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MACR PILOT: 2Lt  Charles, B  Winkelman  - O-738320_
MACR: 00000 FICHE :

ORGANIZATION
LOCATION: AAF Station #139 COMMAND: VIII AF GROUP: 100th Bomb Gp (H) AAF
SQUADRON: 349th BS DETACHMENT:  
     

DETAIL
DEPARTURE:AAF Station #139 INITIAL COURSE:  
INTENDED DESTINATION: Paris Reanult Plant    
MISSION TYPE:Bombing    

WEATHER & VISIBILITY AT TIME OF LAST REPORT
CONDITION: Overcast over primary, went to Secondary Beaumont-le-Roger AF    

GIVE
DATE: 1943-09-03 TIME: LOCATION: Orly AF, La Ferte Alais

SPECIFY:

Forced down

CONFIRMED OR BELIEVED REASON FOR LOSS
LOSS DUE TO : Enemy aircraft

OTHER REASON FOR LOSS:

Flak took out engines #1 and #2, Fighters finished off the a/c

AIRCRAFT: 42-30035
TYPE: B-17 SERIES: F  
     
     

ENGINES:
MODEL: R-1820-97    
A:
B:
C:
D:
   

INSTALLED WEAPONS:
A:
B:
C:
D: 		E:
F:
G:
H: 		I:
J:
K:
L:

PERSONS BELOW ARE LISTED AS:
CASUALTY TYPE: Battle casualty  
NUMBER OF PERSONS ON BOARD:    
CREW: 10 PASS: 0 TOTAL: 10

PERSONNEL:

POSITION NAME RANK SERIAL
P1
P2 Charles, B  Winkelman 2Lt O-738320_
CP Ralph, D Smith 2Lt O-801345_
NAV (N) William, H. Booth 2Lt O-800093_
BOM (B) Howard, M. Harris 2Lt O-676325
RAD Jean, E. Ray TSgt 374269256
ENG Thomas, E. Combs TSgt 14134640
BAL Thomas, L. Cuccaro SSgt 32437605
WG (W) Michael, F. Darcy SSgt 32443852
WG (W) Alfred, J. Zeoli SSgt 31042353
TG (T) Ennis, M. Bankhead SSgt 38220710

PERSONS WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE LAST KNOWLEDGE OF AIRCRAFT

   

PERSONNEL WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE SURVIVED

REASON: Parachutes were used OTHER:  

EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTIONS OF CRASH

Report: 
Charles Winkelman reports "Halfway between Paris and Chartres we were hit by flak. No 1 Engine went out completely.  We dropped behind and flak or an incendiary started a fire between #1 and #2 engines.  Two Me 109 fighters made one pass from 11 o'clock, engineer reported fire in the bomb bay, so I had the doors opened and prepared to drop the bombs. I looked back through the ship and saw nobody.  As I was snapping on my chute the whole bottom was shot out of the pilots cabin. I saw eight chutes and heard firing from the ground and later noticed two holes in my chute."

It has been widely reported that this aircraft and Crew were involved in a mid air collision and the tail section was cut off by the prop of the other a/c.  The Bombardier Howard Harris states that "We did NOT have a mid-air collision"!  

Tail gunner S/Sgt Ennis Bankhead was KIA when he became entangled in the tail wreakage as the ship disintegrated. 
Winkelman, Smith, Booth, Harris, Combs, Darcy and Zeoli were all evadees.  Harris and Zeoli were put in Prison in Seville,  Spain upon crossing the Pyrennes Mts.  but were release with the help of British intervention and were smuggled to Gibraltar and then to England.
   
   
Second Witness: No Data  
Report: 

      

    





  
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TRANSCRIBER NOTES



    
    REPORT: 
Up to this point, we have found no evidence that a  MACR was ever  filed on this Crew . Was it never filed or just merely misplaced  in the National Archives is a mystery to this day.  All informaiton on missing crew members were  derrived from the MACR reports so I must belive one was generated .  In the meantime, we will have to be satisfied with this file

Crew was flying TORCHY, original a/c flown over by the Capt. Sammy Barr's Crew.  The a/c was was named after the wife of  Lt James R. Brown (navigator on Barr Crew) because of her red hair.

I note a little error into Evaders' pages: About crewmen of Torchy serial 42-30035 (E&E167, 258, 259, 271, 272 303, and 468.) I read (^) Dhusson-Longueville, France. Sorry, is not D'Huisson-Longueville but precisely Cerny (91). I was searching about the S/Sgt Ennis Bankhead killed in his turret by propellers of Sunny serial 42-30089 and I hope a marble plate in honor to him.  According to witnesses The Torchy was crashed in 48° 28' 11.09'' N / 02° 19' 46.97'' E on juridiction of Cerny.                 Jean Robin. jean-louis.robin5@wanadoo.fr