AR banner
Search Tips Advanced Search
Back to Top

• Kracker Archive
• Allied Losses
• Archiwum Polish
• Paradie Canadian
• RCAF
• RAAF
• RNZAF
• USA
• Searchable Lists

Info LogoAdd to or correct this story with a few clicks.
Archive Report: US Forces
1941 - 1945
Compiled from official National Archive and Service sources, contemporary press reports, personal logbooks, diaries and correspondence, reference books, other sources, and interviews.
We seek additional information and photographs. Please contact us via Helpdesk
USAAF Crest
24.04.1944 326th Bomb Squadron 92nd Bomb Group B-17G 42-97218 JW-G 2nd Lt. Richard Anthony

Operation: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Date: 24th April 1944 (Monday)

Unit: 326th Bomber Squadron (92nd Bombardment Group (H))

Type: B17G Flying Fortress

Serial: 42-97218 (“Toonerville Trolley”)

Code: JW-G

Base: AAF Station 109, Podington, Bedfordshire, England

Location: Bubach, nine miles North of Neunkirchen Germany

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Richard P. Anthony 0-808493 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft 3 Sagan and Belaria

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Ray C. Raney 0-808590 USAAF PoW

Nav: 2nd Lt. William J. DePaoli 0-746993 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft 3 Sagan and Belaria

Bmr: Sgt. Charles R. Fields 34625789 USAAF PoW

Radio/Gnr: S/Sgt. Chalmer D. Wildman 35742552 USAAF PoW Stalag 17b Braunau

TT/Eng: S/Sgt. Edward J. Kolber 12170907 USAAF PoW Stalag 9c Bad Sulza

BT/Gnr: Sgt. Edward D. McKenzie 31268355 USAAF PoW Stalag 17b Braunau

RW/Gnr: Sgt. Irving Blank 12156262 USAAF PoW Stalag 17b Braunau

LW/Gnr: Sgt. William H. Hamilton Jr. 39274985 USAAF PoW Stalag 17b Braunau

T/Gnr: Sgt. John C. Blaylock 39272772 USAAF PoW Stalag 17b Braunau

REASON FOR LOSS:

Took off from Podington at 0830 hours on a bombing mission to Oberpfaffenhofen which was the home of the Dornier-Were GmBH and comprised an above ground factory and an underground Jet Engine assembly line.

Anecdotal information from 2nd Lt. Anthony's log book described that around 50 German fighters repeatedly attacked the formation during which the 'Toonerville Trolley' was hit resulting in a damaged wing and a fire in the Bomb bay. They were last seen with Not 3 and 4 Engines on fire. They headed for Switzerland but had to make a forced landing at Bubach, nine miles North of Neunkirchen Germany at around 1550 hours. Three parachutes were seen in the air. However, official German records indicate that all ten crew members survived and were captured.

Rear: DePaoli, Raney, Anthony, Hall (was from B17-G 42-38156 'Mary B' ) Front: Blaylock, Brown (not in this crew) Kolber, Fileds, Blank, Wildman.


Burial details:

None - crew survived as PoW.

Researcher Michel Beckers for Aircrew Remembered August 2016. Crew photograph courtesy Pete Oldfield - others from the Michel Beckers collection. Thanks to Keith Hall for additional information with additional research by Aircrew Remembered.

RS - 13.11.2018 - Additional Mission information

Pages of Outstanding Interest
History Airborne Forces •  Soviet Night Witches •  Bomber Command Memories •  Abbreviations •  Gardening Codenames
CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
Concept of Colonial Discrimination  •  Unauthorised First Long Range Mustang Attack
RAAF Bomb Aimer Evades with Maquis •  SOE Heroine Nancy Wake •  Fane: Motor Racing PRU Legend
Acknowledgments: Sources used by us in compiling Archive Reports include: Bill Chorley - 'Bomber Command Losses Vols. 1-9, plus ongoing revisions', Dr. Theo E.W. Boiten and Mr. Roderick J. Mackenzie - 'Nightfighter War Diaries Vols. 1 and 2', Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt - 'Bomber Command War Diaries', Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Tom Kracker - Kracker Luftwaffe Archives, Michel Beckers, Major Fred Paradie (RCAF) and MWO François Dutil (RCAF) - Paradie Archive (on this site), Jean Schadskaje, Major Jack O'Connor USAF (Retd.), Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak, Waldemar Wójcik and Józef Zieliński - 'Ku Czci Połeglyçh Lotnikow 1939-1945', Archiwum - Polish Air Force Archive (on this site), Anna Krzystek, Tadeusz Krzystek - 'Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii', Franek Grabowski, Norman L.R. Franks 'Fighter Command Losses', Stan D. Bishop, John A. Hey MBE, Gerrie Franken and Maco Cillessen - Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces, Vols 1-6, Dr. Theo E.W. Boiton - Nachtjagd Combat Archives, Vols 1-13. Aircrew Remembered Databases and our own archives. We are grateful for the support and encouragement of CWGC, UK Imperial War Museum, Australian War Memorial, Australian National Archives, New Zealand National Archives, UK National Archives and Fold3 and countless dedicated friends and researchers across the world.
Click any image to enlarge it
Click to add your info via ticket on Helpdesk •Click to let us know via ticket on Helpdesk• Click to explore the entire site

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

All site material (except as noted elsewhere) is owned or managed by Aircrew Remembered and should not be used without prior permission.
© 2012 - 2024 Aircrew Remembered Last Modified: 30 March 2021, 17:21

If you would like to comment on this page, please do so via our Helpdesk. Use the Submit a Ticket option to send your comments. After review, our Editors will publish your comment below with your first name, but not your email address.