COMMENTS & NOTES
MEMO 1:
CREW
2nd Lt Reginald A."Smitty" Smith P POW 20/2/44 TAPS; 1984 TARGET WAS POSEN & SETTIN, FACTORIES
2nd Lt Orlin H. Markussen CP POW 20/2/44
2nd Lt Gerald C. Scott NAV POW 20/2/44 TAPS:
2nd Lt Ernest Cribbs BOM POW 20/2/44
T/Sgt Thomas M. Egan TTE POW 20/2/44 TAPS: 1977
T/Sgt Ira G. Evans ROG INTERNED 20/2/44
S/Sgt Edward B. Dyblie BTG POW 20/2/44
S/Sgt Edward Britko LWG POW 20/2/44 TAPS: 1985
S/Sgt Robert L. Dunbar RWG POW 20/2/44
S/Sgt Michael E. Udick TG POW 20/2/44
418th Sqdn. A/C #42 37790 "AIN'T MIS BEHAVIN" Lt Smith flew as Lt Cowboy Roane's copilot/formation officer on Nov 16, 1943
"At 1452 hours near the Danish coast Lt. Smith called over VHF saying he was going to try and reach Sweden. His a/c was hit over the target area by rockets and was smoking badly, but shortly after the entire crew had to parachute. The crash was observed by the Germans at the radar station in Skovby, and some of the airmen were taken prisoner of war shortly after landing. Some managed to hide in the forest near Fjellerup parsonage and they were found by the farmer Mr. Rasmus Thrane, who hid them for a while. But they were anxious to reach Sweden so they went for the sea, and they were taken prisoner near Baring beach. Ira Evans hid in the forest and came in contact with the Danish resistance movement. He reached Sweden on 7/3/44.
A/C crashed at Harslev Mark, 7 km s of Bogense town on NW part of Funen Island.
Of interest in this crew's last mission is an article in THE BLOODY HUNDREDTH (page 141 to 147) by Horace Varian
in which Orlin Markussen relates the story of how he made contact 31 years after the fact with the German fighter pilot
who shot down "AIN'T MIS BEHAVIN" Mar 20th, 1944..
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Lt Reginald Smith was Cowboy Owen Roane's co-pilot on his lead Crew. He flew as formation officer on the Rjukan mission to Norway. According to Capt Roane, Lt Smith came to USAAF from the RAF/RCAF as a Flight Officer. Reginald Albert Smith transferred to the USAAF May 19, 1942. He was posted to Maxwell Field, Alabama.
Subj: Re: Reginald Smith in RCAF
Date: 5/9/2003 6:11:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: wpf13@hotmail.com
To: MPFaley@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Re: Reginald Smith
I'll have more on him next week when I revisit DND archives.
He graduated from No. 5 Service Flying Training School Brantford, Ontario
In order to have this info in my notes, I must have a photo taken at his
wings parade at Brantford. I'll check.
The digging continues!!
Wally
Here's a bit more information about Reginald Albert Smith
On March 12, 1942 he received his RCAF pilot wings at No. 5 SFTS, Brantford, Ontario.
Reggie Smith, Columbus, Ohio, has been a drummer since he was about 13 years old. At the age of 15 he won the Ohio State Championship for drumming. He left Ohio State University for a musical career in numerous bands and became popular with the Ohio "jitterbugs".
At the time of his transfer to the USAAF on May 19, 1942, he was serving as a staff pilot at No. 5 SFTS, Brantford, Ontario.
Wally
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CREW
LT R.A. SMITH
BAILED OUT OVER SWEDISH COAST ON THE 20 FEB 44 POSEN MISSION. A UNCONTROLLABLE FIRE WAS STARTED BY A FLAK HIT, CAUSING THE CREW TO EVACUATE THE AIRCRAFT. MR SMITH PROABLE ENTERED THE SERVICE AT LONDON, OHIO; HE DIED IN 1984 AT SHELBY, OHIO
ABOVE INFORMATION FROM COL BILL E. THOMPSON DATED 3/17/93….pw
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CREW
2ND LT OWEN D. (COWBOY) ROANE P CPT 26 NOV 43 PARIS (flew one additional mission on Feb 29, 1944-Brunswick)
2ND LT ARTHUR C. "BUD" STIPE CP CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN (replaced by F/O R.A. Smith)
2ND LT DANIEL L. SCHMUCKER NAV CPT 29 NOV 43 BREMEN
2ND LT CURTIS K. CAMPBELL BOM CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN
T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB ROG CPT 16 NOV 43 RJUKAN, NORWAY
T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART TTE CPT 16 NOV 43 RJUKAN, NORWAY
S/SGT ROGER O. STROBLE BTG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN
S/SGT JAMES JARVIE RWG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN
S/SGT ARTHUR HAUGE LWG NOC X-FERRED TO BASE MP'S. Replaced by T/SGT RICHARD DETWEILER
S/SGT PATRICK J. HEALY TG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN
349th Sqdn.. Crew joined 100th in June 26, 1943 as one of the first replacement crews along with Lt Henry Henington, Lt John Justice and Lt "Big Chief" Walter Moreno.
Repacments on Lt Roane Crew:
LT STIPE IS REPLACED ON THE CREW ON BY F/O REGINALD A. SMITH (TRANSFERRED FROM RAF) STARTING WITH 3 NOV 43 MISISON TO WILHEMSHAVEN. HE WOULD LATER TRANSFER TO THE 418TH BS AS A 2ND LT AND COMMAND HIS OWN CREW. LT REGINALD "SMITTY" SMITH WOULD BECOME A POW 20/2/44 ON THE MISSION TO POSEN & SETTIN.
MISSION LOG OF CAPT OWEN D. "COWBOY" ROANE:
04 JUL 43 La PALLICE
10 JUL 43 La BOURGET
14 JUL 43 LA BOURGET
17 JUL 43 HAMBURG
24 JUL 43 TRONDHEIM
25 JUL 43 WARNEMUNDE & KIEL
26 JUL 43 HANOVER
29 JUL 43 WARNEMUNDE
12 AUG 43 WESSELING
15 AUG 43 MERVILLE & LILLE
17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG
24 AUG 43 BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC
31 AUG 43 MEULAN Les MEUREAUX
02 SEP 43 KERLIN-BASTARD
03 SEP 43 PARIS & BEAUMONT La ROGER
06 SEP 43 STUTTGART
07 SEP 43 WATTEN, V-WEAPONS
09 SEP 43 BEAUVAIS-TILLE
08 OCT 43 BREMEN*
14 OCT 43 SCHWEINFURT* (BLACK THURSDAY)
18 OCT 43 DUREN
20 OCT 43 DUREN
03 NOV 43 WILHEMSHAVEN
05 NOV 43 GILSENKIRCHEN
07 NOV 43 DUREN
11 NOV 43 MUNSTER-RECALL (LEAD CREW WITH COL CHICK HARDING AS COMMAND PILOT) COWBOY MAKES 1S LIEUTENANT
16 NOV 43 RJUKAN, NORWAY (HEAVY WATER) LEAD CREW WITH COL JOHN BENNETT AS COMMAND PILOT
26 NOV 43 PARIS
STARTING 3 NOV 43 2ND LT OWEN D. "COWBOY" ROANE IS A LEAD PILOT. HIS CREW CONSISTS OF:
2ND LT OWEN D. (COWBOY) ROANE P
F/0 REGINALD A. "SMITTY" SMITH CP/FORMATION OFFICER (TRANSFERRED FROM RAF) POW 20/2/44 POSEN & SETTIN
CAPT. JOSEPH H. "BUBBLES" PAYNE NAV (FROM CAPT. EVE BLAKELY CREW)
CAPT. ROBERT K. PEEL BOM (CAME OVER WITH ORIGINAL CADRE, LEAD BOMBARDIER)
T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB ROG (ORIGINAL COWBOY CREW MEMBER)
T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART TTE (ORGINAL COWBOY CREW MEMBER)
T/SGT RICHARD DETWEILER LWG (CAME FROM LT VICTOR REED CREW)
? BTG
? RWG
S/SGT RICHARD TANGRADI TG (FROM LT AMIERO CREW)
CREW ON 16/11/43 RJUKAN MISSION- GROUP LEAD:
COMMAND PILOT: MAJ. JOHN M. BENNETT
LEAD PILOT: LT OWEN "COWBOY" ROANE
CP/FORMATION OFFICER: F/O REGINALD A. "SMITTY" SMITH (FLEW IN TAIL)
LEAD NAVIGATOR: CAPTAIN JOSEPH "BUBBLES" PAYNE
LEAD BOMBARDIER: CAPTAIN ROBERT PEEL
TOP TURRET ENGINEER: T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART
RADIO OPERATOR GUNNER: T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB
BALL TURRET GUNNER: ?
LEFT WAIST GUNNER: T/SGT RICHARD DETWEILER
RIGHT WAIST GUNNER: ?
TAIL GUNNER: S/SGT RICHARD TANGRADI ((BUMPED FROM CREW, CP FLEW AS FORMATION OFFICER ON THIS MISSION)
MEMO 2:
Recollections of Luftwaffe pilot who Shot down Ain’t Miss Behavin
Memoires of a combat over Isle of Funen, Denmark
Another exponent of the Fw 190, in a home defence role was Heinz (Heino) Hanke. He served first in JG 1 but was posted to JG 11 and on 20th February 1944 he shot down a Boeing B-17 over Denmark but was himself shot down and forced to bale out from his damaged fighter. Their usual base was at Husum in Schleswig-Holstein, but on this day they were flying from Oldenburg where they had arrived the previous day. Heinz Hanke takes up the story:
“ We were at breakfast and were just waiting for the usual fried eggs when the siren howled the alarm. There were a thick ground fog outside but the bombers, nicknamed Dicke Autos by us pilots, were approaching, so a carpet alert (Teppich Alarm) was ordered and we had to run to our “mills”.
When all the fighter units from the Netherlands bases and from German Bight had linked up, we formed a defence force of 141 aircraft, including Maj Specht’s top cover Staffel from Wunstorf. It was the biggest armada of fighters I had ever seen, and we felt very potent. But things never turn out as expected! Our massed take-off had been monitored and understood in England and the bomber formation made a wide detour over the North Sea in order to delay the moment of contact until we were low on fuel. As the fighters one by one said good-bye and dived away to refuel – including our leader, Major Hackl – the bombers opened their throttles and came in over the German Bight at full speed in three massive streams. I counted 126 bombers during their approach.
My own Yellow 14 had a red band on the engine cowling, and I had three Fw 190’s on my left and three more on my right, all in radio contact. Since we were all pretty low on fuel, and expected to see the red warning light winking at us at any moment, we made a direct frontal attack on the bombers, which were flying at about 6,300 m. The unit was in ”grape” formation and we got the full benefit of their crossfire, so I then ordered a free hunt so that each pilot could attack in his own way. As I made my final run-in from astern, my red light came on. I saw that there were only two Few 190’s left, both from my own unit, including Bolt Swingman.
The others were already searching for a landing strip below the clouds. I started my dive from 7,500 m and went through the formation from the rear at maximum speed. and my attack was with four 20 mm. cannons og two heavy machine guns firing through the propeller. It was almost impossible to miss. All weapons were controlled electrically. In the process, the first hits went into your top turret. The Boeing’s tail more than filled my Revi gunfight and left the F-II float through the cone of fire from my six barrels as I came up from underneath, finishing with his left wing and engines, which started to burn. The wing surface between the engines seemed to melt and I saw five of the crew take to their parachutes.
Then I suddenly realised that my speed was carrying me into the heart of the formation, so I rolled on my back and tried to dive away. Too late! My plane shuddered and there was a smell as oily smoke and fine aluminium dust covered my flying jacket. It became very dark and suddenly the engine howled like a crazy buzz saw. Fuel lines were severed and even the armoured ring on the front of the oil cooler could not withstand the American fire from close range. Engine oil gushed out and completely obscured my forward vision, but at the side I could see my tattered ailerons and the wings riddled with bullet holes. The whole of my port wingtip had gone, either shot away or torn off by falling bits of the bomber.
I managed to bale out at the third attempt, at about 2,300 m and when I reached the ground it was covered in snow and very cold. The Danes were not very friendly, apart from one young man who was helpful with information and in carrying my parachute about a kilometre to railway station. I had landed on Funen, one of the Danish islands.” Soon a car with two men arrived and I was asked to identify myself.
They asked that I accompany them and advise what to do with my plane. They should have said, “junk”. My plane had deeply penetrated the ground and debris was widely scattered. There were about 250 people and a policemen standing next to the crater. When I looked into the hole I realized that the ammunition containers and oxygen bottles would explode any moment. I waved the people away. They ran, as fast as possible and within 4 to 5 seconds there were explosions. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
Transcript 2002.12.08 by Finn Buch, Denmark
PHOTOS:
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Crew Members of AIN'T MISBEHAVIN. Standing: Reginald A. Smith (P), Ernest Cribbs (BOM), Gerald C. Scott (NAV), Orlin Markussen (CP). Bottom Row: Thomas M. Egan (TTE), Edward Dyblie (BTG), Michael E. Udick (TG), Robert L. Dunbar (WG), Ira G. Evans (ROG), Edward Britko (WG). Reginald A. Smith crew. (100th Photo Archives) |
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The Reginald A. Smith crew with ground crew
From the Robert Hughes collection |
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Letter from Markussen to Heinz Henke pilot who shot down Ain’t Miss Behavin. (Courtesy of Finn Buch) |
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Letter from Markussen to Heinz Henke pilot who shot down Ain’t Miss Behavin. (Courtesy of Finn Buch) |
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Letter from Markussen to Heinz Henke pilot who shot down Ain’t Miss Behavin. (Courtesy of Finn Buch) |
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From left: Robert K. Peel, "Smithy" Smith, Cowboy Roane, Joseph "Bubbles" Payne at that time the 100th's Lead Navigator, and Rich Tangradi. (100th Photo Archives) |
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From Left: Joseph H. "Bubbles" Payne, Owen D. "Cowboy" Roane, and Smithy Smith, photograph taken 26 Nov 43 (100th Photo Archives |
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Lt. R.A. Smith, Capt. R. E. Flesher, Lt. Ramsey and Lt. Burns, taken at Kearney Nebraska, 21 March 1943 (from the collection of Edmund Forkner) |
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crash of (Ain't) "Miss Behavin"
It was believed that Miss Behavin was claimed by Gefreiter Pancherz of 3/JG 11 who is credited with the destruction of a B 17 in PL.Q. OA at 3000 meter at 14:56 hours. Miss Behavin crashed at Haarslev Mark 5 kilometres to the south of the city of Bogense. photo (Per Kristensen) BUT it was in fact Heinz (Heino) Hanke. He served first in JG 1 but was posted to JG 11 and on 20th February 1944 he shot down a Boeing B-17 over Denmark but was himself shot down and forced to bale out from his damaged fighter. (Finn Buch) |
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crash of (Ain't) "Miss Behavin"
It was believed that Miss Behavin was claimed by Gefreiter Pancherz of 3/JG 11 who is credited with the destruction of a B 17 in PL.Q. OA at 3000 meter at 14:56 hours. Miss Behavin crashed at Haarslev Mark 5 kilometres to the south of the city of Bogense. photo (Per Kristensen) BUT it was in fact Heinz (Heino) Hanke. He served first in JG 1 but was posted to JG 11 and on 20th February 1944 he shot down a Boeing B-17 over Denmark but was himself shot down and forced to bale out from his damaged fighter. (Finn Buch) |
SERVED IN:
- SMITH, Reginald A. - CP/P
- MARKUSSEN, Orlin H. - CP
- SCOTT, Gerald C. - NAV
- CRIBBS, Ernest - BOM
- EGAN, Thomas M. - TTE
- EVANS, Ira G. - ROG
- DYBLIE, Edward B. - BTG
- BRITKO, Edward - WG
- DUNBAR, Robert L. - WG
- UDICK, Michael E. - TG