JANUARY 1943

THE 535th Bomb Squadron was one of four similar units which, with a headquarters administrative staff, comprised the 381st Bomb Group (Heavy), and was activated 3 January 1943, at Blythe AAF, Ca., with captain William W. Ingenhutt as squadron commander, the cadre was composed of nine officers and 57 enlisted men (EM), all drawn from the personnel of the 381st Bomb Group.

Jan. 16. 2nd Lts James B. Linskey, Armaments Officer and Orlando H. Koenig, Pilot, were assigned to the squadron. S/Sgt Phillip C. Kocher transferred to Orlando, Fla., as the squadron's only successful OCS candidate.

MISSION 21 -- August 19, 1943. Gilze Rijen, Holland.

The following combat crew is reported as Missing in Action:

533rd Squadron

2nd Lt. Mongaruan, Joseph L.

2nd Lt. O'Loughlin, Edward T.

T/Sgt. Chester, Russell

S/Sgt. Sabourin, Eugene A.

535th Squadron

1st Lt. Koenig, Orlando H.

1st Lt. Spivey, Leonard L.

T/Sgt. Perkins, Leo 1.

S/Sgt. Buran, Walter J. (KIA)

S/Sgt. Everett, Arthur L. (KIA)

S/Sgt. Jones, Wilbert G.(KIA

Gilze rijen Airfield Aug 1944

source : http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-air/24219-gilze-rijen-airfield-august-1944-a.html

Crash

Returning crewmen said Koenig was lost after the group had made its second run on the target, the first being unsuccessful and no bombs were dropped.

Following is a statement made by 2nd Lt William F Cormany Jr, 535th Bomb Squadron, concerning aircraft number 42-3101:

We had made the second run on the target, dropped our bombs and turned on course to return to England. My position in the formation was Nr 3 in the second element of the low squadron, low group. The formation met attacks by enemy aircraft and during an attack from 9 o'clock level, Lt Hoenings aircraft was hit, evidently by 20 mm cannon fire. I saw the Nr 3 gastank and, soon, the entire in board section of the right wing, burning furiously. The aircraft was definitely still under control of the Pilot or Co-Pilot as it left the formation in an easy, slightly diving turn to the right, turning back into enemy-occupied territors. The tailgunner of my airplane, S/Sgt Frank C Rumberger reported seeing himself 6 parachutes from Lt Koenings airplane. Because the airplane was so well under control, it is the opinion of the undersigned that all uninjured personal on board should have parachuted safely.

Source of information: Dennis and Gerda Hermsen, WWIIMemorial.com, NARA, Missing Aircrew Report 662

Photo source: -

Crew

KIA records

POW records

The photo´s were taken by William 'Bill' Hess, waist gunner aboard the Lester Personeus crew flying that same day. Hess was issued with a hand held combat camera and requested by the photo lab at Chelveston, to use it as much as possible. Purpose being to secure some combat images for PR work on the 305th BG. Hess had been standing at the waist window, snapping a few shots of the Miller plane and crew alongside, when, flak erupted and exploded between him and Millers ship. Hess was blown off his feet out the window space and into the fuselage of his plane. He took a mere second or two to stand up, and as he did he witnessed Miller's B-17 dropping away, with its tail separating from the fuselage and pieces spinning through the air. He recalled at least one crewman, or parts of a man, dropping out. He amazingly pointed the camera out the waist position and again depresssed the shutter, snapping what is posted above and underneath, as the plane began to fall to earth. He used up a number of frames, a large part of the roll of film in the camera, and far more pictures than has ever been publicly released. The camera itself was taken from him on return to base, and he was not aware of what he had taken - of Miller's loss - till much later, when those same few single shots were used in 8th AF PR material. There nust be other shots which have not been used, considered too distressing for public consumption or simply not in focus or not showing the plane sections.

Pilot Ralph Miller's story from 305th Can Do Notes:

August 19, 1943, all crew members were at their places in the ship waiting for the tower's instructions to taxi out for take-off. The target was Brussels, Belgium. All morning we had waited and it was now early afternoon. Weather ships had been reporting Brussels covered with clouds. We might have to take our secondary target, an airfield on the coast of Flushing Island, Holland. Meade and I were chatting in the pilot seats when the order came to taxi. "John, I certainly am happy to have this milk-run for the 13th mission," I said, "it's so soothing to the nerves to have our fighters all the way. I don't mind the flak if we don't have to look at those fighters." John agreed but expressed his non-belief in superstition. Just two days before we had returned safely from one of the greatest air battles ever fought; the twin raids on Schweinfurt and Regensburg. All set, down the runway and throttling up to join the squadron in formation now seemed like old stuff, a new confidence had been born in us. Squadron joined with the group, group with the wing, and as wing joined other wings we were high over England. At 21,000 feet, heading straight for Brussels. What a rosy feeling it was to look out and see our fighters dancing all around us and knowing that they would be there all the way. We did not expect to fire a single shot; they even sent a photographer along in the ship next to ours to get a picture of our bombs coming out. Many ground officers of the group that had been able to talk operations into a ride, had crowded into the planes - five of these and they would receive an Air Medal.

"Lady Liberty" with bomb doors opened

Brussels was covered by clouds, we saw the wings in front turning left toward Flushing Island. Boy, what a milk run, not an enemy fighter in sight. Then only a few minutes passed before we saw the bombs dropping formt he wings far in front. In hardly any time McGinley on the intercom, "bomb bay doors open," moments later, "I.P. two minutes to target," then Rudy in the tail, "flak, two burst, six o'clock level, " then McGinley again, "30 seconds to target."

At this moment, over the roar of the engines and in spite of the fact that my steel helmet pressed hard against my earphones, I heard a thunderous explosion, I did not think of it for at the same moment the plane lurched upward, and as automatic as formation flying can be I threw the wheel and stick forward; they were as limp as anybody's dish rag. As I realized that I had no control, the ship flopped into a verical dive. All engines sounded as if they running away, the screams of the dive sounded like a mess of wild-cats. I jerked the throttles back, nothing happened; I tried to hit the alarm bell, I couldn't move; the wheel and stick were pushing againist me and the speed on the dive had me pasted to the seat like paper on the wall. Five, six, seven seconds sitting there, helplessly watching the ground come up. What a shock to realize that you had just "had it," not just watching someone else as it had been before. What a ghastly, sickening feeling to have time to realize that you would be dead in a few seconds. Then all thoughts stopped.

I opened my eyes with the sudden realization that I was alive, I couldn't believe it, I had a vivid picture of those last frightening seconds. I took time for the peaceful quiet to impress me and I realized that I was in a car with two Luftwaffe guards, an officer and a driver. My wet clothes, open parachute and half inflated life preserver were under my feet. I was dressed in a strange type fatigue suit and had heavy bandages on my head. I began to feel the severe cuts there. My left ankle was sprained and there were wounds on my legs. "What happened, how am I alive, where is the rest of the crew?" It was to be a long time before I had the answers to all of these questions.

I asked for a cigarette, and the officer obliged. "Are you English?" He asked. "No, American," I said. "Are you a pilot?" "Yes," I answered. "Are you a fighter or a bomber pilot?" he inquired. "I am not allowed to answer that," I said. He inquired further: "What happened to your airplane?" "I would like to ask you the same thing. How did I get here?" He smiled as if I was well aware of what had happened, and said, "Some people took you from the sea, you came in your parachute but you have been unconscious for a long time." I can only estimate that it had been about six hours since I had known anything, as the long twilight of central Europe was now becoming dusky.

That night I was placed in a small clean jail cell, and I could think of nothing but "What happened, how am I alive, and what is the fate of the others?" The next morning as I was being led from my cell, there was Radosevich; he had been in the same jail. "Rudy," I yelled, as I grabbed his hand and shook it, "what happend to us?" Mastering the understatement, Rudy said, "I was at my tail gun and heard the explosing of flak. I looked toward the front of the ship and there was no front of the ship there, so I opened the excape door and bailed out." I knew then what had happened. The third burst of flak had exploded directly in our ship, cutting it in half.

Later in prison camp, where I was to spend nearly two years, I began to solve the second mystery -- "How am I alive?" As other unfortunate crews arrived from my group, they told me of watching us "get it," and of the exceptional pictures of the shop going down in two pieces. The photographer did not catch our bombs dropping that day but he photographed our Lady Liberty in pieces. Many were published nationally in 1944. In talking with eye witnesses and studying these pictures, I am sure now that the speed of the dive caused the ship to disintegrate, throwing me throught part of it. Miraculously something caught my chute, opening it, as also is the case of my half-inflated preserver.

The third mystery - "What happened to the others?" - stood for a long time. I had learned early that Sgt. Crabtree's body had been recovered. At the war's end, Rudy and I knew that we were the only survivors.

http://forum.armyairforces.com/Photos-of-quotLady-Libertyquot-going-down-after-tail-shot-off-by-flak-over-Flushing-Holland-m164965.aspx

381st Bombardment Group

HISTORY:

Constituted as 381st Bombardment Group (Heavy) on 28 Oct 1942. Activated on 3 Nov 1942. Used B-17's in preparing for duty overseas. Moved to England, May-Jun 1943, and assigned to Eighth AF. Served in combat from Jun 1943 to Apr 1945, operating chiefly against strategic objectives on the Continent. Specific targets included an aircraft assembly plant at Villacoublay, an airdrome at Amiens, locks at St Nazaire, an aircraft engine factory at Le Mans, nitrate works in Norway, aircraft plants in Brussels, industrial areas of Munster, U-boat yards at Kiel, marshalling yards at Offenberg, aircraft factories at Kassel, aircraft assembly plants at Leipzig, oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen, and ball-bearing works at Shweinfurt. Received a DUC for performance on 8 Oct 1943 when shipyards at Bremen were bombed accurately in spite of persistent enemy fighter attacks and heavy flak. Received second DUC for similar action on 11 Jan 1944 during a mission against aircraft factories in central Germany. Participated in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against enemy aircraft factories during Big Week, 20-25 Feb 1944. Often supported ground troops and attacked targets of interdiction when not engaged in strategic bombardment. Supported the Normandy invasion in Jun 1944 by bombing bridges and airfields near the beachhead. Attacked enemy positions in advance of ground forces at St Lo in Jul 1944. Assisted the airborne assault on Holland in Sep. Struck airfields and communications near the battle zone during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Supported the Allied crossing of the Rhine in Mar 1945 and then operated against communications and transportation in the final push through Germany. Returned to the US, Jun-Jul 1945. Inactivated on 28 Aug 1945.

Redesignated 381st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy). Allotted to the reserve. Activated on 24 Jul 1947. Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949.

Squadrons:

509th: 1948-1949.

510th: 1948-1949.

532d: 1942-1945; 1947-1949.

533d: 1942-1945.

534th: 1942-1945; 1947-1948.

535th: 1942-1945; 1947-1949.

Stations:

Gowen Field, Idaho, 3 Nov 1942

Ephrata, Wash, c. 1 Dec 1942

Pyote AAB, Tex, c. 3 Jan 1943

Pueblo AA B, Colo, c. 5 Apr-c. 9 May 1943

Ridgewell, England, Jun 1943-Jun 1945

Sioux Falls AAFld, SD, Jul-28 Aug 1945.

Offutt Field, Neb, 24 Jul 1947-27 Jun 1949.

Commanders:

Col Joseph Nazzaro, Jan 1943

Col Harry P Leber Jr, c. 9 Jan 1944

Lt Col Conway S Hall, 6 Feb 1945-unkn.

Campaigns:

Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; Central Europe.

Decorations:

Distinguished Unit Citations: Germany, 8 Oct 1943; Germany, 11 Jan 1944.

Group Web Site:

http://www.381st.org/

The whole mission is described in the book of Ivo de Jong called: 'Mission 85, a milk run that turned sour'