COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
2nd Lt Charles R.Sanford P FEH CREW FLYING AT END OF HOSTILITIES
2nd Lt Robert E.Morehead CP FEH
2nd Lt Arthur T.Blachly NAV FEH
2nd Lt Dale F.Watterson BOM KIA 31 MAR 45 ZIETZ (WITH THE A.G. LARSON CREW)
T/Sgt Herman G.Larson TTE FEH TAPS: 9 JAN 1956
Cpl Santo Emmanuele ROG FEH
S/Sgt Louis A.Lehrmann,Jr. BTG KIA 7 APR 45 BUCHEN (With W.S.Howard crew)
S/Sgt.James D.Barger WG FEH SN# 33920989
Cpl William F.McWey TG FEH
349th Sqdn. Crew,as above,jolned the 100th Group on 24/12/44.
S/Sgt. Barger flew 23 missions, Lt Watterson and S/Sgt Lehrmann were KIA as replacements on other crews.
Mission Log and Notes of S/Sgt James Barger
1. 28 JAN 45 DUISBURG, GER.
2. 29 JAN 45 KASSEL, GER.
1-2 FEB 45 PASS TO LONDON
3. 3 FEB 45 BERLIN (MAJ. ROSENTHAL SHOT DOWN)
4 FEB 45 PRACTICE MISSION-ENGINE TROUBLE
5 FEB 45 MUNICH (MISSION SCRUBBED)
8 FEB 45 MISSION SCRUBBED
4. 9 FEB 45 WEIMAR, GER.
10 FEB 45 HANOVER (MISSION SCRUBBED)
11 FEB 45 HANOVER (MISSION SCRUBBED)
12 FEB 45 MISSION SCRUBBED
13 FEB 45 MISSION SCRUBBED
5. 14 FEB 45 CHEMNITZ, GER.
6. 15 FEB 45 COTTBUS, GER.
16-18 FEB 45 PASS, STAYED AT BASE
19 FEB 45 OSNABRUCK, GER. (CREW FLEW MISSION, SGT BARGER GROUNDED FOR SOAR THROAT)
7. 20 FEB 45 NURNBURG, GER.
8. 21 FEB 45 NURNBURG, GER.
9. 23 FEB 45 TREUCHTLINGEN, GER.
24 FEB 45 BREMEN (PLANE TROUBLE)
10. 25 FEB 45 MUNICH, GER.
26 FEB 45 GUN CAMERA MISSION OVER ENGLAND
27 FEB 45 TWO PRACTICE MISSIONS OVER ENGLAND
28 FEB 45 WENT TO NORWICH
1 MAR 45 RECEIVED AIR MEDAL
2-4 MAR 45 PASS TO LONDON
5 MAR 45 PRACTICE MISSION OVER ENGLAND
6 MAR 45 PRACTICE MISSION OVER ENGLAND
7 MAR 45 GUNNERY TRAINING
11. 8 MAR 45 LANGENDREER, GER.
12. 9 MAR 45 FRANKFORT, GER
13. 10 MAR 45 DORTMUND, GER.
14. 12 MAR 45 SWINEMUNDE, GER.
13 MAR 45 SANFORD GROUNDED (SINUS)
14-16 MAR 45 SCHOOL
17-19 MAR 45 PASS TO ROCHESTER
15. 21 MAR 45 PLAUEN, GER. (HIT BY JET FIGHTERS)
16. 23 MAR 45 MARBURG, GER. (PILOT WAS CAPT. NAAR)
17. 24 MAR 45 STEENWIJK, HOLLAND (PILOT WAS CAPT. NAAR
18. 28 MAR 45 HANOVER, GER, (PILOT WAS CAPT NAAR)
30 MAR 45 MADE S/SGT.
31 MAR-APRIL 2, 45 PASS TO ROCHESTER
3-6 APR 45 SCHOOL AND LECTURES
7 APR 45 LONIE L. SHOT DOWN NEAR HAMBURG
8-10 APR 45 PASS TO LONDON
12 APR 45 NEUBURG (SCRUBBED)
13 APR 45 SCHEDULED FOR PRACTICE MISSION OVER ENGLAND,ENGINE TROUBLE.
19. 14 APR 45 ROYAN POINT de GRAVE, FRANCE
20. 15 APR 45 ROYAN, POINT de GRAVE FRANCE
21 16 APR 45 ROYAN, POINT de GRAVE, FRANCE
22 17 APR 45 AUSSIG, CZECH
19 APR 45 FLEXIBLE GUNNERY TRAINING SCHOOL
23. 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG (BERLIN), GER.
CHOWHOUND:
1 MAY 45 FOOD MISSION TO HOLLAND
# 274 LANGENDREER 8 MARCH,1945 SANFORD 532 G 15, B-SQDN HIGH FLGT. 44-8532 XR-G "KLEEN SWEEP"
HARDSTAND # 15
# 275 FRANKFURT 9 MARCH,1945 SANFORD 608 A 19, A-SQDN, HIGH FLGT. 44-6608 XR-A HARDSTAND # 19 …..
# 276 DORTMUND 10 MARCH,1945 SANFORD 841 H 16, C-SQDN, LEAD FLGT. 44-6841 - H -
# 278 SWINEMUNDE 12 MARCH,1945 SANFORD 532 G 15, B-SQDN, LOW FLGT. 44-8532 XR-G "KLEEN SWEEP"
13 MARCH, 1945 LT. SANFORD GROUNDED
***********************************************************************************************************
CREW
2ND LT DENZI "TAIL SPIN" NAAR P CPT DATE UNK.
2ND LT WILLIAM V. WILSON CP CPT 31 MAR 45 BAD BERKA, OIL STORAGE (100TH "A")
2ND LT BERT H. LATTA NAV CPT 31 MAR 45 BAD BERKA, OIL STORAGE (100TH "A")
2ND LT HARRY F. BOTT BOM POW 03 MAR 45 BRUNSWICK, MT FACTORY (with Lt Thrasher Crew, see below)
CPL CECIL R. FULTS ROG CPT 21 FEB 45 NURNBURG, MY (S.T.)
CPL ANDREW R. POCZES TTE CPT 28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY
CPL JOHN R. O'HARE BTG CPT 28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY
CPL NAPOLEON H. OWEN WG CPT (became Toggelier on Lt William McGuire Crew) see below
CPL DEWEY W. QUINN, JR. WG CPT 28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY
CPL CHARLES J. HERLIHY TG CPT 19 MAR 45 FULDA, LUTZKENDORF, & JENA
349TH SQDN.. CREW AS ABOVE JOINED THE 100TH ON 05 OCT 1944
Aircraft flown by Capt. Naar 43-28313" Lil Butch" and Yehudi 42-107230 XR-B which was scrapped after the "prop wash" incident that sent the plane into a tail spin. After Sgt Herlihy finished his missions, S/Sgt.James D.Barger (sn# 33920989) from Lt Sanford Crew filled in for 3 missions (March 23, 24, 28, 1945). Capt Denzil "Denny" Naar became the 349th Ops Officer in August 1945. On September 26, 1945 he became 349th BS C.O. when Maj. Robinson flew back to the States.
Some Missions of Capt. Naar Crew:
30 NOV 44 MERSEBURG (" LIL BUTCH IS HIT SERVERAL TIMES BY FLAK)
02 DEC 44 KOBLENZ (YEHUDI GOES INTO A TAIL SPIN DUE TO PROP WASH AND IS SALVAGED UPON RETURN FROM MISSION)
23 MAR 45 MARBURG, GER.
24 MAR 45 STEENWIJK, HOLLAND
28 MAR 45 HANOVER, GER,
Mission Memories of Capt. Naar: (Oct 2006)
"I flew my first mission as a copilot. It was common practice to "bloody" a new pilot by flying a combat mission with an experienced crew. Well, I saw this big black cloud off in the distance and I asked the pilot, what is that, and he said flak! I said, aren't they a bit off target with their guns. Just then we hit the IP and all of a sudden we are turning right towards that big black cloud! I said how are we going to get around the flak and he said we are not going around it, we are going to fly right through it! Well, when we got back from the mission, the rest of the crew surrounded me and asked how it was, I told them it was a piece of cake, a milk run, why worry them, they would learn soon enough it was Hell up there."
"Our Crew was on 13-14th mission (Dec 2, 1944 mission to Koblenz…Ray Bowden) and we took off in pitch black darkness, fully loaded with gas and bombs. Just above after breaking through on top, we hit prop wash from the planes ahead and went into a tail spin. We went down doing over 350 mph and redlining the engines. We did 5 tail spins and dropped 8,000 feet before I (and copilot Wilson) could get her back under control at about 3,000 feet. I climbed back up to rejoin the group. After going through all of that, I didn't want to lose credit for a mission. We were all trying to get our 35 finished and go home. Our Ailerons were shot but I was able to control the plane with the rudder so we went on the mission. Utilizing the rudder to control the plane, I was extremely tired when we got back to England. As we were coming in for the landing, the plane stalled about 30 feet off the deck and we hit the the runway hard. I had no idea what caused this until we inspected the plane. What I did not know was that the tail spins had damaged the outer skin and twisted the fuselage so much that the air flow was affected. The damage included broken struts, the right aileron broken, tail assembly was loosened from the stress and part of the wing supports buckled. At interrogation Col. Sutterlin told me "I don't know whether to court martial you or give you the DFC." Well, lucky for me it was less paperwork for the DFC, which I received for the mission! The event was written up in Stars and Stripes and that is how I got my nickname. After the article appeared in Stars and Stirpes, I was in London on pass and I ran into one of my friends on the street who had read the story and he yells over to me, hey "Tail Spin" and from that point on, the nickname stuck!"
"The hardest target was Merseburg!!!!!!! When they pulled back the curtain and the string went all the way to that target, I am getting chills just thinking about it now, the black puffs, the sky filled with flak bursts, planes exploding everywhere and going down, parachutes, debris, and death and you had to keep on course. There was no where to hide, no room to move."
……. CAPT DENZIL "TAIL SPIN" NAAR
**********************************************************************************************************
MEMO 2:
