West of Terni
The city of Rome had been in Allied hands since June 4, 1944, but much fighting continued on in the area. Sixty-five miles to the north, German forces were regrouping near the town of Termi.
P-40 “Warhawks” of the 27th Fighter-Bomber Group at Santa Maria, Italy were ordered to attack these German positions on June 6, 1944.
West of the city, a flight of four P-40’s went down low to attack 5 camoflaged German military vehicles. One of these planes, piloted by 2nd Lieutenant Ralph F. Hansman, of New York City, was hit. A witness made the following report:
“In my opinion, Lieutenant Hansman was hit by accurate 20 mm fire off the target and augered in. Due to our low altitude and high speed, he would not have had a chance to bail out.”Lieutenant Hansman’s remains were recovered and after the War, returned to the Mount Hope Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
Near Bolsena Lake, two more P-40’s were downed. The flight leader, 2nd Lieutenant David W. Johnson, left the following report (a copy is included in the photo gallery):
“I had four P-40’s strafing in the Bolsena Lake area….after ten or fifteen seconds, I looked back for the other three planes, but saw none but my wing man. There was a cloud of dust about 100 yards long in the area where we were fired on. I called for the position of the men twice but received no answer.”The two downed pilots were 2nd Lieutenant Lawrence J. Flory, Jr., of Missouri, and 2nd Lieutenant Jesse A. Harris, Jr. Lieutenant Flory’s remains were never found and he continues to be listed as “Missing in Action.” The case of Lieutenant Harris is more puzzling. He is not listed as having been killed in World War 2, nor is he listed in any Prisoner of War databases. Should any reader know about this man, please contact me.
When Terni was finally reached by British tank forces on June 13, they found that the Germans had evacuated the City. Terni was no longer a target.
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My father was Paul D Jessop, he spoke of your Grandfather a lot. My father passed away in 2011 .The World War II Dead of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hi Bill, Thanks for putting this together. My grand uncle, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Woolfolk attended UCLA and I believe he graduated in 1936. He was on the waterpolo team. He was a bombardier in the 571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group and his aircraft "Decatur Deb" was shot down on May 28, 1944. He and six others perished while three were able bail out and became POWs. This is written up the in the book "Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II." There is a B-17G tail gunner's compartment on display at the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, which is dedicated to this crew. Regards, Nick VeronicoBill’s WW2 Almanac for January 21: Featuring Col. Randy’s Flying Circus
Hi! Randall Col Randy is actually my great grandfather and I was wandering if you ever new him? I am curious to know more about him.Women in WWII: Cornelia Clark Fort
Interesting....very hard to know the 'who hit who'.....Fort had enough flying time to be a instructor, I know nothing about the other pilot. If Pastor Jeff had information on her being talked into a situation, I would love to know if reliable. Regardless, so many losses in so many ways.... My take is the WAFS/WASPS deserve a bit more of history's 'time in the books'. Many thanks for the commentary, StarrRemembering the Fallen: WWII Veterans of UCLA, Major Robert C. Maze
Bill, Are you still working on this blog? Rosemarie is my mother in law. She passed away 10 years ago. Her (and Roberts') son Robert Maze Jr is alive and well. I was googling Admiral Radford and ended up googling links... Thank you for your efforts here. Kim WoodsFrom Panatella to Ploesti
I’m looking for information on My Great great GRANDFATHER WAS ON A B-24 LIBERATOR CALLED: Diamond li
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The bombardament of Terni 6 June 1944 is remembered as one of more “heavy”. It was a night attack. If someone have any material, information about it. Please tell me.