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| Died | Barroway Drove, Downham Market PE38 0AJ, UK | 11 April 1944 |
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Failed to Return (FTR) in 42-31083. A/C exploded mid-air near Downham Market, England. Killed in Action (KIA) |
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| Buried | 12 April 1944 | |
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Interred |
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| Buried | Calvary cemetery, Indianapolis, IN | October 1948 |
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Re-Interred |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2019 10:38:34 | Al_Skiff | Changes to middlename, biography, awards, events and unit associations |
| Sources | ||
https://www.fold3.com/image/319458135 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 March 2018 19:43:23 | TennyBelle | Changes to events |
| Sources | ||
enlistment records |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 20 March 2018 19:25:44 | TennyBelle | Changes to events, aircraft associations and mission associations |
| Sources | ||
8th AF database |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 07 March 2018 01:52:05 | Jennings | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
Joseph W. Jennings Military Papers - 1943-1945 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 December 2017 20:35:05 | TennyBelle | Changes to service number, place associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
avail/known data |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:09:56 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Combat Chronology; 379th Bombardment Group Anthology, pg 302 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia |
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