COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
William D. DeSanders commanded three crews during his combat tour -- they are listed below in what
is believed to be the correct order.. Paul west
DeSanders original crew.
Crew #17 Aircraft #42 5867 "Alice From Dallas"
M.A.C.R. #117 Crew was flying A/C #42-5862 "DURATION + 6" on July 25, 1943
1st Lt William D. Desanders P COMPLETED TOUR 13 FEB 1944
2nd Lt William J. Styles CP POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde. Kiel
2nd Lt Calvin H. Defevre NAV KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
2nd Lt William E. Griffith BOM KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
T/Sgt Lester I. Berg TTE KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Charles J. Mayville WG KIA 25 July 1943 WarnemNnde, Kiel
T/Sgt George L. Rudden ROG COMPLETED TOUR (With Crew #10)
S/Sgt Norman C. Eddy BTG KIA 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Maynard T. Parsons WG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
S/Sgt Robert D. Lepper TG POW 25 July 1943 Warnemunde, Kiel
On July 25, 1943, Bill Desanders was either ill or on leave and Captain Richard Carey, Operations Officer of the 350th, flew in his stead and became a POW. Another replacement on the crew this day was T/Sgt. Steven S. Kopczewski, the regular radio operator on Crew #11. He was killed in action.
Unable to bomb Warnemunde, the primary target, the Group flew to Keil where intense flak was met. Plane was so damaged by flak that Captain Carey decided to ditch in the sea. All the crew except for pilot and co\pilot were in radio room when ship hit the water.Apparently, Parsons and Lepper, both of whom were wounded, got out of the overhead hatch but the others in the radio room were trapped and went down with the ship which rapidly sank. A subsequent report by William Styles said that, "Griffith was struggling to get out of hatch as the plane was sinking, that is the last I saw of him."
During a search for survivors, Danish fishermen found the body of Sgt. Kopczewski but, after making certain of death, left it in the water.
Carey, Styles, Lepper and Parsons were picked up by a Danish fishing boat and the latter two were taken to a hospital in Schleswig
It was mission #8 for this crew who were flying in "Duration Plus Six" and not their regular plane, "Alice From Dallas".
Lt DeSander, then a Capt., completed his tour with the 13 Feb 1944 Livossart mission. The 350th Operations Officer, Capt John H. Luckadoo flew with DeSanders as Command Pilot , this mission also completed Luckadoo's tour. Jim Brown and Richard Le Strange's book, Century Bombers contains an excellent account of this final mission for DeSanders and Luckadoo, a photograph of the two pilots congratulating each other is featured. Luckadoo is, in so far as I know, the only 100th veteran to be the Operations Officer of two Squadron in one tour -- the 350th & 351st…pw
DeSanders Crew # 2 Lt DeSanders took over Capt Mark Carnell's crew after Mark broke his arm.
1st LT. WILLIAM D. DeSANDERS P CPT 13 FEB 44 LIVOSSART (NO BALL)
2ND LT EDWARD K. MOFFLY CP: CPT
1ST LT ANTHONY P. GOSPODAR NAV: CPT 11 DEC 43 EMDEN
1ST LT JAMES P. FITTON BOM: CPT
T/SGT VERN M. BEST TTE: CPT
S/SGT WILLIAM J. WILLIAMS WG: POW 8 OCT 43 BREMEN (CREW #15 LT BERNIE DeMARCO)
SGT EDMUND A. OLIVER ROG: POW 10 JUL 43 PARIS (CREW #12 LT CHARLES DUNCAN)
S/SGT STEVE BOSSER BTG: CPT
S/SGT PAUL A. VRABEC, JR WG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
S/SGT FLOYD P. BULLARD TG: CPT 24 DEC 43 ST JOSEPH(NOBALL)
NOTE: PAUL VRABEC NOT ONLY COMPLETED 25, BUT VOLUNTEERED AND FLEW FIVE ADDITIONAL MISSIONS.
On 10 July 1943, radio operator Ed Oliver flew with Crew #12 which was lost that day and Oliver became a POW. He was soon replaced on the crew by George Rudden from Crew #17 which went down over Kiel on 25 July. On 8 October 1943, William Williams flew with Crew #15 and went down over Bremen.
DeSanders Crew #3
This is a crew was made up of Command personnel and could not be considered a regular crew.
The Co-pilot is listed asMaj. Bucky Elton, who was the 350th Squadron Commander and undoubtedly flew as Command Pilot (Actually the formation commander - could be Group or Wing. Elton would not have flown unless his Squadron, the 350th, was leading at least the 100th and possibly the 13 Combat Wing and in some cases the 3rd Air Division.
Capt.Robert K. (Bob) Peel was the Squadron or Group Bombardier at the time
Capt Joseph" Bubbles" Payne is the 100th legendary Group Navigator, said by Navigators Harry Crosby and Jim Brown to have been the 100ths best, who was lost at Sottevast 28 Apr 1944. The Enlisted men are all of high seniority with many combat missions?(.paul west 01 Jan 97)
T/Sgt Albert L.DeGregorio TTE KIC 29 Jan 44 Frankfurt (TKOF ACCIDENT) He was flying with the Lloyd C. Marks Crew and was killed when they crashed on takeoff from Thorpe Abbotts.
Airman Smith, believed to be a Waist Gunner cannot be positively identified from the DeSanders records.
S/SGT James E. Callahan ROG NOC
S/SGT ALBERT M. FREITAS BTG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST
S/SGT CHARLES C. SPRAGUE WG: CPT
S/.SGT DELBERT E. BARNHART TG KIA 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST
Airman Brown, may have been a ROG, who was killed at Sottevast, but cannot be positively identified from the DeSanders records.
Mission Log of William D. DeSanders with comments by DeSanders shown in brackets.
1. 6/25/43 Bremen, Ger. (Lost 3)
2. 6/28/43 St. Nazaire, Fr. (Flak rough - all OK - Good bombing)
3. 6/29/43 Le Mans, Fr.
4. 7/10/43 Le Bourget @ Paris. Fr, (Lost Duncan) This is Charles L. Duncans crew?pw
5. 7/24/43 Trondheim, Nor. (Beautiful bombing)
6. 9/3/43 Renualt Works @ Paris, Fr. (Lost 5 - Horrible mid-air collision)
7. 9/6/43 Conches, Fr.(Prim. Tgt Stuttgart - overcast-Lost 4)
8. 9/7/43 Watten, Fr.
9. 9/9/43 Beauvais-Tille, Fr. (Good bombing)
10. 9/15/43 Renault Works @ Paris, Fr. (I almost went down)
11. 9/23/43 Vannes (Good bombing)
12. 9/26/43 Paris, Fr.
13. 9/27/43 Emden, Ger.
14. 10/4/43 Hanau, Ger (Lost Helstrom) This is the Harold B. Helstrom Crew?pw
15. 10/9/43 Marienburg, Ger. (Perfect bombing)
16. 11/5/43 Gelsenkirchen, Ger. (Ruhr flak bad - Lost 1)
17. 11/7/44 Duren, Ger.
18. 11/26/43 Paris, Fr. (Lost 1,Cowboy finishes)
19. 12/11/43 Emden, Ger. (Lost 1)
20. 12/24/43 St. Josse au Bois, Fr. (Perfect bombing - 350th led)
21. 1/5/44 Nuess (Ruhr Valley), Ger. (Rough flak)
22. 1/14/44 No Ball, FR. (Sqdn mission - excellent bombing)
23. 1/21/44 St. Omer, Fr. (Ship badly damaged, I was slightly wounded)
24. 1/29/43 Frankfurt, Ger. (Led Group as Command Pilot - Good mission)
25. 2/13/44 Crossbow XL-120, Fr. (Led 350th on Sqdn mission - perfect bombing.)
MEMO 2:
PHOTOS:
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Lt William DeSanders Crew (courtesy of Rudden Family) |
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Part of DeSanders Crew at Wendover |
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(Note: this log is not edited in any way and reflects the observations and feeling of Capt. Bill DeSanders. You would find it matter of fact, critical and scary all at the same time. An early glimpse into the original crews of the 350th BS. Part I deals with arriving in England and first missions. Great story for mission on June, 28, 1943. Want to thank Linda Styles Berkery for sharing this. Capt. William DeSanders mission diary. |
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(Note: this log is not edited in any way and reflects the observations and feeling of Capt. Bill DeSanders. You would find it matter of fact, critical and scary all at the same time. An early glimpse into the original crews of the 350th BS. in this part, Capt DeSanders original crew is shot down. Want to thank Linda Styles Berkery for sharing this. Capt. William DeSanders mission diary. |
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L-R: Maynard Parsons, Charles Mayville, George Rudden and Carrol Haarup (ROG-Helstrom Crew); (original photos courtesy of Mr. Parsons' daughter Judy Moore). |
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Believe this is Charles Mayville, George Rudden and Carol Haarup . Photo from collection of Maynard Parsons courtesy of Mr. Parsons' daughter, Judy Moore). |
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Photo of Practice flight in States. From S/Sgt Maynard Parsons (Original photos courtesy of Mr. Parsons' daughter, Judy Moore). |
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Letter from Mrs DeSanders to Jane Styles after both husbands had passed away. Photo courtesy of Linda Styles Berkery |
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(Note: this log is not edited in any way and reflects the observations and feeling of Capt. Bill DeSanders. You would find it matter of fact, critical and scary all at the same time. An early glimpse into the original crews of the 350th BS. This is when Capt DeSanders is flying missions with his 2nd Crew (Capt. Mark Carnell's Crew). Want to thank Linda Styles Berkery for sharing this. Capt. William DeSanders mission diary. |
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(Note: this log is not edited in any way and reflects the observations and feeling of Capt. Bill DeSanders. You would find it matter of fact, critical and scary all at the same time. An early glimpse into the original crews of the 350th BS. These are missions with second Crew (Carnell) and a pickup lead crew for final two missions. Want to thank Linda Styles Berkery for sharing this. Capt. William DeSanders mission diary. |
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Card from the bar at Thorpe Abbotts noting the completion of 25 missions (from the collection of John Luckadoo). |
SERVED IN:
- DeSANDERS, William D. - P
- STYLES, William J. - CP
- DEFEVRE, Calvin H. - NAV
- GRIFFITH, William E. - BOM
- BERG, Lester I. - TTE
- RUDDEN, George L. - ROG
- EDDY, Norman C. - BTG
- MAYVILLE, Charles J. - WG
- PARSONS, Maynard T. - WG
- LEPPER, Robert D. - TG