416th BG Mission 192

Missing Air Crew Reports, Aircraft Accident Reports, and other incidents
Date	Report	A/C Serial # Type	Mis- sion #	Bomb Sq	Location	Personnel (Status when available)
Jan 23, 1945 Tuesday	No_Report	41-39269 A-26B	192	668	A-69	Tutt, Richard J. (Not Injured) Beck, John T. (WIA) Wood, Wilbur D. (Not Injured) Schwartzapel, Donald (Not Injured)
Jan 23, 1945 Tuesday	AAR 45-1-23-523	41-39234 A-26B	192	671	Station A-55	Gary, John C. (Not Injured) Cheuvront, Robert W. (Not Injured)
Jan 23, 1945 Tuesday	No_Report	41-39241 A-26B	192	669	A-68	Wilson, Harold James (Not Injured) Stypenski, Valentine S. (Not Injured)
Jan 23, 1945 Tuesday	No_Report	41-39238 A-26B	192	669	A-68	Nielsen, Leland C. (WIA) Schmidt, Kenneth W. (Not Injured)

Mission # 192 -- January 23, 1945, Tuesday PM
near Blankheim, Germany -- Troop Concentrations and Motor Transport

Box I -- Flight I
1 668th 41-39269 5H-K A-26B Capt Tutt, R.J. Lt Beck, J.T. Sgt Wood, W.D. Cpl Schwartzapel, D. [Belly Landed A-69]	2 671st 41-39234 5C-P A-26B Lt Gary, J.C. S/Sgt Cheuvront, R.W. [Returned Early Crashed on Landing]	3 671st 41-39237 5C-D A-26B Lt Murray, T.J., Jr. S/Sgt DeBower, D.H. [Landed A-70]
4 669th 41-39244 2A-I A-26B Lt Herman, A.E. S/Sgt DiMartino, A.E. [Landed A-68]	5 669th 41-39241 2A-F A-26B F/O Wilson, H.J. Cpl Stypenski, V.S. [Landed A-68]	6 669th 41-39238 2A-M A-26B Capt Nielsen, L.C. Sgt Schmidt, K.W. [Landed A-68]

Group and Unit Histories

Mission # 192 -- January 23, 1945, Tuesday PM
near Blankheim, Germany -- Troop Concentrations and Motor Transport

"416th Bombardment Group (L) - Group History 1945"
Transcribed from USAF Archives

The 23rd was a day of history in our Group. Two flights of six aircraft took off on bombing and strafing attacks on motor transport near Arzfeld and troop concentrations at Blankenheim. The first flight was led by Capt P.G. Atkinson with Lt Ackerson, B-N. The second flight on the second installation was led by Capt Tutt, with Lt T.J. Beck, B-N. The weather was adverse and the planes had difficulty joining up. Flight Officer H.J. Wilson, in the second flight, was unable to join up and went in to attack alone behind the 410th Bomb Group. He said, "I missed the formation but rather than turn back I continued on course to the target. When I got to the target, there were A-20s strafing the road, so I circled about until they pulled away, then peeled off, dropped frags at 500 feet, and went down on the deck." Spotting four trucks on the highway, F/O Wilson roared down on them with guns blazing. "One truck veered off the road and piled into a ditch with black smoke pouring from it." Ground fire damaged the right wing and put a hole in the oil line of his left engine, but did not injure the crew.

Captain Atkinson picked up two planes of his flight and headed for the target at Arzfeld. Intense, accurate flak knocked out his left engine, hit his bombardier in one leg, and injured himself. Smoke entered the cockpit so that he had to jettison the hatch, but he continued on to bomb, in the vicinity of Dasburg. He peeled off and went down to strafe. After strafing with telling results, he attempted to get a homing. When he failed to contact any station and when Lt Ackerson was hit in the other leg, he began to look for a field in which to make a forced landing. In the meantime, his gunner, Sergeant J.L. Collier, bailed out. Information is still sketchy as to the exact spot where he jumped so that he is still unaccounted for. Afraid that Lt Ackerson might bleed to death, Captain Atkinson brought the plane down on a gentle slope that he found. The momentum of the plane carried it over the crest into a gulley on the other side. Lt Ackerson was thrown clear of the plane and into the snow. Fortunately, the plane did not burn because Captain Atkinson was unable to get out unassisted. Some Army personnel hurried to the scene and pulled him out of the wreckage. Lt Ackerson's legs were both almost shot off below the knees and his shoulder dislocated. His present condition is unknown. Captain Atkinson suffered a fractured ankle and hand, but is expected to return soon.

Captain L.C. Nielsen, in the second flight, was hit shortly after the flight broke up into two-ship elements to attack. A flak burst blew out the storm window, damaged the bullet-proof windshield, wounded the pilot severely about the face with plexiglass splinters, and knocked him unconscious. The plane careened out of control and fell to an altitude of 1,000 feet, where Captain Neilsen regained his senses and pulled the plane out of the dive. Although his gun sight was shot out, he continued on in, despite his painful injuries and pieces of glass in his eyes, through intermittent flak fields until he caught sight of a column of vehicles in the town of Berk, where he dropped his bombs. He landed his plane at A-68 without further injury to himself or his crew.

A fourth plane, piloted by Lt Theron S. Merritt, in the first flight, also attacked. Unable to stay with the planes of his flight in the bad weather, he dove down from 8,000 to about 1,000 feet to strafe vehicles that he found hidden in a town in the target area. Speeding by, he came over a second town where he noticed several vehicles and released his bombs. Guns hidden in the houses sprayed their steel at him and his gunner, Staff Sergeant R.J. Gatti, strafed gun emplacements with his lower turret. Lt Merritt's plane received only two holes due to the violent manuevers that he executed. Unable to locate his flight, he turned around and headed for A-68 where he landed without further injury to the crew or the plane.

The landing gear of the plane flown by Lt J.C. Gary would not retract after the take-off. When he attempted to land the plane, the gear collapsed with a full load of bombs and ammunition in the plane. However, both he and his gunner, Staff Sergeant R.W. Cheuvront, escaped injury when the bombs did not explode.

The other seven planes that took off made no attack. All the aircraft received battle damage and Lt Beck was injured in the foot. The weather, which was exceedingly bad, prevented these planes from eighter joining up or spotting a target. The ceiling over our field varied from 200 feet to 1,000 feet and improved very little across the lines. All the men who went on these two attacks had volunteered for the job.

"Attack Bombers, We Need You! A History of the 416th Bomb Group"
Ralph Conte
Pages 198 - 199

Mission #192 - 23 January PM - Blankenheim Area. Six plane bombing-strafing mission - Six A-26s took off in early afternoon, led by Captain Tutt and Lt. Beck as BN. Lt. Beck was riding in the jump seat beside the pilot. Bad weather prevented the planes from joining up as a formation or flight. At the target area, heavy flak came up, with a chunk hitting Lt. Beck on the leg. Flak knocked out the intercom system and the plane's hydraulics. Captain Tutt continued to the target area but was unable to bomb or strafe. He found a landing strip at Laon and went in. Other pilots did not fare so well, either. F/O Wilson, who crash landed on his first mission about a week ago, did not form up with the flight shortly after take off. He did, however, continue on to the target area and dropped his 260 pound bombs on a railroad junction in Blankenheim. He went down from his 3000 feet bombing altitude and strafed a column of vehicles, causing one to catch fire and severely damaging three more. His plane was badly flak damaged and he continued on to land at Juvincourt.

Captain Nielsen volunteered for low level missions. The flight he was in broke up into two ship attack mode. He took a flak burst at the storm window which hit him in the face, knocking him out. Unconscious, the plane zoomed down until he came out of his stupor at about 1000 feet. He managed to pull out, and headed toward a landing at Juvincourt. He did not strafe since his gun sight was damaged, impairing his sighting.

Lts. Murray and Herman separated from their flight lead plane. They did not find a suitable target to hit, so returned to land at friendly bases. The sixth plane, piloted by Lt. Gary, to make up this flight of six did not get too far from the take off field. His landing gear would not retract. He returned to base but the landing gear collapsed. With a full load of bombs and ammunition, they were grateful that nothing ignited.

In a combination of weather or other reason, the six ship bomb-strafe missions didn't do too much to build up any confidence in that endeavor. It must be understood that all pilots who undertook these type missions, were volunteers.

"669th Bombardment Squadron (L) History"
Transcription from USAF Archives

None of our crews flew on the two special missions that were flown on the 23rd.

"670th Bombardment Squadron (L) History"
Transcription from USAF Archives

Two flights of six aircraft each took off on the 23rd to bomb and strafe motor and troop concentrations at Blankenheim and at Dasburg. Six crews from our squadron were assigned the Dasburg area. Captain Paul Atkinson with Lt Dale Ackerson as bombardier led this attack. They took off in extremely poor weather and never did join up, although they were in contact with each other by radio. They arrived at the fighter rendezvous and proceeded on to the target. At the target they met heavy accurate flak and Captain Atkinson's ship was hit badly. Lt Ackerson's left leg was almost severed at the ankle, Capt Atkinson was hit in the face, and the aircraft was burning. One engine was knocked out and Captain Atkinson feathered the propeller. The cockpit was soon filled with smoke so they jettisoned the canopy in case the plane was burning. The elevator trim was used to control the plane, because the elevator controls were useless. He then dropped the bombs on the target area. They noticed the plane vibrating and think it was S/Sgt Collier, the gunner, using his guns. After the smoke cleared out of the cockpit, Captain Atkinson depressed the nose of the airplane with the trim tab and strafed with his forward guns. Despite his wounds, Lt Ackerson kept on the alert and continued to check the aircraft's position. He was losing blood rapidly. They went on about a minute heading further into Germany and Captain Atkinson turned back, firing his nose guns once again on the way out. About that time Captain Atkinson noticed the red jettison light burning, which could have been S/Sgt Collier bailing out. Lt Ackerson checked their position while holding his leg in an effort to stop the blood, and gave a correction. Captain Atkinson called fighter ground control three times but could get no response. They were on single engine going about 260 miles per hour. The right engine was "wide open". When they got back to about the bomb line they were again hit hard by flak and Lt Ackerson was struck severely in the right leg just above the ankle. The airspeed indicator went out but Captain Atkinson was still able to fly the airplane. Lt Ackerson indicated that they were back over in friendly territory. Captain Atkinson saw that his Bombardier- Navigator would probably bleed to death if he wasn't given help soon, so he decided to crash land. He picked out a small field and landed wheels up, flaps down and going up hill. They slid by a tree on the crest and hit in a deep gully on the other side. Lt Ackerson was thrown out and landed in the snow beyond the plane, dislocating his right shoulder. Fortunately the plane did not burn because Captain Atkinson had his shoulder harness locked and was pinned in the seat for four or five minutes. Some infantry men came along and helped him out of the wreckage. They were given first aid and rushed off to a field hospital. Captain Atkinson suffered a fractured ankle and hand. S/Sgt Collier must have bailed out over Germany when he saw the canopy go. This was the "last resort" signal to abandon ship in case interphone, emergency bell and gunner's call light were out. He is carried on reports as Missing in Action. Captain Atkinson and Lt Ackerson were transferred to a General Hospital.

Lt Theron S. Merritt, who was also in Captain Atkinson's flight was unable to stay in formation due to bad weather. He dove down from 3,000 feet to about 1,000 feet to strafe some vehicles he found hidden in a town in the area. At a second town he released his bombs on another concentration of vehicles. Light flak was thrown up at his plane and S/Sgt Raymond J. Gatti strafed the gun emplacements with his lower turret. Lt Merritt's plane received only two holes. He then headed back and landed at Station A-68.

Eleven Pilots who flew on this mission volunteered for the job, knowing that it would be "A Rough One".

"671st Bomb Squadron (L) Unit History"
Gordon Russell and Jim Kerns

January 23rd, 1945

Two waves of swift-striking Invaders lashed out at the remainder of the German motor column in the Dasburg and Blankenheim area on the afternoon of January 23rd, 1945. Not only was it the first strafing operation for Major General Samuel E.Anderson's Ninth Bombardment Division, it also was the first time a low level attack has been attempted by U.S.bombers in the ETO since May 17th, 1943, when a formation of ten B-26 Marauders was wiped out in an attack on Imuiden, Holland.

The 670th Bomb Squadron sent the first six A-26s out just before noon. One plane dropped its frags from 3000 feet and then strafed on the deck. The other five planes failed to attack because of intense flak, battle damage and failure to pick up a target. Two of the ships crash landed and none of the ships returned to A-55.

Taking off just a few minutes after noon, the 671st dispatched six crews for their combined bomb-strafe mission. The weather here was very poor and the ships had trouble in joining up. Captain Tutt and Lt. Beck led the formation in an A-26, but met a heavy flak barrage coming into the target area. Flak knocked out their VHF set and the hydraulic system. One piece of flak caught Lt. Beck, who was riding along side of the pilot, in the thigh. Captain Tutt was unable to bomb and strafe and landed at Laon. Lt. Beck's wound was taken care of and he is back on the firing line again.

F/O Wilson, who had crash-landed on his first combat mission just a little more than a week ago, made quite a name for himself. He lost the formation after take-off, but went on in to the target area by himself. He spotted a rail road junction near Blankenheimerdorf and dropped his load of 20x260 lb. frags. He then peeled off from 3000 feet and strafed the concentration of vehicles. His record was one large truck set on fire and three others severely damaged. His ship received considerable flak damage, but he landed it safely at Juvincourt.

Captain Nielson, who volunteered for a low-level job and in fact put himself on the loading list for this purpose considered himself a lucky man to be alive today. He dropped his frags near Berk amidst heavy flak. A burst of flak broke the storm window, cutting his face and the concussion temporarily knocked Captain Nielson out. When he regained consciousness he had about a 1000-foot altitude and his ship was diving to the earth. He pulled out in time and landed his ship safely at Juvincourt. The face injuries were treated and were not termed serious. Captain Nielson had planned to strafe, but his gun sight was out.

Lt. Murray and Lt. Herman lost the fighter lead early and could not find a suitable target. Lt. Murray landed a Leon/Couvron, and Lt. Herman at Juvincourt. Lt. Gary was the sixth member of the flight, but he had trouble right over the field and did not go in. His landing gear would not retract and upon stalling out just above the runway the gears collapsed. No one was injured, but the danger of the bombs exploding was great. All the ships were flying with an overload.

The crews returned on January 25th when the weather took a turn for the better. It was learned that the slug in Lt.Beck's hip was inbedded � inches deep.

"671tst Bombardment Squadron (L) History"
Transcribed from USAF Archives

On 23 January the same type of mission was ordered again for twelve aircraft of the Group. Six crews of the 671st Bomb Squadron led by Captain Tutt and Lieutenant Beck participated in this mission. On this occasion weather conditions were unfavorable making it impossible for the flight to maintain formation at the bombing altitude, and soon flak was coming up from all directions. With the flight broken up every crew was on its own. Captain Tutt's aircraft received several flak hits injuring Lt Beck and knocking out his radio and hydraulic system. Since he was unable to bomb and his aircraft was badly damaged Captain Tutt, following the course charted by his injured navigator, Lt Beck, crash landed safely at airfield A-69.

Captain Nielson, operations officer who replaced Captain Zean R. Moore on 20 December, was injured when flak shattered his plexiglass windshield. He lost consciousness temporarily while at 8000 feet and regained his senses at 1000 feet just in time to level out and complete his mission. As soon as possible he opened his bombay doors and bombed the village of Berk. Since his eyes were filled with shattered plexiglass and the windshield was broken he could not see to strafe. He landed successfully at A-68.

Flight Officer Wilson when he saw that the formation was broken up over enemy territory bombed the town of Prun, then went down and strafed Schlieden and returned safely to an emergency airfield.

Lieutenant Herman and Lieutenant Murray were unable to bomb or strafe and returned safely to an emergency field.

All men of the flight were taken in to Bomber Division immediately for a consultation with General Anderson. The General seemed well satisfied with the accomplishments of the Group and personally commended Captain Nielson and Flight Officer Wilson for their extraordinary achievements.