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416th Bombardment Group (L) Mission # 7 -- March 20, 1944, Monday AM Foret Nationale Tournehem, France NOBALL (XI/A/88)
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416th Bombardment Group (L) Mission # 7 -- March 20, 1944, Monday AM Foret Nationale Tournehem, France NOBALL (XI/A/88)
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Place of Take-Off : AAF-170 Wethersfield RAF Station, England A/C Dispatched : 28 Total -- 28 A-20's Target Operational Number: Z 3121 Illustration : A/88/4 Illustration Ref : 014033 Summary of Results : Poor - Bombs fell about 7 miles south of Foret Nationale (Primary). Primary Target Latitude/Longitude: 50.75616,2.01513 (50° 45' 22" N, 2° 0' 54" E) (Latitude/Longitude based on Google Maps, Location of possible V-1 launch ramps provided by German researcher Magnus Kimura) (See Latitude/Longitude Coordinates and Target Identifiers for more information. Note: This coordinate represents the Primary Target Location, the Location actually attacked may differ) |
Mission Loading Lists Transcription
Mission # 7 -- March 20, 1944, Monday AM
Foret Nationale Tournehem, France -- NOBALL (XI/A/88)
| 1 671st 43-9914 5C-X A-20J Lt Col Ford, T.R. Lt Pape, M.A. S/Sgt Bresnak, J.D. S/Sgt Cope, G.F. |
2 671st 43-9699 5C-I A-20G Lt Behlmer, R.L. T/Sgt Kelly, W.J. S/Sgt Ferguson, W.G. |
3 671st 43-9225 5C-G A-20G Lt Sommers, H.L. S/Sgt Alden, S.F. S/Sgt Ballinger, R.L. |
| 4 669th 43-9450 2A-S A-20J Maj Campbell, M.W. Lt Palin, W.H. S/Sgt Nielsen, A.L. S/Sgt Fields, W.E. |
5 669th 43-9673 2A-I A-20G Lt McDonald, A.A. S/Sgt Shields, J.J. S/Sgt Epps, E.T. |
6 669th 43-9211 2A-C A-20G Maj Napier, J.G. S/Sgt Nielsen, J.O. S/Sgt Brown, K.P. |
| 1 671st 43-9203 5C-A A-20G Capt Huff, M.J. S/Sgt Thompson, J.B. S/Sgt Hatch, H.F. |
2 671st 43-9218 5C-C A-20G Lt Boukamp, T. S/Sgt Colosimo, R.J. S/Sgt Wing, J.S. |
3 671st 43-9219 5C-D A-20G Lt Dontas, P. S/Sgt Webb, C.L. S/Sgt Coffey, G.L. |
| 4 669th 43-9202 2A-B A-20G Lt MacManus, P.F.E., Jr. S/Sgt Rogers, J.L., Jr. S/Sgt Russell, W.C. |
5 669th 43-9370 2A-D A-20G Lt Peck, W.A. S/Sgt Bergeron, A.E. S/Sgt Kelton, H.E. |
6 669th 43-9226 2A-E A-20G Lt Hewes, H.E., Jr. S/Sgt Kasper, J.F. S/Sgt Boyer, H.E. |
| 1 670th 43-9387 F6-H A-20G Lt Jackson, C.R. S/Sgt White, H.E. S/Sgt Bonamo, A.J. |
2 670th 43-9689 F6-I A-20G Lt Rooney, R.J. S/Sgt McCleary, H.M. Sgt DiNapoli, S.F. |
3 670th 43-9696 F6-G A-20G Lt Shea, D.F. S/Sgt Lee, R.E., Jr. Sgt Falk, F.G. |
| 4 670th 43-9224 F6-E A-20G Lt Crispino, J.C. S/Sgt Walsh, T.I., Jr. S/Sgt Conopask, R.E. |
5 670th 43-9227 F6-F A-20G Lt Greene, W.J. S/Sgt Evans, O.D. Sgt Palmer, T.A. |
| 1 670th 43-9439 F6-J A-20J Maj Price, R.F. Lt McBrien, R.T. S/Sgt Hume, J.N. S/Sgt Brown, F.E. |
2 670th 43-9200 F6-A A-20G Capt Prentiss, R.B. S/Sgt Antanaitis, A.J. S/Sgt Hedrick, H.R. |
3 670th 43-9207 F6-B A-20G Lt Poindexter, R.D. Sgt Molver, V.E. T/Sgt Robbins, L.G. |
| 4 669th 43-9181 2A-A A-20G Lt Osborne, A.E., Jr. S/Sgt Kelly, E.E. S/Sgt Coe, W.H. |
5 668th 43-9379 5H-G A-20G Lt Meagher, J.F. S/Sgt Damico, E.A. S/Sgt Dickenson, E.S. |
| 1 668th 43-9182 5H-B A-20G Capt Conant, H.F. S/Sgt Yost, C.H., Jr. S/Sgt McCreery, J.E. |
2 668th 43-9216 5H-E A-20G Lt Bradford, B.H. S/Sgt MacDonald, R.W. S/Sgt Hill, A.A. |
3 668th 43-9745 5H-I A-20G Lt Meredith, R.G., Jr. S/Sgt Shaw, L.R. S/Sgt Gray, C.M. |
| 4 668th 43-9195 5H-D A-20G Lt Shaefer, R.F. S/Sgt Judd, E.R., Jr. S/Sgt Fejes, J.A., Jr. |
5 668th 43-9223 5H-F A-20G Lt Kleopfel, M.E., Jr. Sgt Simpson, D.H. S/Sgt Bankston, R., Jr. |
6 668th 43-9701 5H-H A-20G Lt Col Aylesworth, T.R. Sgt Newell, S.P. S/Sgt Perkins, H., Jr. |
Group and Unit Histories
Mission # 7 -- March 20, 1944, Monday AM
Foret Nationale Tournehem, France -- NOBALL (XI/A/88)
"416th Bombardment Group (L) - Group History 1944"
Transcribed from USAF Archives
For the third straight day, on the 20th of March, our planes went out. Colonel Ford led twenty-eight planes against another Noball target in the Pas de Calais area. The bombing run was good. All ships returned safely. No flak was seen and no fighters were encountered.
"Attack Bombers, We Need You! A History of the 416th Bomb Group"
Ralph Conte
Page 45
Mission #7 - 20 March - Foret Nationale de Tourneben
NoBall. Major Towles with Lt. Pape BN and Lt. Smith, flying
experimentally in a piggy-back position as Bombardier
Navigator on a new A-20-J glass nosed plane made this run. The
Bombardier-Navigator compartment was not very roomy, and
squeezing two men into that space was quite unusual. Major
Radetsky flew as Deputy, to take over in the event the leader was
unable to complete the bomb run or have trouble on the mission.
A deputy flew with each first box leader, as backup.
The formation lost the Initial Point (IP), the starting point
for a straight and level bomb run where planes did not take evasive
action, but flew a level flight. Having missed the IP, they did
not attack the target. The formation flew past the target, made
right turns instead of left, which is the heading they were supposed
to take. They came up to the Seine River, near Paris, and
turned 180 degrees to back track. Flak greeted them on their
excursion, but evasive action helped diminish damage, although
all but five planes received flak hits. Major Willetts and Lt.
Basnett BN led a flight.
"668th Bombardment Squadron (L) History"
Transcription from USAF Archives
Results of the seventh mission on 20th March were poor. On March 23rd, dispatched against Montdidier Airdrome, we failed to attack the target.
"670th Bombardment Squadron (L) History"
Transcription from USAF Archives
Again on the 20th five of our crews took part in an attack on a Noball target. This time it was the Tournhem site.
"671st Bomb Squadron (L) Unit History"
Gordon Russell and Jim Kerns
March 20th, 1944
This Squadron had eleven crews alerted for a mission, with Montdidier Airdrome as the target, and upon going out to the ships twice for take off, the mission was scrubbed.