COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
2ND LT JOSEPH W. KING P CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY SEE NOTE BELOW
2ND LT GEORGE E. MAYBERRY CP NOC BECAME 349TH ENG OFFICER TAPS: 08 SEP 1977
2ND LT ROBERT C. CULP NAV CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY
2ND LT JACK D. TOLLIVER BOM NOC LEFT CREW FOR LEAD CREW TRAINING (see below)
T/SGT ROLAND A. ECKERT ROG CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY
T/SGT EDWARD F.MAZANEC TTE CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY
T/SGT ANGELO A. LaSALLE BTG CPT 5 APR 45 NURNBURG, MY TAPS: 19 MAR 1982
S/SGT LESTER E. PRELLWITZ WG CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY
S/SGT JAMES R. SMITH, JR TG CPT 20 APR 45 ORANIENBURG, MY
349TH SQDN… CREW JOINED THE 100TH ON 24 DEC 1944. FLEW FIRST MISSION 17 JAN 45 (HAMBURG) AND THE 100TH'S FINAL MISSION (ORANIENBURG) 20 APR 45. THEY FLEW FIVE (5) "CHOW HOUND" MISSION, DROPPING FOOD IN HOLLAND AFTER 20 APR 45.
JACK TOLLIVER LEFT THE CREW AFTER AROUND 12 MISSIONS FOR LEAD CREW TRAINING (REPLACED BY S/SGT SYMOUR MYERS courtesy of robert culp) AND GEORGE MAYBERRY DEPARTED AFTER 20 MISSIONS TO BECOME THE 349TH'S ENGINEERING OFFICER.
AT MAYBERRY'S DEPARTURE, LT PAUL VALENTINE JOINED THE CREW AS CP. HE HAD CAME TO THE 100TH WITH THE R.N. WIELAND CREW ON 03 DEC 1944. WHEN T/SGT LaSALLE COMPLETED HIS SECOND TOUR, HE WAS REPLACED BY T/Sgt James McCullough FROM LT FOWLER'S CREW (see below)
NOTE
LT J.W. KING HAD PART OF HIS STABLIZER KNOCKED OFF BY A WING FROM THE ME-109 THAT COLLIDED WITH 43-38514 ON THE 100TH 7 APR 45 MISSION TO BUCHEN. LT KING MANAGED TO RETURN THE AIRCRAFT WITH ITS ENTIRE CREW SAFELY TO THORPE ABBOTTS. HE RECEIVED THE D.F.C. FOR HIS THIS FEAT OF AIRMANSHIP.
CREW FLEW A/C 43-37972 'GOLD BRICK" FOR 18 OF THEIR MISSIONS.
MISSION LIST FROM ROBERT C. CULP:
JAN 17, 1945 HAMBURG A/C 532 "KLEEN SWEEP
JAN 21, 1945 MANNHEIM A/C 602 "GRUMBLIN GREMLIN II"
JAN 28, 1945 KASSEL A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
FEB 03, 1945 BERLIN A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
FEB 09, 1945 WEIMAR A/C 811
FEB 14, 1945 CHEMNITZ A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
FEB 15, 1945 COTTBUS A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK
FEB 19, 1945 MUNSTER A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK
FEB 20, 1945 NURENBURG A/C 815
FEB 24, 1945 BREMEN A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
FEB 25, 1945 MUNICH A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
MAR 02, 1945 DRESDEN A/C 972
MAR 03, 1945 BRUNSWICK A/C 972
MAR 04, 1945 ULM A/C 972
MAR 10, 1945 DORTMUND A/C 972
MAR 14, 1945 HANNOVER A/C 015 "HUNDRED PROFF"
MAR 15, 1945 ORANIENBURG A/C 841
MAR 18, 1945 BERLIN A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
MAR 31, 1945 ZEITZ A/C 865
APR 03, 1945 KEIL A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
APR 05, 1945 NURENBURG A/C 972 "GOLD BRICK"
APR 06, 1945 LEIPZIG A/C 972
APR 07, 1945 BUCHEN A/C 972 RAMMED BY ME 109, RIGHT STABILIZER KNOCKED OFF
APR 11, 1945 INGOLSTADT A/C 313
APR 14, 1945 ROYAN A/C 313
APR 15, 1945 ROYAN A/C 313
APR 16, 1945 PONT-DE-GRAVES A/C 313
APR 17, 1945 AUSSIG A/C 972 GOLD BRICK
APR 18, 1945 STRAUBING A/C 972 GOLD BRICK
APR 20, 1945 ORANIENBURG A/C 865
CHOW HOUND MISSIONS:
MAY 01, 1945 WALKENBURG AF HOLLAND A/C 972 DROPPED BURLAP BAGS OF POTATOS FROM 400 FEET
TARGET MARKET BY BED SHEETS IN SHAPE OF CROSS
MAY 02, 1945 ARNHEM, HOLLAND (SCHIPHOL AF) A/C 972 MESSAGE ON GROUND MADE FROM BED SHEETS READ "THANKS BOYS" DROPPED C RATIONS
MAY 05, 1945 HILVERSUM, HOLLAND A/C 972
MAY 06, 1945 HILVERSUM, HOLLAND A/C 972
KING, JOSEPH W. Joseph W. King, born in Los Angeles, October 12, 1922, passed away October 21, 2009, three days after his 63rd wedding anniversary. Joe passed peacefully, surrounded by family members. He is survived by his wife, Mary, son Larry and wife Julie, son Joe Jr., son David and wife Susan, and loving grandchildren, Taylor, Kalyn, Leo and Oliver. He is also survived by his sisters, Louise McBride and Shirley Owen. Joe was an avid golfer and loved all his firends at Singing Hills, where he was a member for 28 years. A decorated Air Force bomber pilot in World War II, he retired as a Lt. Colonel. Joe kept in contact with his crew and regularly attended the "Bloody 100th" bomb group reunions. Joe was the best husband, father, grandfather and brother a family could ever hope for. He was a kind, gentle man who served as a role model to many. He will be greatly missed. Memorial Services will be held on Monday, November 2nd, at 11:00 a.m., at Fletcher Hills Presbyterian Church.
CREW
CREW FLYING AT END OF HOSTILITES
1st Lt George S.Fowler P FEH TAPS 1992
2nd Lt Harry F.McKnight CP FEH TAPS 1973
1st Lt Billy M.Bittle,Jr. N FEH TAPS 1991
F/0 Arnold L.Wimer B FEH
Cpl Reuben W.Erickson R FEH sn#37563316
Cpl Neil J.Norfolk WG FEH
Cpl Robert J.Kennedy BT FEH
Cpl John G.Marlowe TG FEH TAPS UNK
Cpl James M.McCullough TTE FEH sn# 35625702
350th Sqdn. Crew,as above,joined the 100th Group on 24/12/44.
T/Sgt James M. McCullough flew with both the 350th and 349th Squadrons. After 21/03/45 Plauen mission, T/Sgt James McCullough is transferred to 349th Sqdrn Crew of 2nd Lt Joe King.
TYPICAL BOMBING MISSION BY THE 100"' BOMB GROUP AIR FORCE - WWII JIM MCCULLOUGH
Usually between 3 and 4 o'clock AM the lights would go on in our Nissen Hut [picture a half of a tin can] and the orderly would start shouting - " Everybody up "and make sure we were all up before going on to the next hut. We would dress - t-shirt and shorts, long underwear, green nylon electric suit, Coveralls and boots, pants and jacket of sheepskin with the fur in.
We would walk over to the Mess Hall and eat. We had a choice of eggs, potatoes, meat of some kind, pancakes, etc. plus coffee.
After breakfast we boarded a truck to take us out to the Airfield and our respective airplanes. There was a small tent by the plane in which we kept the barrels of our guns. We oiled them and took them into the plane and inserted them into the guns proper. The ammunition belts were already in place so all we had to do was insert them into the guns.
As I was the Engineer / Top Turret gunner, from now on I'll describe what I did. I checked the oxygen tank to make sure it was full. Then checked to see that the Pilot and Co-Pilot had their Flak Suits under their seats. [A Flak Suit was Canvas covered Metal strips made like an apron to protect against the Anti Aircraft Shrapnel - there was also a helmet, which was seldom used] As soon so we were all in place, the engines were started up and the Pilot and Co-Pilot went thru a checklist.
Then the planes left their position and formed a long line taxiing out to the runway from where we would take off. When our turn came, the engines were raced and the brakes released and we lunged forward picking up speed rapidly. I had my face in the Pilots ear shouting the ever-increasing air speed to him. As we reached proper takeoff speed the pilot pulled back on the steering wheel and up we would go.
We [the 100th Bomb Group] would head for the coastal town of Ipswich over which we would circle and eventually form into long line of our planes. Each Squadron had 12 planes stacked 3, 3, 3, 3, each 3 a little lower than the one in 4 front. While the 100th Bomb Group had 4 Squadrons, only 3 flew at a time. [The exception being a " Maximum Effort " when every plane that could fly was in the air. Usually about 2000 planes] As soon as our 36 planes were in a long line we would proceed over the English Channel, constantly hooking up to the rest of the planes on this mission until we were in a long line of all the planes flying that day.
As we flew over the English Channel all of the gunners would test fire their guns to make sure all were working properly. As we proceeded across France we were constantly climbing to our intended altitude, usually about 25,000 feet. As most of my missions were in the winter, the outside temperature was usually about 50 degrees below zero. By this time we had plugged in our heated suits.
Flying toward Germany all the gunners were on the lookout for German Fighter Planes. Until the very end of the war, our fighter plane protection turned back at the German border [not enough gas to go further]. At this time we turned toward the eventual target and depending on how many cities we had to fly over, we would start to experience Flak. [Anti aircraft artillery shells that upon exploding would shatter into thousands of small logged pieces of steel]
We may or may not experience German fighter planes. The longer the war went on the less the Germans could put in the air. But when they were there, they were very effective. Without Our Fighter planes to protect us, we were on our own. On each B-17 there were 11 50 Caliber Machine Guns. Each Squadron therefore had 99 Guns very closely packed together. As a German Pilot told me after the war, He had to swallow twice before he approached that.
Battle damage varied. Sometimes all of our planes would come home. Other times Flak would take its toll. And usually the Fighter planes did make some kills.
We never broke formation [not once during the war]. We plowed on toward the target. As we approached the Target and started the Bomb Run, all enemy fighter planes would fall away a/c now we were sure to get Flak, and plenty of it. On the Bomb Run the Bombardier [in the nose of the plane] flew the plane. During the Bomb Run, we all turned off our heated suits and shut off the gun turrets. The Bomb Boy doors were opened and at the proper time the bombs were released electrically. The plane would surge upward as the bombs left the plane and I would climb down out of the Top Turret, turn back and open the door to the Bomb Bay. Assuming all the Bombs had dropped I would tell this to the Bombardier over the intercom and get back up into my turret.
Occasionally, a bomb or two would " hang up “, in which case I'd have to put on a portable Oxygen tank and get down into the Bomb Bay and release it with a screwdriver. Five miles up, doors open and me looking down! That's a thrill!
As soon as the bombs were dropped, the Bomb Bay doors were closed and we would turn out of the way of the planes behind us. Still in formation we would begin the long road home. And guess who's there to greet us? The German fighter planes. So we fought our way back toward England until the Germans ran out of gas or we shot them down.
As we approached the France/German border we were greeted by our fighter planes, which took care of any Germans still after us. [As the war wound down our P-51 fighter was equipped with wing tanks and could escort us all the way. That was the end of the Luftwaffe. On my 23rd Mission they made one last stand and put everything they had in the air. But between the fighters and us all were either shot down or driven away.]
As we approached the English Channel, I usually climbed down out of my turret and sat on the base of it and had a cigarette. At the channel we all broke up into the various Bomb Groups and headed home. Still in formation we approached our home base and one by one peeled off out of formation and went in for the landing.
We taxied up to our assigned "Hard Stand " [parking space] and stopped, turned off the engines, took the innards out of the guns and oiled them and placed them back in the tent. We were then trucked to a building for interrogation.
As we entered the building the Flight Surgeon looked us over and we were given a glass of the "alcoholic beverage " of the day. It could be anything but was usually Calvados or the like.
We were interrogated by the intelligence people about anything irregular we had seen, then dismissed and we headed for the Mess Hall [dining room]. It had been awhile since we had eaten. Missions usually lasted from 6 to 12 hours. Then we trudged back to the barracks. There was a light atop the Headquarters building. If it was Red, we had a mission the next day. If Yellow, nothing had been decided. If Green, we were " stood down " [no mission].
McCullough Missions, WWII
George Fowler, Pilot, 350th Squadron, 100th Bomb Group
#1 - 1/10/45 - Colonge - Autobahn Bridge - Took off at 8:00 AM - Nothing till target - then light but accurate flak - a lot of holes and scares - Pilot had his heated suit cord cut by flak, pants torn and leg scratched - low ceiling for landing - almost didn't make it - 50 gal. gas left - 26,000 ft. - 52 below 0 - missed target.
#2 - 1/14/45 - Derben - oil dump - Took off 7:50 AM - flew over channel and North Sea to Germany - light flak to target and no flak at target - attacked by fighters about noon - only one attack on one squadron - fired a short burst at one - some one got one - excellent fighter support - no one hurt and no damage to ship - hit target but oil had been drained out.
Charles W. [ Hong Kong ] Wilson - Pilot - 350th Sq. - 100th Bomb Grp.
#3 - 1/20/45 - Heilbronn - bridge - [ -58 C - about -70 F ] - new pilot - damn good - hardly any flak anywhere - visibility poor - heavy cloud cover - bombed PFF - missed target - flew all the way back at 28,000 ft - cold as hell - milkrun.
#4 - 1/28/45 - Duisberg-Rheinhausen - railway bridge over Rhine river - Took off and damn near didn't find the Group - nothing till target and then had our ass shot off - lots of holes - Co-Pilot and Bombardiers oxygen shot out - Kennedy saw 24 bombs hit the target - blew hell out of things - good raid - made it back OK - fairly warm [ -49 C ]
#5 - 2/3/45 - Berlin - Damn civilians - a toughie - over 9 hours in the air - fighters were up but didn't hit our group - no flak till target then all hell broke loose - plane on our left had its left wing blown off - lost Rosey and Marty - blew hell out of the center of Berlin - got off course coming back - flak at coast - thought we had a flat tire - didn't - everybody Ok - lots of holes in ship - plenty lucky.
#6 - 2/6/45 - Chemnitz - marshalling yards - whew! - over 10 hours in the air - weather was lousy - flew over enemy territory at 15,000 ft. for a while - got lost - descended to 1000ft. To find out where we were - bombed PFF - couldn't see results - almost ran out of gas - saw flak every 5 minutes - none too close - one bomb didn't drop - had a hell of a time trying to get it out - I hope that doesn't happen too often. I'm too young to die.
#7 - 2/14/45 - Chemnitz - another crack at the marshalling yards - PFF as usual - results unknown - hardly any flak - front lines gave us a battle - bandits in the area - didn't see any - wonderful fighter support - over 9 hours in the air - almost a milk run - only one hole in the ship - saw red flak for the first time - rode ball turret for awhile - good deal for Kennedy, not for me.
#8 - 2/20/45 - Nuremburg - marshalling yards and civilians - took off and flew across friendly territory for hours - a lot of flak at target but none too close - as we came back the front lines gave us a scare - no fighters.
#9 - 2/21/45 - Nuremburg - same deal as yesterday - PFF - milk run for us - no close flak - no fighters - same route - Bell got hit.
#10 - 2/22/45 - I'm ashamed to talk about it - unknown target.
#11 - 2/24/45 - Bremen - bridge - blew two bridges, docks and buildings - a lot of flak but none close - short mission - good fighter support - no e/a - cranked bomb bay doors open and closed - whew!
#12 - 2/26/45 - Berlin - civilians - PFF all the way - in and out - lots of flak but no damage to us - no e/a - fighter support was good - a long one.
#13 - 3/3/45 - Brunswick - tank factory - route in over North Sea past Hamburg - about 7-10ths - not much flak - 6 Jets came up - one pass, one bomber - didn't even see them till too late - hit the target OK - came straight back over the Zeider Zee - home at 1:30 PM
#14 - 3/4/45 - Ulm - Marshalling yard - Had a red alert on so we had to assemble over France - bad weather all the way - PFF - no known results - didn't see any flak - no e/a - fighter support as good as expected under the circumstances.
#15 - 3/17/45 - Plauen - civilians - was supposed to go to Ruhlanct but weather was too bad - 10 -10 all the way - no close flak - PFF - no known results - long haul - nine hours - good escort - no e/a.
#16 - 3/19/45 - Jena - Carl Zweiss Qppicatt Works - first time it had ever been bombed - hazy - missed target but got a small suburb on the autobahn - no flak - Bandits back in Germany and over channel - Jets over base - about an 8 hour job - bad weather over base - whew! - formed over France.
#17 - 3/21/45 - Plauen - factory - hit it dead center - not much flak - fighters hit us twice - ME 262's - came too damn close - 15 ft. over the ship - got our two wing men - we didn't get them - dammit - got up at 0115 and back at 1300 - rough mission.
I was transferred to the 349th Sq. - Joe King - Pilot
#18 - 3/22/45 - Ahlhorn - Jet airfield - dream mission - about 5 '/2 hours in the air - no flak - no fighters - no clouds - blew the heck out of it - tore up all three runways.
#19 - 3/23/45 - Unna - marshalling yards - short job - visual - blew the heck out of the place - bandits in the area - light and fairly accurate flak - had a midair collision over front lines - RAF B-25 crashed landed here when we landed.
#20 - 4/3/45 - Kiel - docks and sub pens - flew the North Sea route - a lot of flak but all low - we hit the target - got back OK.
#21 - 4/5/45 - Nurmberg - marshalling yards - whew - clouds from ground up - assembled over the continent at 26,000 ft. and then went up - Pff 10/10 all the way till target, then clear as a bell - blew hell out of the place - a hell of a lot of flak but we got out OK - Angelo finished.
#22 - 4/6/45 - Leipzig - marshalling yards - formed over France - rough weather as usual - PFF and no flak - Jets hit again - almost didn't beat the clouds back to the base.
#23 - Buchen - underground oil storage tanks - under attack from e/a for 1 hour, 20 mins. - got one - his wing knocked our stabilizer off - salvoed the bombs and stuck with the formation for awhile - then started to lose altitude - lightened nose and weighed down tail - made it back OK - altitude at target was 14,000 ft. - flak was heavy - every body OK - ran out of gas on the runway.
#24 - 4/16/45 - Bordeaux, France - heavy gun emplacements - milk run - visual - hit the target - no flak and no e/a - we were unescorted.
#25- 4/17/45 - Aussig - marshalling yards - long haul - visual - no flak - no e/a - hit the target but made 3 bomb runs - our first mission as a tactical Air Force - Dresden area.
#26 - 4/18/45 - Straubing - marshalling yards - primary was in Czechoslovakia but weather forced us to this one - visual - hit the target but 2 bomb runs - no flak - no e/a.
Left Joe King crew for a new crew of spares
5/1/45 - Rotterdam - chowhound run - dropped food in boxes on Jerry runway - truce on, so no opposition - all boxes out OK.
5/2/45 - Amsterdam - chowhound run - same deal as yesterday - had to kick boxes out - flew over the city at 400 ft. - beautiful place.
Flew one more chowhound run and two trips returning slave laborers back to France. #1 was from Linz, Austria to Chartres, France and #2 was from Vienna, Austria to Paris, France.
After that we became a air trucking company, with minimum crew.
James M. McCullough T/Sgt. McCullough, James M.
1475 Fairway Drive 35625702
Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 Engineer/Top Turret Gunner 1-812-537-3591
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With some changes, this became a Lead Crew. On April 3, 1945 this crew's makeup was as follows
Maj. J.B. Milling Command Pilot (351st BS C.O.)
Lt Raymond Wieland Pilot
Lt Paul Valentine Co-Pilot (formation officer)
Lt Pranger Navigator
Lt Jack Tolliver Bombardier (originally on Lt Joseph King Crew)
T/Sgt David Clowe Top Turret Engineer
T/Sgt Arthur Edmonston Radio Operator Gunner
Lt Ray Decker Mickey Operator (originally a Bombardier on Lt Walter Charles Crew, reclassifed to Radar Operator)
S/Sgt Ciaccia Waist Gunner
S/Sgt Fred "Tex" Appleby Jr. Tail Gunner
MEMO 2:
