Bombardier 2nd Lt.
William G. Richardson from Portland, Maine,
Engineer S/Sgt. Richard J. Mc Coy from Jersey
City, New Jersey
Radio Operator S/Sgt. Gerald E. Reader from Fond
Du Lac, Wisconsin
Ball Turret Gunner Sgt. Julian E Winfree Jr from
Greensboro, North Carolina
RW Gunner Sgt. John B. Hoffman from
Longview, Texas
LW Gunner Sgt. Robert E. Schultz from Staunton,
Virginia
Tail Turret Sgt. Russell A. Wapensky from
Laneford, Pennsylvania.
On 20 February
1944 the 44th flew a mission to Ochersleben and
Helmstedt, Germany. The weather was severely
cold over all of Europe with snow covering the
ground both at the
target and on the base. Two targets of
opportunity were hit because the primary at
Halberstadt, which was scheduled for bombing by
PFF equipment, malfunctioned. Slight but fairly
accurate flak was encountered over the two
targets, coupled with attacks by enemy aircraft,
led the 44th to loose two planes.
The MACR states
that, “At 1350 hours, A/C #373 was seen hit by
flak, #4 engine was smoking. A/C fell back and
became a straggler. Between 1405 and 1410 hours,
the ship was attacked at least four times by one
Me 109. No chutes observed.”
S/Sgt. Gerald E. Reader, radio operator, was
able to add his recollections, “We were on our
first mission and were put in formation as
Tail-end Charlies [in the first section]. Our
target was
Helmstedt. We got our bombs away and were
leaving the target area when flak got one right
engine. The rest of our formation was leaving
when the Me 109s showed up. I shot flares to
alert
our fighter cover, but they were all busy. One
Me 109 hit us in the tail and set that section
on fire. Our tail gunner, Russ Wapensky, was
burned. His chute, which was just outside of his
turret, was
damaged and partially burned. “Co-pilot Lt.
Lewis got up from his seat and motioned for us
to get out. Engineer Dick McCoy
then bailed out from the front. I don’t know
what happened to him. Our waist gunners, Winfree
and Schultz bailed out from the rear, followed
by Sgt. Hoffman, ball turret gunner. Wapensky
then came forward looking for a spare chute to
replace his damaged one. Lt. Lewis got Wapensky
on his back and jumped out, both hanging on to
each other. But when the chute opened, Wapensky
was torn loose and fell to his death. I, then,
went out from the front, too. Both our navigator
and bombardier were in the nose so I don’t know
what happened to them or what took place there.
“Lt. Rawson, Lt. Lewis, Lt. Richardson, Sgt.
Hoffman and myself are all that came down alive
as far as I know. I don’t know if Winfree got
out of the plane or not.
“We landed near
Odessa, were taken to Bad Hamberg, then on to
Frankfurt for interrogation, etc. However, our
crew was not together as Hoffman went to the
hospital and I didn’t see the others
again. I ended up a POW at Heidakrug, East
Prussia.” The bombardier, Lt. William Richardson
adds even more, “I was not their regular
bombardier – he was unable to fly this day and I
was
substituted from my regular crew. Our briefed
target was Helmstedt, but the primary target for
most of the 8th AF was Leipzig. Helmstedt, as I recall, was a diversionary target. We were
supposed to fly over the target at 13,000 feet,
and thereafter climb to 18,000 on the return
journey.
“All went well until we reached our destination.
There we encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire
and at least one of our engines was knocked out.
Any other damage caused by the flak I was not
aware of. Our bombs were dropped. After passing
over the target, the formation started their
ascent to the new altitude. In our crippled
condition, we were unable to keep up, and
gradually fell behind, until we were all alone.
“Shortly after that, several enemy fighters
moved in and shot the hell out of us. A FW 190
flew up, right in front of my turret, so close I
could look right into the pilot’s face – moments
you don’t forget! Had my guns been operating, I
could have given him a bad time, but they were
out – as was most everything else in our
aircraft.
“I didn’t hear any
bail out order, but was sure it was getting near
that time. My intercom was out. I couldn’t open
the door to the turret but the navigator (Lt.
Johnston) opened it for me. Had he
not done that, I would have been casualty #6. At
this point, the B-24 was in a pretty violent
attitude and heading down. Lt. Johnston went out
through the nose wheel door and I followed. At
that time I didn’t know the fate of the rest of
the crew or if anyone was still on board.
“It was sort of open country and farmland where
we came down. I landed in high brush and had
hardly extricated myself when arms-bearing
“natives” appeared and escorted me to a group
several hundred yards away – Lts. Rawson and
Lewis, a badly wounded ball turret gunner [Winfree],
and one other crewman. The navigator Johnston
was there, but dead as his chute was unopened!
“I have enclosed a copy of a letter prepared by
Lt. Rawson recommending Lt. Lewis for a Silver
Star. Outcome unknown.”
In part it states, “The rudder controls were
shot out, the elevators jammed, the whole tail
section set afire, and the tail gunner severely
injured and his flying suit set afire. On the
second pass, the left (waist) gunner was killed
and the right gunner and ball turret gunners
were severely injured. The order to bail out was
then given and the right waist gunner, ball
turret gunner, navigator and bombardier
parachuted out.
“As Lt. Lewis prepared to leave the aircraft, he
noticed that the quick release mechanism of the
pilot’s flak suit was jammed. He paused to tear
off the flak suit of the pilot who was fighting
to
maintain control of the aircraft; he retrieved
the pilot’s parachute from behind the armor
plate and buckled it on him. As Lt. Lewis
entered the bomb bay, he saw the wounded tail
gunner on
the catwalk. His suit was still on fire and his
parachute had been riddled by 20-mm shells.
Pausing again, Lt. Lewis dragged the injured
tail gunner [Wapensky] onto his back and dived
out the bomb bay. When the parachute opened, the
tail gunner’s hold was loosened and he fell to
the
earth and was killed.”"
S/Sgt. McCoy
managed to jump from the bomb bay but his
parachute failed to open. He was found by a
German wood-cutter in the forest near Oberrosphe,
Germany.
S/Sgt Mc Coy is buried at the Margraten
Netherlands American Cemetery, Plot L Row 14
Grave 16. He was 23 years old.
