Codes

Lt. Col. Channing Burton Emberson

Close 
 

Lt. Col. C. B. Emberson and All American Girl
 

LT COL CHANNING BURTON (C. B. ) EMBERSON 0-406725
487TH BOMB GROUP OPERATIONS OFFICER (Feb 16 1944-May 6, 1944)
351st BOMB SQUADRON CO (June 14, 1944 to Dec 25, 1944)

Logbook Entries Certified Correct by Stanley E. Stuber, Capt. USAAF (date unknown)

DATE TYPE TARGET

MISSION #

REMARKS
5/1/1944 B-17G Belgium

01

Bombing - Combat
5/19/1944 B-17G Berlin, Germany

02

Bombing - Combat (Good)
5/20/1944 B-17G Brussels, Belgium

03

Bombing - Combat
5/25/1944 B-17G Brussels, Belgium

04

Bombing - Combat
5/30/1944 B-17G Troyes, France

05

Combat (Very Good)
5/31/1944 B-17G Osnabruck, Germany

06

Combat (Fair)
6/2/1944 B-17G Paris, France

07

Combat (Very Good)
6/4/1944 B-17G Bologne, France

08

Combat (Excellent)
6/6/1944 B-17G France

09

Combat - D-Day
6/19/1944 B-17G Ecluse, France

10

Combat (Very Good)
6/24/1944 B-17G Rouen, France

11

Combat
7/11/1944 B-17G Munich, Germany

12

Combat - PFF
7/18/1944 B-17G Kiel, Germany

13

Combat
7/21/1944 B-17G Ludwigshaven, Germany

14

Combat
7/28/1944 B-17G Merseberg, Germany

15

Combat
8/4/1944 B-17G Hamburg, Germany

16

Combat (Good)
8/11/1944 B-17G Villa Coublay, France

17

Combat (Excellent)
8/15/1944 B-17G Venlo, Holland

18

Combat (Very Good)
8/24/1944 B-17G Ruhland, Germany

19

Combat (Excellent)
8/27/1944 B-17G Berlin, Germany

20

Combat
9/5/1944 B-17G Stuttgart, Germany

21

Combat (Very Good)
9/10/1944 B-17G Nurenberg, Germany

22

Combat (Good)
9/15/1944 B-17G England / England

--

Recall from Warsaw
9/18/1944 B-17G Warsaw/Russia

23

Combat - Supplies to Polish Partisans
9/19/1944 B-17G Russia/Szolnok, Hungary

24

Combat - Shuttle to Italy
9/28/1944 B-17G Merseberg, Germany

25

Combat
10/5/1944 B-17G Germany

26

Combat
10/12/1944 B-17G Bremen, Germany

27

Combat (Good)
10/22/1944 B-17G Munster, Germany

28

Combat (Good)
11/6/1944 B-17G Neumunster, Germany

29

Combat (Fair)
11/26/1944 B-17G Hamm, Germany

30

Combat - Got Shot Down
12/2/1944 B-17G Western Germany

31

Combat
12/25/1944 B-17G Kaiserlautern, Germany

32

Combat (Excellent)
1/1/1945 B-17G England

--

Training
1/2/1945 B-17G England

--

Training
1/4/1945 C-54 Scotland

--

LG, USA, Great Britain - USA
4/26/1945 C-45 Gulfport / Gulfport

--

Training
4/28/1945 AT-11 Gulfport / Gulfport

--

Training
4/29/1945 AT-11 Gulfport / Gulfport

--

Training
4/30/1945 AT-11 Gulfport / Gulfport

--

Training
5/7/1945 AT-11 Gulfport / Gulfport

--

Training
5/19/1945 B-17G Gulfport / Maxwell

--

--
5/21/1945 AT-11 Gulfport / Maxwell

--

--
5/22/1945 AT-6 Tenn

--

--
5/25/1945 AT-6 Nashville

--

 

On 26 Nov 44, this PFF crew was as follows on a mission to Hamm

Lt. Col Channing Emberson

Air Commander

Capt James Seamans

Pilot

1st Lt Clyde W. Lollis

Copilot (formation officer in tail)

Capt George L. Rhoades

Lead NAV

Capt William R. Brice

Lead BOM

1st Lt Seymour Passen

Command NAV

1st Lt Earl Frye

Radar

T/Sgt Paul A. Ross

TTE

T/Sgt Herbert A. Grand

ROG

S/Sgt Homer Goodman

RWG (original BTG on Seamans crew)

S/Sgt Edward J. Tatro

LWG (original TG on Seamans crew)

Lt Col Emberson Time line:
Enlisted from 21 June 1940 - 14 Mar 1941 Inclusive
Commissioned 15 March 1941 - 11 Oct 1945 Inclusive

His first Army Air Corps logbook entry is on: 9/20/40, for primary flying school at Lindbergh Field in San Diego. Basic flying training commenced on 12/23/40 at Randolph Field in Texas, and his Advanced Flying School time commenced on 3/14/41 at Kelly Field, Texas. He qualified and flew B-24s, (D, E and H) B-25s (A, B, C, D), B-26s (C). He did mostly anti-sub patrol, starting in *. On 5/8/42, in a B-25A, he sank two Nazi subs, sank or damaged a Nazi sub on 6/7/42 (B-25B), flew anti sub patrol with/for the Queen Mary on 10/17/42…. Temp promotion dated 5 Feb 1943 (his 24th birthday) from 1st Lt to Capt…. Special orders dated 18 Feb 1944, looks like reassignment from the 359th Base Hq & AB Sq, Alamogordo, NM, assigned 487th BG (H) effective on 16 Feb 1944. . Captain Emberson was promoted to Group Operations Officer on Feb 16, 1944( Lt Col Beirne Lay Jr took command of 487th BG on Feb 27). Temp promotion dated 13 March 1944 from Captain to Major. . . He arrived on base in England on 4/22/44 (arriving in a B-24H) assigned to 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham. . . Lt Col Lay replaced him as Operations Officer on May 6th. (A misjudgment on the part of Lay who in April 1945, admitted as much in a personal letter to Lt Col Emberson) The group had not even flown one mission yet. His place was taken by a Major Pomeroy and eventually by Captain Ernest Kiessling from the 100th BG on May 22nd 1944.

Special Order dated 14 June 1944:
"MAJ CHANNING B EMBERSON, 0406725, is reld fr dy in & asgmt to Hq 100th Bomb Gp, reasgd to 351st Bomb Sq, & aptd CO thereof. " By order of Lt. Col Jeffrey

A credit/debit slip dated 12 July 1944 for a bicycle, bell, pump and tool kit.

Handwritten recreation of promotion from Major to Lt. Col. ordered by Lt General Doolittle (looking for the original)

Medals and Commendations:

  • A commendation for the 351st dated 03 Jan 1945 for outstanding performance from 31 July to 2 Nov 1944, when the squadron participated in 52 consecutive missions without the loss of a single crew or aircraft signed by Brig Gen N. B. Harbold.

  • Award - DFC dated 4 Nov 1944- for heavy bombardment over Germany for period ending 22 Oct 1944 (Munster was the last mission before this date) with TWO oak leaf clusters

  • Awarded Air Medal for flying more than 350 hrs in the Army Air Corp.

  • An extract dated 20 July 1944: Awards & Decorations - Oak Leaf Cluster, for wear with the Air Medal previously awarded. (heavy bombardment over Continental Europe)

  • Extract dated 24 July 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

  • Extract dated 25 Aug 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

  • Extract dated 29 sept 1944 - Oak Leaf Cluster for Air Medal prev. awarded

  • American Defense Medal

  • American Theater Medal with one Battle Star (Battle of Atlantic)

  • ETO Ribbon with 4 Battle Stars (Air Offensive Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Battle of Germany)

-end-