FEBRUARY 1944

1. A mission scheduled today for Frankfurt was scrubbed. 2nd Lts Johnson and Bruning promoted 1st Lt.

2. Leaving for an 8-day furlough were 27 enlisted men.

3. A parade of heavy bombers ten miles long cracked down on Wilhelmshaven, this morning and dropped hundreds of tons of explosives on the enemy port city with virtually no opposition.

Thirty five aicraft from this group, nine from the 533rd, took part in the operation under the command of Capt Arthur F. Briggs. Unhindered, the heavies made a long bombing run over the target and although results went unobserved because of heavy clouds the crews were of the opinion that the explosives landed right where the flak was coming from. No ship from this squadron were lost and there were no casualties.

S/Sgt William J. Reilly, a radio-man with Lt Fridgen, braved a 40-below-zero gale slashing through the open bomb bay doors of "Homing Pigeon" in the sub-stratosphere over Wilhelmshaven today to "play with fire."

When he discovered that four incendiary bombs had becomed fouled in their shackles and were left dangling in the bomb bay, after the bombardier had tripped his toggle, Reilly struggled for five minutes to release the dangerous explosives. He had to work with one hand, holding a large walkround oxygen bottle with the other. But he freed the bombs and "Homing Pigeon" came home OK.

Today's pilots were: Lts Fridgen, Sandman, Shultz, Townsend, Clark, Sharp, Duncan, Roling, and Ricks.

Four officers and five enlisted men left the station for the rest home at Stambridge Earls.

4. There were 1,000 American aircraft over Frankfurt today, and among them were seven from this squadron. For the second consecutive day there was no opposition from the Luftwaffe, with bombing accomplished through heavy undercast and results were unobserved.

Leading the squadron, on his 25th mission was Capt William J. McDaniel, aboard "Sweet and Lovely" with 1st Lt George K. Sandman as his pilot. Others were: Lts Hansen, Clark, Roling, Sharp, Ricks, Fridgen, but Shultz, Butler and Townsend aborted.

"The one thing we saw nothing else but," said McDaniel, "was flak. We flew through it for more that two hours and in spots it was as bad as any flak I had seen."

None of the squadron gunners fired a single shot. All the aircraft returned safely and there were no casualties. 

5. Fortresses of the 381st returned to visual bombing today, and given an opportunity to get a good look at their target, the blew the objective to bits. The target was the airfield at St Avord, south of Paris. Lt Col Conway S. Hall led the formation, reporting the explosives "landed right on the button." All the seven ships of the 533rd bombed successfully and returned to base with no casualties.

"The target was nothing but smoke and fire after we got through with it." said Sgt John S. Szabo, tail gunner on "Honey," flown by Lt Duncan. "I watched the smoke pile up for half an hour after we left the target," Szabo continued, "and an hour later the column was even higher than it looked when we were closer to the target."

Participating pilots were: Lts Shultz, Hansen, Roling, Sharp, Ricks, Duncan and Clark.

1st Lt Reese left on an 8-day furlough; Sgt Garvey left to attend personal equipment school.

6. Capt W.J. McDaniel from duty to detached service at 63 Brook St, London, W1.;T/Sgts Hoyle and Stasyszyn assigned to the squadron.

Today the object of the mission was to attack a German airfield at Nancy, when nine of our ships took part. Participating were: Lts Fridgen, Hansen, Shultz, Butler, Ricks, Duncan, Townsend, Clark and Sharp.

7.  Capt James Bradley transferred to the casual pool at AAF Station #591 Chorley, Lancs; Capt Ernest E. Murray left today on an 8-day furlough.

8. S/Sgt Vincent M. Wandetowski promoted to T/Sgt.

9. Three combat officers and five of their enlisted men left today to visit rest homes. One EM left an on 8-day furlough. S/Sgt H.F. Miller returned to duty after attending anti-gas school at Rollestone, Wilts; Cpl Bosin returned to duty after attending a specialist school in London.

10. S/Sgt William Howell, formerly listed MIA, escaped and made his way back, was transferred from the squadron to new duties at Mitchell Field, New York; 27 enlisted men returned from furlough to duty.

11. Fortresses hammered Frankfurt again today and left tall columns of smoke billowing up from the important industrial city after the bombing.

Under the command of Lt Col Harry P. Leber, Jr, 29 ship from this group, took part in the operation nine from the 533rd. "We made a good bombing run," Col Leber said, "and from what I could see of the town below I think we did a pretty good job." He reported the bombs of the formation ahead landed south of the city and that ours began dropping in the city center and swept out to the north end.

Squadron participants: Lts Hansen, Butler, Garrett, Sharp, Clark, Ricks, Duncan, Kels and Watson.

Captain W. J. McDaniel returned from DS in London to duty; S/Sgt Charles H. Van Horn assigned today; S/Sgts Harold J. Harkness, Waterhouse and Mitchell LaBuda promoted to T/Sgt; Sgt Muse promoted S/Sgt; T/Sgt Vince Wandetowski transferred to 381st HQ.

12. 2nd  Lt Hartman assigned from First Bomb Division HQ; T/Sgt Ernest Klein from duty to DS at a technical school, RAF Kirkham, near Preston, Lancashire.

13. 1st Lt Reese return to duty from furlough; Sgt Garvey returned from 8th AAF school of personal equipment at AAF Station #101 High Wycombe.

14. Eighteen enlisted men left on furlough.

15. A new B-17 was added to the fleet of the squadron today. Its construction was made possible by war funds supplied by the residents of Bermondsey, a district of London, and was christened "Rotherhithe's Revenge."

The christening was accomplished by Councillor E. J. Gibson, of the war loan committee, who broke a bottle of Bermondsey-made ale over the ship nose guns. The rest of his delegation toured the base after the ceremony with Lt Col William J. Reed, ground executive, as their guide, then partook of refreshments at the Red Cross Aeroclub.

2nd Lt Paul J. McConnell, formerly listed as MIA, then escaped and evaded, assigned to the squadron for temporary duty.

16. Sgts Perry, Pruzan, Palermo, Jemiolo, R. Smith, Thompson and Caffey promoted to S/Sgt; 1st Lt Henry W. Bonneau to DS (intelligence meeting) at the Curzon Cinema  in London; Pvt Janice is AWOL again.

17. Three combat officers and five combat EM returned from rest homes to duty; Pvt Rupe transferred to 7th Station Comp. Sqd.; Capt E.E. Murray from furlough to duty; S/Sgts Reilly and Brennan promoted to T/Sgt; two enlisted men from furlough to duty; Lt Henry Bonneau from DS in London to duty.

18. 2nd Lt Roling promoted to 1st Lt; Sgt Charles Jones promoted to S/Sgt; Sgt Robert J. Mammone assigned to squadron.

19. No change.

20. In an all out effort to smash Germany's warplane production beyond hope of recovery, the greatest fleet of 8th Air Force Fortresses ever assembled bored deep into the Reich today to rain hundreds of tons of explosives on vital factories and assembly plants. The 381st supplied 41 aircraft, 13 of them from the 533rd.

The group operated as two independent units, each of ordinary full strength. Under the command of Lt Col David E. Kunkel and 1st Lt Bill Ridley, the ships struck at Oschersleben and Leipzig repectively. One group bomber was lost, from this squadron, flown by Lt Cogswell, and T/Sgt Edward J. Senk was accidentally killed in action while the bombers were returning over the North Sea.

Lt Ridley said: "We socked the target hard. During the bombing I saw some P-51s tangling with German fighters in the distance, but they never let the Jerries come close."  

The squadron pilots participating were: Lts Butler, Hansen, Roling, Ricks, Tarr, Sharp, Duncan, Watson, Shultz, Kels, Svereika (aborted) and Cogswell, who is missing in action.

MIA crew: 1st Lt Kirsh J. Cogswell, 2nd Lts William Borrego, William R.    Meehan, Lorenzo Espinosa; S/Sgts Frank O. Urban, Raymond J. Lecesse, Sgts Joseph I. Durnin, John V.  Kangas,  Charles E. Duncan,  Wilfred L. Miller.

21. Led by Col William M. Gross, Fortresses of this group flew deep into lower germany today to devastate a German airfield north of the Ruhr, a target of opportunity chosen after both the primary and secondary targets were found hidden under solid cloud cover.

"My crews reported excellent results," Col Gross said, "with tight patterns over the entire target, including, workshops, hangars and runways. Flak and fighter opposition were both weak. I think you can say another of their airdromes is missing."

T/Sgt John Sinclair, a radio operator who was wounded on his first mission, completed his 25th with two more wounds. St Sinclair, who holds the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, was nicked in both heels by flying steel fragments from a German 20mm shell, which burst near his gun position over the target. Not seriously injured, he performed his usual duties throughout the flight.

Today's pilots: Lts Sandman, Shultz, Watson, Kels, Townsend, Clark and Ricks.

2nd Lt Solveson from DS at AAF Station #112 Bovingdon to duty.

22. German aircraft production was the target of the group today, who pressed home their third major effort to crush the Luftwaffe at its numerous sources. The group dispatched 31 aircraft, only 12 of which succeeded in rendezvousing with  other formations to cross the German coast under the handicap of the "poorest visibility conditions" encountered over the continent in many weeks.

Only two ships of the 533rd took part in the mission and they are missing in action, three others aborted.

The group's contingent, led by Major John E. Fitzgerald Jr, went through to bomb a target of opportunity near Oschersleben after they found their primary completely cloud-covered. Clouds at the Fortresses' altitude lifted just over the German coast and the upper air was immediately clear until Major Fitzgerald's  crews were about and hour and a half from their target. Then, as cloud layers began forming again, they were hit by hordes of Nazi fighters which far outnumbered the bombers' P-51 escort.

Today's pilots: Watson, Kels and Clark aborted; Fridgen and Roling are missing in action.

MIA crews: 1st Lt Francis E. Fridgen, 2nd Lts David E. Waller, Paul J. Ehrman, Philip Palmer; T/Sgts William J. Reilly, Robert Brennan, Sgts Garrett M. Bartle, Walter M. Abernathy, Oliver G. Gaby, Lowell E. Slayton.

1st Lt Hal B. Roling, 2nd Lts Raymond A. Bull, John R. Jackson Jr, Milton Soled; S/Sgts John Jemiolo, Ashbury M. Thompson, Sgts William L. Ruark, Othel L. Martin, George W. Day, Robert D. Eggert.

Sgt Render from DS at RAF Technical School No 12, Melksham, Wilts.; 17 enlisted men returned from furlough to duty.

23. Eleven enlisted men left on furlough.

24. Schweinfurt, twice blasted by B-17s last summer and fall, received a tremendous third blow as hundreds of American heavy bombers roared over the important German industrial city to bury it under tons of high explosives and incendiaries.

Major George G. Shackley, 533rd commander, who led his wing on both other occasions, was again in command of this attack, with 30 ships of the group, this time flying on the British subscribed Fortress "Rotherhithe's Revenge", piloted by 1st Lt George K. Sandman.

Enthusiastic over the bombing results, Major Shackley said: "Bombs were slamming down on factories and other targets in the city for at least half an hour. Our own bombing was one of the best. This was one hell of a lot different from my first two Schweinfurt missions."

He referred to the almost complete absence of enemy fighter opposition, which, on former occasions over Schweinfurt, has opposed American bombers relentlessly, in hordes numbering up to 400. "I didn't see one enemy fighter today, "major Shackley added, "and my crew reported seeing less than a dozen, all kept well out by the escort. Schweinfurt's a nice town now. We helped make it that way today."

Completing his tour today on the same ship, was lead bombardier Capt Lawrence J. Potenza, who described the attack as "terrific." Obviously pleased with his last job as a bombardier in this theater of operations, Capt Potenza said: " The bomb run was beautiful. I could see hits from our bombs right in the factory area. Heavy smoke was over the town from bombs dropped by the group ahead of us and fires were everywhere."

1st Lt Thomas D. Sellers, pilot of "Little Duchess" and holder of the DSC, said: "This was the best co-ordinated  mission of any of the 20 I have flown. It showed careful, detailed planning. Maj Shackley did a perfect job of leading the wing. Bombing was perfect. The town and target were plastered both by us and the wings ahead." 

Participating pilots were: 1st Lt Sandman with Maj Shackley leading, the others being: Lts Townsend, Schindler, Tarr, Ricks, Kels, Clark, Svereika, Duncan and Garrett (who aborted).

25. Looming columns of rolling black smoke were visible up to 200 miles from the target today after Fortresses penetrated south eastern Germany almost to the Alps to strike a crippling blow to the Messerschmitt assembly plant at Augsburg.

Leading the two formations put in the air by this group were 1st Lt John A. Silvernale and Capt Charles G. Wood, ahead of the 28 ships put up, seven from this squadron, bombed the target.

Said lead bombardier 1st Lt Happy Hendryx, "Bombing was very good. We knocked out at least three-quarters of the factory. We had a good formation and made an ideal bomb run, laying our bombs in a tight pattern. All we could see was smoke when we turned to head back."

Two of the group's ship are missing in action. Those 533rd pilots were: Lts Shultz, Svereika, Garrett, Townsend, Tarr, Schindler, Ricks and McIntosh (who aborted).

Cpls Heist, Rogers and Zakal reduced to Pvt.

2nd Lt John H. Baxter dismissed the service, per General Court Martial order No. 7, dated 5 February, effective 24 hrs 24 February per HQ, ETOUSA.

26. Cpl H. Bracken from duty to DS at leighton Park, Reading, Berks. Sgt Alexander from DS at RAF Technical School No 10, Kirkham, near Preston Lancs., to duty; Pvt Janice from AWOL to confinement; Pvt Gervails from duty to AWOL; Major George C. Shackley, squadron commander, left to visit rest home at Stanbridge Earls.

27. A new crew assigned from the 1st Replacement and Training Squadron were: 2nd Lts William E. Helm, Leslie C. Wolbrink, James V. Bonomo, Charles H. Barr; S/Sgts James M. Phillips, Bernard Kane, Sgts Ernest J. Krech, Rutherford B. Clark, Fred Lawson and Lewis H. Trotti.

28. S/Sgt Nicholas J. Abramo, former squadron member who was incapacitated by a flak wound received in action over Germany, rejoined the squadron from 12th RCD Casual Pool; T/Sgt Klein from DS at 10th Technical School, RAF Kirkham, near Preston, Lancs., to duty; S/Sgt Pinter and Cpl Flores transferred to Group HQ; Cpl Bracken from DS to duty.

29. Capt Lawrence J. Potenza, who completed his tour of duty with the recent Schweinfurt mission, was transferred to the Casual Pool, 12th RCD.

The squadron strength is 76 officers and 389 enlisted men.