[Day]

[2] A mission involving an operation against Le Mans, France, in which the group contingent was to be part of the forces for the main effort, was scrubbed.

[4] Twenty-four of our aircraft, under command of Lt. Col. Leland G. Fiegal, were part of the attacking force as the A.A.F. celebrated Independence Day with a bombing expedition against the Gnome-Rhome engine factory at Le Mans, France.

Excellent visibility over the area helped the Flying Fortresses find their target and clouds of smoke over Le Mans, that could be seen for 40 miles, attested the success of the mission.

Flying tight formation, our aircraft had little difficulty with enemy fighters. The gunners had a good day, and the claims totaled five destroyed, two probably destroyed, and four damaged.

One of our planes failed to return. The missing are:

(Sgt. Owens had previously been recommended for decoration for his act of dragging a wounded comrade from the zone of danger in the interval between the two bomb explosions in the June 23 accident at the base.)

There were no other casualties. Al other aircraft returned safely to base.

[10] Led by Major William W. Ingenhutt, of Minneapolis, Minn., 22 aircraft took off to take part in a bombing operating against the air base at Villacoublay, France. The mission was part of a the major effort for the day.

The combat leadership fell to Major Conway S. Hall, of Little Rock, Ark., when Major Ingenhutt was forced to return early because of engine trouble.

Six other of our planes also returned early.

Because the target was hidden by a 10/10 cloud cover, the Fortresses brought all their bombs back to base. The group encountered moderate to meager flack and enemy aircraft estimated at 40.

Flying tight formation our aircraft experience little difficulty with either flak or fighters. Our claims for the day totaled three destroyed, two probably destroyed, and one damaged.

There were no casualties. All our aircraft returned safely to base.

[13] Preparations were made for a bombing mission against the air base at Poix, France. The operation was scrubbed, however.

[14] The base was awakened early in the morning by the announcement of the first air raid alarm over the Tannoy. Some of the personnel equipped themselves with gas masks and helmets and repaired to the shelters. A larger number got out of bed but spent the time scanning the sky for things of interest. A few sluggards, probably lazier than brave, stayed under the covers.

There were two alarms, the first occurring shortly after midnight, and the second at a little after 0400 hours.

No bombs were dropped here.

The airdrome at Amiens-Glisy was the target for the day and 17 of the Group's Fortresses helped to bomb another German base out of existence.

The Group's contingent, which made up part of the secondary effort for the operation, was led by Capt. Robert E. Post, of Jamestown, N.Y. Visibility over the target was good and the crews reported that bombing results were "excellent". Clouds of smoke were observed billowing from the airdrome and from what appeared to be a fuel dump.

Interrogation reports appeared to reveal that the enemy was massing forces in an attempt to protect its bases. Flak was said to be the most intense yet encountered and there were apparently more fighters in the air the Group had ever met at one time before.

Claims for the operation totaled four destroyed and one probably destroyed.

Two of the Group's crews and planes were lost.

One disintegrated near Rattlesdon shortly after taking off. Six, including the pilot, lost their lives. Three were injured. One miraculously escaped unharmed.

The dead are:

The injured were:

The sole member of the crew who escaped without injury was T/Sgt. Richard J. Hanna, T.T., Corona, Cal.

Missing in action, having failed to return from the target, are:

The feature story of the mission was written by the crew of the "TS", piloted by 2^nd Lt. Edwin R. Manchester who returned safely to England after a mid-air collision with an FW190 which was hit by the guns of 2^nd Lt. Robert C. Black, bombardier. The German fighter, zooming out of control after it received Black's bullets, crashed into the No. 3 engine of the "TS", gashing the bomber's right wing, and then cartwheeled over the fuselage, pretzeling the right waist gun and cutting a third of the way through the vertical stabilizer. Knocked out of formation, the "TS" fought off a subsequent attack on the tail by six more FW's (knocking down one in the process) and, escorted by P-47's made its way to Manston, England, where Lt. Manchester "set her down" so neatly that no member of the crew sustained a scratch.

[15] The group began to operated under a new TO which increased the strength of the outfit materially. Specifically, squadrons were increased from 9 crews to 12 crews each.

Led by Lt. Col. Nazzaro, who with Capt. David E. Kunkel, Jr., flew in the lead ship, 30 of our Fortresses took off at 0715 hours to bomb the synthetic rubber plant at Hannover, Germany. Part of the group's forces flew with a [comp]osite formation which was led by Major William W. Ingenhutt.

The five planes in the composite formation returned early when the leader aborted and there was no clear idea who was to take over. The rest of the aircraft went on toward the target.

A 10/10 could cover made recognition of the aiming point impossible. The Group dropped its bombs on target of opportunity, later determined to be Geringhausen. Photos appeared to show that the village was virtually wiped out.

Although flak was not to intense, nor was it accurate, the formation had to fight its way through approximately 65 to 75 enemy fighters. From the defensive standpoint the mission brought excellent results. Our claims totaled 7 destroyed, 3 probably destroyed, and 2 damaged.

There were no losses for the Group. One of our Fortresses, piloted by Lt. Moore, made a landing at Mindenhall. There were no battle casualties, but Sgt. William H. Kithcart, of Paterson, N.M., top turret gunner, jammed his hand in his gun. He stayed at his post despite the injury until the Fortress was out of danger.

There were no other casualties.

[16] Another operation against Vitry-En-Artois airfield was scrubbed again.

[18] A mission directed against Kassel, Germany was scrubbed before briefing.

[23] The first Purple Heart won by personnel of the Group were presented by Col. William M. Gross, 101^st Combat Wing commander, at ceremonies held at the Special Service hall. The entire combat personnel attended. Those who received the awards were:

Five others, entitled to the awards, were unable to be present. They were:

A total of 120 Air medels and two Oak Leaf Clusters were presented at the same time. The list was headed by Lt. Col. Joseph J. Nazzaro, Station commander.

[24] Led by Major Conway S. Hall, who flew with Capt. Landon C. Hendricks, in the lead ship, 21 of the Group's Fortresses participated in an operation against the aluminum plant at Heroya, Norway.

Facing moderate but accurate flak and no fighter attacks (although some fighters were seen), the Group's planes dropped their bombs third in the combat wing formation. Results were described as good.

The Group lost one Fortress, the "George Rebel", piloted by 1^st Lt. Osce V. Jones, of Albany, Georgia. It was seen to be severely damaged by flak over the target. It dropped its bombs, but left the formation near the coast on the return trip and made a 180 degree turn, heading for Sweden. The No. 2 engine was feathered, the prop was bent, there was a hole in the port wing near the tanks, and the gas was leaking out. The No. 3 engine was smoking and losing oil.

Later reports, to the effect that a B-17 had landed in Sweden, and that the crew had been interned, lead to the believe [sic] that the personnel are safe.

The Crew included:

Lt. MacIntosh was operations officer for the 535^th. He flew in place of 1^st Lt. Melvin R. Hecker, normally the plane's Co-pilot. Lt. Guertin, regular navigator in the "Chug-a-Lug Lulu", Lt. Disbrow's ship, flew in place of Lt. Leonard L. Spivey. The pilot and crew were among the most highly regard in the Group.

There were no casualties in the Group. We made no claims.

[25] With Hamburg as the target for the day, 24 Fortresses (three of them spares) left the base to form part of the attacking force. Capt. David E. Kunkel, Jr., of Muskegon, Mich., was Group commander, but the combat leadership fell to Capt. George Shackley, of Greenwood Lake, N.J., when the lead ship was forced by engine trouble to return early. The Group's contingent was high element in the second wing. Six of our planes returned early.

Although the Group Fortresses passed over Hamburg they dropped no bombs there. The Wing leaders deviated from flight plan, causing the Group pilots to anticipate a change in targets. Eventually forced to drop bombs on a target of opportunity, the bombardiers let fly at a marshalling yard near a city believed to be Heide. Strike photos showed direct hits on the marshalling yards and other important points.

Fighter opposition during the operation was neither intense nor determined. The crews reported approximately 20 to 30 Germans all told in the sky. But flak was described by the crews as "the most intense we have ever seen", and the worst of it was over Hamburg.

Three of our Fortresses were damaged by the anti-aircraft fire over Hamburg and were forced to leave the formation. They failed to return to the base.

Missing are:

No indication of the fates of the three crews were obtained at the interrogation.

Our claims totaled two destroyed, three probably destroyed, and one damaged.

[26] Leading the entire Wing formaiton, 22 our aircraft went back to Hamburg with the Blohm and Voss seaplane bomber factor as the specific target. It was one of the Group's most successful operatoins.

Led by Lt. Col. Leland G. Fiegal, of Rochester, Minn., the big bombers flattened their target and [l]aid waste the entire peninsula making up the southern reach of Hamburg. Encountering extremely intense flak over the target area the Group forces kept excellent formation, nevertheless, and had no difficulty in locating the target despite the smoke screen. Enemy fighters kept away from the formation through most of the mission. There were few encounters.

Our claims totalled the Nazis destroyed. All of our ships returned to base safely. Six returned early.

There were three casualties:

1^st Lt. Sidney Novell, N., of [?] flying his first mission in "Tinker Toy", was hit by a flak burst and killed.

1^st Lt. Thomas J. Hester, bombardier, of Woodland, Ala., flying in the lead ship, froze his right hand when he took off his glove to manipulate the bomb sight. There was an opening in the nose through which the cold air poured in. Lt. Hester refused to protec his hand, however, realizing the bombing accuracy of the entire wing depended upon him. He led the Fortresses in an exhibition of precision bombing.

2^nd Lt. Douglas C. Roraback, bombardier, of Sunol, Cal., was cut in the eyes anc face when flak burst through the nose of the Fortress piloted by Lt. Weldon L. Simpson.

[27] All squadron commanders who had not yet been elevated to that rank were promoted to major. Those winning the gold leaves were Captains Rober E. Post, Landon C. Hendricks and David E. Kunkel, Jr., Major William W. Ingenhutt had received his majority prior to moving overseas.

[28] "The Poop from Group", official organ of the Station, a child of Special Service but a product of Public Relations, made its bow with a four-page mimeographed edition.