B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force-49th Bomb Wing in World War II

159 Pages·2006·84.881 MB·English

by  Michael D. Hill and John R. Beitling

B-24 Liberators ofthe 15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing
B-24 Liberators
of the
15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing
in World War II
Michael D. Hill and John R. Beitling
SchifferMilitaryHistory
Atglen, PA
Acknowledgments
Noonecanundertakeaprojectsuchasthiswithoutthehelpof SpecialTHANKStoBudMarkelfrom the484thBombGroup
nun:erous individuals. Bob and I are grateful for the help of the Association for the loan ofphotos and permission to use material
following, who opened their files and helped supply information from newsletters and their website. We also thank Hughes
for this undertaking: Glenn Strong, Allen Blue, Wally Forman, Glantzberg for his help and permission to use material from the
Robert DOlT, Glenn Strong, Jon and Pam Moran (461st), William 461st Bomb Group website. A Special mention goes to Robert
Bloom (484th), Robert Blair (451st), HalTY Helyer (451st), Joe Karstensenforwritingourforewordandprovidingspecialmaterial
Garde(451st),JuliusAltvater(451st),RobertTaylor(451st),Lewis for the451stBombGroup.
Williams(451st),GeorgeTudor(451st),JohnWinden(451st),Pe Bob mentions a "special" thanks to his wife, Carol, for her
ter Marioles (451st), Fred Kalinka (451st), Rev Paul Johnshoy supportduringhis years ofresearch ontheB-24Liberator.
(451st),GordonSnyder(451st),Thomas"Doc"Moran(451st),Karl IgivespecialThankstomyfamily,SedgefieldandWildaHill,
Eichhorn(451st),HarveyClapp(451st),DouglasWadlund(451st), for thesupportthatonly parentscan give. Finally, my wifeLinda,
WalterStewart(484th), Don James (461st),TedWise (461st), Pat for all ofherloving supportin my writing projects.
Roy (461st), Wayne Boyce (461st), Tom Moss (461st), George
Leffler (461st), Rick Smith (461st), Len Cole (461st), and Stan WiththedailyshrinkingofranksoftheWorldWarIIveterans,
Staples (461st). BobandIdedicate this workto allofthe men whoflew, repaired,
andworkedwiththeB-24softhe 15thAirForceis49thBombWing.
BookDesignbyIan Robertson.
Copyright©2006 byMichaelD. Hilland John R. Beitling.
LibraryofCongress Control Number: 2005936343
All rights reserved. No part ofthis work may be reproduced or used in any forms or by
any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or information
storageandretrievalsystems- withoutwrittenpermission from thecopyrightholder.
PrintedinChina.
ISBN: 0-7643-2343-3
Weareinterestedin hearingfrom authors with bookideas on related topics.
PublishedbySchifferPublishingLtd. InEurope,Schifferbooksaredistributedby:
4880LowerValleyRoad BushwoodBooks
Atglen,PA19310 6MarksburyAvenue
Phone:[phone] KewGardens
FAX:[phone] SurreyTW94JF
E-mail:[email protected]. England
Visitourwebsiteat: www.schifferbooks.com Phone:[phone]
Pleasewriteforafreecatalog. FAX:[phone]
Thisbookmaybepurchasedfromthepublisher. E-mail:[email protected].
Pleaseinclude$3.95postage. FreepostageintheUK.Europe:airmailatcost.
Tryyourbookstorefirst. Tryyourbookstorefirst.
•I
Contents
Foreword 6
Introduction 8
History ofthe491h BombWing 9
Chapter 1: 451 Bomb Group 10
sl
Chapter2: 461'1Bomb Group 75
Chapter3: 4841hBombGroup 108
49thBombWing PhotoGallery 142
Bibliography 160
1
Foreword:
When the authors, MikeHill and Bob Beitling, contacted me ImaximumeffortSyouflewwhateverwasavailable.Thus,manyof
to writeaforeword to this book, I was truly caughtoffguard. My the724thBombSquadronaircraftlistedinthisbookwerefamiliar
literaryexperienceencompassessomewriting/reportingforasmall to me.
localhometown newspaper,ofwhichtheyknewnothing,andmost Sometimes, ifyou wereflying HeadSit may bethat your air
recently doing a newsletterfor the45lstBomb Groupcalled "Ad craftcamefrom oneofthe otherSquadrons (e.g., Radar (Mickey)
Lib." The Ad Lib is a spin-offfrom the old Base flyer that told Ship, oronewithanewerversion Bombsight).
abouthappeningsontheCastelluccioAirFieldduringourwartime Icannotconcludethisforeword withoutputtingin something
tenure. Apartfrom that, Ihadquestions as to "Why me?" about the B-24, and some ofthe hardships that the crewmen en
But, themoreIponderedthesubject, themoreIcametoreal dured.One,seldommentioned,wasthecold.Flyingbetween20,000
ize that they were looking for someone that had experienced the and25,000feetaltitudethetemperaturecouldreachbetween40to
traumathatcomeswithhighaltitudecombatflying.They werenot 60degreesbelowzero.Protectedonlybyanelectricallyheatedsuit
looking for a big-time hero, nor were they looking for someone Uacket, trousers, gloves, and boots), it was sometimes difficult to
that was barely familiar with the B-24. They were seeking some keep warm, especially in the waist section with open waist win
onethat could relate to whatit was like to fly in the B-24, and to dows. Incaseofamalfunctionwithgunorequipment,you worea
haveseencombatfirsthand. pairofsilkgloves, so when theheatedoutergloves wereremoved
InthatsenseIqualifiedwithmy389hoursofB-24flyingtime. you didn'tbecome attached/frozen to any metal. Turrets could be
Ourcrew(CaptainHenryG. Rollins'crew,724thBombSquadron) uncomfortable because ofclose confinement, plus lack ofmotion
completed our tour of 35 combat missions; Pilot and Engineer thatcouldhelpincirculatingtheblood in the lowerextremities.
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; and five ofus garnered Oxygen masks were worn above 10,000 feet, and there were
the Purple Heart. This including our Radio Operator, T/Sgt An times when theyfroze, causingmuch distress by the wearer.
thony Paonessa, who was killed in action on 29 December 1944. FlakVests wereconsideredmandatoryincombat, as werethe
We were also entitled to wear nine BattleStars on our Campaign parachutes. The crewman was responsible for his own parachute,
Ribbon, plus three Distinguished Unit Citations. Those facts did buttheEngineerwasaccountablefortheflak vestsbeingonboard
notmakeusanexemplarycrew,butIwouldplaceusasaboutaver priorto take-off. Theflak vests wereflexible two piece (frontand
age for the 10 months we were in acombat zone, starting in late back), supposedly bulletandshrapnelproofprotectors.Ataltitude
June 1944.There were somecrews that came through the war to it usually required yourself and someone else to put on prior to
tally unscathed, whileothersmade thesupremesacrifice. going over the target. In emergency it only took a tug ofa short
Itwasuniquethat,duringour10monthsoverseasandthrough lanyardtorid yourselfofthem.
the courseof35 missions we, flying as acrew, orseparately, flew Parachutescameinavarietyoftypes.TherewereIseatSlbackS
manyofourmissionsinavarietyofB-24aircraftofthe451st.This andlchestchutesjMostcommonamongthegunners was thechest
was due to our pilot being elevated to Squadron Operations Of chute. These were not worn until an emergency arose, and were
ficer, and mostlyflying withotherpilots inleadpositions.We, the placed in aposition, withjn the aircraft, that was easily accessible
restofthecrew,wererelegatedtoflyingasIsparesiwithothercrews. when, and if, that emergency should happen. While the seat and
Earlyon, theoriginalcrewsflew mostoftheirmissionsin the back chutes were ready at all times, the chest chute had to be at
same aircraft they brought overseas. But it was most uncommon tached by way ofmetal snaps that were on the harness. This fact
forthelatercrewstohaveflown all yourmissionsinone-onlyair causedsomeconcern,in theway thatitcouldnotbewornbeneath
craft. Iflyouri aircraft6the one you may have named orfelt most theflakvest.Anotherfactorwas thatifthe aircraftsufferedsevere
attached t06was down for repair and the next mission called for turbulence, either by flak damage or evasive action, you may be
6
~~~~~~~~~~-------,-I-
Foreword
spending precious moments trying to relocate your chute where Itseemsthathistoryandresearchsometimesgohandinhand.
you leftit. When history is made, and allowed to become faded with time,
Therewasanotherhazardfacedbyacrewmanwhileonamis thenresearchcomesintoplaytobringitbackintofocus.Thus will
sion.Thatwas toseeyourwingmanorbuddyfallingoutofforma bethepurposeofthis book.
tion,andtryingtofollowwhatwashappeningtotheaircraft.Maybe The49thWingofthe 15thArmyAirForcewasonceamighty
theywouldmakeithome,ormaybeyouwouldseethembailout,or militaryforcethattheAllieshad,andusedeffectively,todefeatthe
worse yet6explode. Ofcourse, this wasn't a physical hazard, but Nazis in WWII.Andourweapon was theB-24Liberatorbomber.
ratheran emotionalone. Totheveteranandresearcheralike,thisbookwillbeagreattoolin
bringingsharperfocus to thatpartofhistory and toWWII.
FormerS/SgtRobertKarstensen(Gunner),
15thAAF, 49thBombardmentWing,
451stBombGroup,724thBomb Squadron.
7
Introduction
Sitting on the ground the B-24 Liberator appeared to be a under differentcircumstances. Itis only the authorsfplace to say
designerfsnightmare.Shehadlongthintaperedwingsattachedtoa thatifeitherofthese planes brought youbackfrom theflak filled
slabsidedfuselage.Thewingsdidnotlookliketheywouldsupport skiesofEurope, then shewasIthe besti
the weightin-flight, and the fuselage cried outfor garish nose art Whentheideaforthisprojectwasputforth,Icouldthinkofno
adornment.Addtothistwo ovalrudders, andonewouldthinkthat onetobringonboardotherthanJohnlBobiBeitling.Heisnostranger
she wouldnft get off the ground. But get offthe ground she did! toB-24researchers. Hehas spentover20yearsresearchingtheB
Once she was in the air, the long wings flexed upward to support 24Liberator.BobfsinterestintheB-24isnatural;heflew asacrew
the aircraft, and sheassumedagraceallherown. memberon the Liberatorwith the 389thBomb Group in England
Built in more numbers than any other American bomber of during the war. Bobhas helped meon several otherprojects deal
WorldWarII, theLiberatorwas themostadvancedheavybomber ing with the B-24, and I am proud and happy to have him as my
until surpassedbytheB-29 Superfortress. Shewas overshadowed copilotonthis one.
bytheB-17FlyingFortressthroughnofaultofherown. My interestin the Liberatorcomes from the fact thatmy dad
Itwas merelyamatterofpublicrelations. Usedbythe 8thAir servedwiththe451stBombGroup, 15thAirForceduringthewar.
Force, shewas saddledwith abadreputationbased onlosses sus As aboy, Ilovedlooking athisfading photosfrom thattime.As a
tainedduringoperationsagainstHitlerfsGermany.Thisreputation result I became aIplane personS and my interest in the Liberator
wasinlargepartbasedonthefactthatthe8thAirForcewasprima has neverfaded.
rilyaB-17AirForce.InmostcasestheLiberatorunitswereforced SomuchhasbeenwrittenabouttheaircraftofWorldWarII.In
tofly missions behindtheB-17units. SincetheB-24hadahigher manycases,acertainaircraftismentionedinthesewritingsregard
airspeed they would have to hold back in order to stay with the ing the fact that it was lost on a certain date, or that it carried a
formations.ThisplacedtheLiberatoratasevereoperationaldisad certainname. BobandIhaveusedadifferentformat. Ourideaisto
vantage. concentrateonthe aircraftitselfand giveabiographicalhistoryof
The 15thAirForcewas madeup of21 heavybombergroups, theindividualaircraft.Withthatinmind,wearepresentingasmuch
ofwhich 15groups wereequippedwiththeB-24Liberator. Inthis information as possible about these historic Liberators. We have
areaofoperations the B-24 was not hindered by the performance triedtoincludesuchthingsashernicknameandhowshewasnamed,
differences between the B-17 and the Liberator. In mostcases the missionhistory,andhereventualfate.Wehavealsotriedtoinclude
missions were plannedand assigned to the groups to optimize the any interesting incidents that she was involved in. We hope that
capabilitiesofeachbombertype. this different approach will serve as an important addition to the
There has always been the greatIbomberdebateias to which historicaldocumentationofwhatnotonlythecrews, buttheseair
aircraft was better, the B-17 or the B-24. Itis not our purpose to craft, didfor ourcountriefshistory.
enter into this abyss, as there is no concrete answer. Ifone looks Wehavemadeeveryattempttoinsurethatthematerialthatwe
strictlyattheperformanceenvelopeofthe aircrafttheB-24would presentisasaccurateaspossible.Weadmitthatwiththepassageof
comeout as thebetterofthe two. We mustrememberthateachof time,as wellastheproblemswithrecordkeeping ofthattime,add
these great aircraft had certain differences in construction, arma tosomeofthedilemmaspresentedinhistoricalresearch.Withthat
ment,andflightcharacteristicsthatwouldgivethemtheadvantage inmind, Bob andIhope thatyou enjoy ourworkandfind itinter
esting.
8
History of the 49th Bomb Wing
Constituted as the 49th Bombardment Operational Training ingtheB-246assignedtothe 15th6theywereuniqueinthefactthat
Wing(medium) onMarch 17, 1943,itwasactivatedonMarch 31, the wing was comprised ofonly three Bomb Groups. The groups
1943,atColumbiaArmyAirBase,Columbia,SouthCarolina. The assignedtotheWingwerethe451st,461st,and484thBombGroups.
WingwastransferredtoGreenville,SouthCarolina, inApril 1943, The 49thWing under the command ofBrig/General William
andremainedthere untilFebruary 1944.Theprimarymissionwas LeemovedintotheirheadquartersnearFoggia,Italy,andconducted
trainingofaircrewsfor serviceoverseas. WingOperations for the duration ofWorldWarII.
InApril 1944the49thBombWing wasreassignedto the 15th The49thBombWing was inactivated in Italy on October 16,
Air Force operating in Italy. The Wing was transferred without 1945. It was later redesignated as the 49th Bombard Wing (Very
aircraftto Italy. Heavy) and transferred to thereserve. Activatedagain onDecem
After being assigned to the 15thAir Force, the 451st Bomb ber26,1946,ithadashortperiodofserviceuntilbeingdeactivated
Groupwastransferredfromthe47thWing,andthe461stwastrans againonJune 27, 1949.
ferred from the55thWing. The newly arrived484thBombGroup One November 7, 1951, it was redesignated as the 49thAir
wasassignedas thelastgroupin the wing. Mostwings werecom Divisionandassigned to theTacticalAirCommand. InApril 1952
posedoffour Bomb Groups. Sincethe 49th was the lastWing us- itwas transferredtoEnglandaspartoftheUnitedStatesAirForce
inEurope.
9
1
4518t Bomb Group
History ofthe 451st Bomb Group
The451stBombGroupwasactivatedunderprovisionsofGen OnApril 6, 1944, the 451st began its movement to their new
eral Order# 5, paragraph 1at Davis Monthan Field, Tucson,Ari baseatCastelluccia,Italy.Withthismovementalsocamethetrans
zona, on April 22, 1943. This order activated the group with four fer to thenewly activated49thBombWing.
squadrons,the724th,725th,726th,and727th.Thegroupwouldbe The 451st continued to fly combat missions from their new
underthe commandofColonelRobertE.L. Eaton. baseduringthesummerof1944. TheyrackedupmissionstoPloesti,
The group was transferred to Wendover Field, Utah, to begin Vienna, andothertargetsintheThirdReich.
training for combat. The major problem with Wendover was that Like othergroups in the 15thAirForce, the 451stwas taking
therewereseveralgroupsstationedthere,anditwasovercrowded. lossesandgettingreplacements.Augustsawthegroupflyingadev
InSeptember1943thegroupwastransferredtoFairmontField, astatingmissiontoMarkersdorf,Austria.Forthismissionthegroup
Nebraska.Locatedabout75 milessouthwestofLincoln,thegroup was awardedanunprecedented thirdDistinguishedUnitCitation.
wouldremain there and completetheirstatesidetraining. Duringthefall and winterof 1944-1945, the 451stcontinued
OrderswerecutinNovemberproclaimingthegroupreadyfor to fly when the weather permitted. While the German Luftwaffe
movement to their combat area. The aircrews began the flight to hadbeensubdued, flakwas always athreat.
Italy in November 1943, while the groundechelon boardedtrains On April 26, 1945, the 451st flew their 245th mission since
for theEastcoastandtheirlongboatride across theAtlantic. arrivinginItaly. Itwas tobethelastmissionflownbythegroupin
The groundechelonwas reunited onJanuary 2, 1944,at their WorldWarII.
firstoperationalbaseatGioiadelColle,Italy.OnJanuary20, 1944, ShortlyvictoryinEuropewasproclaimed, and themenofthe
theairechelonarrived,andpreparationswerebegunforthegroupfs 451stbeganlookingforward toreturning tothe UnitedStates.
first mission. During combat service in Italy the 451st was awarded three
On arrival the 451st Bomb Group had been assigned to the Distinguished Unit Citations. The first was awarded for the mis
47thBombWing.Thiswingwasmadeupofthe98th,376th,449th, sion to Regansburg, Germany, on February 25, 1944. The second
and 450th Bomb Groups. With the addition ofthe 451st, the 47th was awarded for the AprilS, 1944, mission to Ploesti, Rumania.
wing hadfivebombgroups assigned to it. The final DUC was awarded for theAugust 23, 1944, mission to
The 451stflew its first combatmission onJanuary 30, 1944. Markersdorf,Austria. Itis noted thatno othergroup was awarded
TheirtargetwastheRadarStationatFier,Albania.Like all groups threeUnitCitationswhileinservicewith the 15thAirForce.
ontheirfirst mission, itwasfouled up from thebeginning. During the history of the 451st in World War II there were
ByMarch 1944the base atGioiadel Colle was deemed unfit threecommandingofficers.ColonelRobertE.L.Eatonwasthefirst
for combatoperations due to mud and water. The group was split commander, serving from activation until he completed 50 mis
into two parts. The724th and 726thBomb Squadrons were trans sions.ColonelJamesBKnapptookcommandofthegrouponSep
ferredtoSanPancrazio.The725thand727thweresenttoManduria. tember 19, 1944, and commanded until December when he gave
The group would operate from the two differentbases until their commandtoColonelLeroyStefonowicz(Stefon),whocommanded
new basewas operational. the group until the endofthewar.
The451stwasreactivatedforabrieftimeasaStategicMissile
Wing,andstoodnuclearalertwiththeStrategicAirCommandun
til beingdeactivated.
10