| 2nd Lt John G.Gossage |
P |
Rescued & later a POW (3/3/44) Berlin |
| 2nd Lt William S.
Grier |
CP |
KIA |
| 2nd Lt Walter Nichols Jr |
NAV |
POW 8/10/43 Bremen (with
Lt Becktoft Crew) |
| 2nd Lt Theodore J.Don |
BOM |
Rescued & CPT (sn# 0-676883) |
| T/Sgt William S.Humphrey |
TTE |
Rescued & later a POW (3/3/44) Berlin |
| S/Sgt Ralph
Schulte |
RWG |
KIA |
| T/Sgt Michael W.Gillen |
ROG |
Rescued & CPT |
| S/Sgt Francis
J.DeCooman |
BTG |
KIA |
| S/Sgt Bruce E.Alshouse |
TG |
Rescued & CPT |
| S/Sgt Clyde
O.Lovell |
LWG |
KIA |
This crew joined the 100th Group in August 1943 a few days after the
Regensburg raid of 17/8/43. (17 Aug 43). Flying with the Crew on the Sept
24, 1943 mission was 2nd Lt. J. Ward Dalton (Nav) in place of Lt Nichols and
was KIA.
DATE: 24 Sept. 1943 349th Sqdn. A/C #42-30259
TARGET: Practice Mission MACR #778 (Micro-fiche #257)
On 24/9/43 a rather sudden practice mission was scheduled and it was
discovered that this crew's regularly assigned A/C was still loaded with
bombs from a mission scrubbed earlier that day. Another A/C was assigned
the crew and in the rush to take off at the proper time, it was not
immediately discovered that the ten machine guns were stored in the nose
compartment.
While over the North Sea on the practice mission, about 10/15 enemy
fighters jumped the formation and left Gossage's ship badly shot up and #3
engine and part of the right wing burning fiercely. Gossage ordered the
crew to bail out but he rode the ship to a crash landing in the sea. After
about an hour in the water, Gossage,
Don, Humphrey, Gillen
and Alshouse were picked
up by Air-Sea Rescue. Bodies of Schulte & DeCooman were never recovered
and their names are inscribed on the Wall Of The Missing at Cambridge,
Eng. Bill Grier is buried in the Cambridge Cemetery.
On 3/3/44, Gossage flying with a new crew was shot down on a mission to
Berlin and became a POW. Sgt. Humphrey, with the crew of R. D. Vollmer,
went down on that same mission and became a POW
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