Bill’s blog archive: Daily Posts

The 15^th Army Air Force, based in Italy, sent hundreds of B-24 Liberators against the Romanian oilfields at Ploesti on June 6, 1944. This target, one of the main suppliers of oil to the war machine of the Third Reich, had been attacked many times before, but always managed to remain in operation.

Flying out of Panatella, Italy, the 465^th Bomb Group, part of the 15^th AAF, lost 4 crews, for a total of 41 men, on this raid.

B-24 tail # 42-52449, nicknamed “Patches”, was hit by enemy aircraft over Bucharest.  One witness observed “ . . . almost immediately, I saw two chutes leave the plane.  The plane made a left bank 90 degrees from my position.  At this point my attention was attracted by the fighters…the last time I saw the plane it was only a small spot . . .”

Fortunately, the entire crew was able to bail out.  They were held as Prisoners of War in Bucharest, Romania until August, when they were returned to the United States.  The “Patches” crew were:

• 1st Lieutenant Kenneth M. Martin (Denver, CO)
• 2nd Lieutenant Rex L. Struble (Otisville, MI)
• 2nd Lieutenant Robert L. Williamson (Alexandria, VA)
• 2nd Lieutenant Morris E. Finley (Durant, OK)
• Staff Sergeant Donald L. Merkel (Glenvil, NB)
• Staff Sergeant Thomas Scalese (Reading, PA)
• Staff Sergeant Gerald J. Simmons (Reynoldsburg, OH)
• Staff Sergeant Kenneth G. Foden (New York, NY)
• Staff Sergeant Francis P. Little (River Rouge, MI)
• Sergeant Wilburn Vorheir (San Macos, TX)

“Hell’s Belle,” B-24 tail 42-52505, suffered a nearly identical fate.  Hit by anti-aircraft fire near the target, the entire crew of this bomber also safely bailed out.  Like the crew of “Patches”, they were also held as POW’s in Bucharest, and liberated at the same time.  The crew was:

• 1^st Lieutenant John F. MacFarlane (Arcadia, CA)
• 2^nd Lieutenant Robert L. George (Tyler, TX)
• 2^nd Lieutenant Sidney Weiss (Governors Island, NY)
• 2^nd Lieutenant Howard L. Sapenoff (Brooklyn, NY)
• Technical Sergeant Albert P.McQuaid, Jr. (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Technical Sergeant Thomas R. Jackson, Jr. (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Staff Sergeant John R. Duke (Tampa, FL)
• Staff Sergeant Hoyt F. Adsit (Sherburne, NY)
• Staff Sergeant Ralph C. Finch (Old Greenwich, CT)
• Staff Sergeant Jarmer Jancarik (Cudahy, WI)
• Technical Sergeant Melton L. Crawford (Jasper, MO)

A third crew, aboard B-24 tail # 42-52456, had a similar fate to the two others. A witness observed “. . . the fire was caused by flak hitting between the number two engine and the fuselage. LT Funk (the pilot) pulled out of formation before any bailed out. . .”

The entire crew survived as POW’s in Romania. They were returned home in September of 1944. This crew was:

• 2^nd Lieutenant Glenferd E. Funk (Wichita, KS)
• 2^nd Lieutenant Marvin E. Hoffman (Hollywood, CA)
• 2^nd Lieutenant John A. Leins (Brownsburg, IN)
• 2^nd Lieutenant Richard C. Kline (Long Beach, CA)
• Technical Sergeant Elwyn L. Loomis (Canton, PA)
• Staff Sergeant LeRoy M. Drane (Louisville, KY)
• Staff Sergeant Matthew J. Mroczkowski (Brooklyn, NY)
• Staff Sergeant Otis W. Dunderdale (Houston, TX)
• Staff Sergeant James A. Shaughnessy (Watertown, NY)
• Staff Sergeant Nicholas Stetz (New York, NY)

The fourth crew suffered a different fate. B-24 tail # 42-52575, went down over the Adriatic Sea, between Hersignova, Yugoslavia, and Barletta, Italy. A witness reported that “. . . almost immediately after leaving the coast of Yugoslavia he (42-52575) fell behind the formation and started to descend. His descent was 130 to 135 miles per hour and losing approximately 1000 to 1300 feet of altitude. On the descent the crew was throwing things overboard. Ammunition bolts were the only things that I could distinguish for sure but several other objects were thrown out also…..at 1210 the plane hit the water. It held together and floated for approximately five minutes . . . . I did not see any life raft come out of the ditched airplane . . . . I circled the position until 1308…and flew close to the ditching position . . . . I definitely saw four men in  the water-three were together and one was by himself. The bombardier thought there were six or seven men in the water. None of them were in the dinghy at that time.”

Three of the crew were saved by an air-sea rescue launch. The other seven were listed as Missing in Action and their remains never recovered. The crew was:

• 2^nd Lieutenant Ralph L. Pemberton, Jr. (Scott, AR) -Missing in Action
• 2^nd Lieutenant Edwin B. Boehme (Rochester, NY) -Missing in Action
• 2^nd Lieutenant William Leppla, Jr. (Long Island City, NY) -Rescued
• 2^nd Lieutenant William L. Claytor, Jr. (Petersburg, VA)- Missing in Action
• Technical Sergeant Walter A. Rolek (Bayonne, NJ) -Rescued
• Technical Sergeant Thomas R. Whyte (Tyler, TX) -Missing in Action
• Staff Sergeant Paul Ledney (Winober, PA)-Missing in Action
• Staff Sergeant John R. McGrath (Eagle Grove, IA)-Missing in Action
• Staff Sergeant Cecil L. Sammons (Eads, TN)-Rescued

A number of other B-24s belonging to the 15^th AAF were lost on June 6, 1944, and will be discussed in future posts.