Operation: Carpetbagger, France

Date: 4th/5th July 1944 (Tuesday/Wednesday)

Unit No: 850th Bombardment Squadron (H), 801st Bombardment Group (H) (Provisional), 8th Air Force

Type: B-24H Hell and Back

Serial No: 42-95170

Code: :F

Location: RAF Ford, Sussex

Base: Harrington (Station #179), Northamptonshire, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Oliver Clyde Carscaddon Jr. SS, DFC O-811011 AAF Age 26. Returned (1)

Co Pilot: 2nd Lt. Otis William Murphy O-816549 AAF Age 23. Evader (2)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Joseph Charles Denaro O-703963 AAF Age 20. Id No: 78269 *, PoW No: 8135 ** (3)

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. William Langley Granbery III O-698953 AAF Age 20. Id No: 78312 *, PoW No: 8139 ** (3)

Radio/Op: T/Sgt. Charles Ernest Cernik 38414940 AAF Age 19. PoW ***

Engineer: T/Sgt. Franklyn Junior Hasty 17070628 AAF Age 19. Returned

Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. Laurie August Salo 37414940 AAF Age 25. Id No: 78270 *, PoW No: 8189 ** (3)

Despatcher: S/Sgt. Paul Anthony Stralka 36811023 AAF Age 27. Id No: 78268 *, PoW No: 8193 ** (3)

* Buchenwald concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany in July 1937.

** Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland. (Moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser, Bavaria).

*** Stalag Luft 4 Groß-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland (Moved from Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug on 28th May 1944. Moved to Wöbbelin near Ludwigslust and then to Usedom near Swinemünde).

Above: 2nd Lt. Joseph C. Denaro (Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post, dated 2008-08-06 Page B004)

The B-24 normally had 10 crew positions. However, for the Carpetbagger aircraft, the ball turret and nose guns were removed along with any equipment unnecessary for the mission, such as oxygen equipment, to provide more space and to increase the aircraft’s air speed. The aircraft were also painted black.

Carpetbagger: The US Army Air Force (AAF) Carpetbagger mission was to transport agents and supplies to resistance groups operating in the enemy occupied western European nations. Operations commenced in late 1943, flying firstly from Tempsford in Bedfordshire, then Alconbury in Cambridgeshire and finally out of Station #179, Harrington which was west of Kettering in Northamptonshire. Initially two Squadrons (Sqns) were formed and in late March 1944, just before the move to Harrington, were given provisional status as the 801st Bombardment Group (BG). In May of 1944 two more Sqns were added to the BG and in August 1944 the group was redesignated as the 492nd BG.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 4th July 1944 the 801 Bombardment Group despatched 36 B-24s on Carpetbagger operations. B-24H Hell and Back took off from Harrington on the evening of the 4th July 1944 on an SOE mission to France.

Approximately 24 km (15 mls) inside France from the coast at 00:39hrs the Hell and Back was attacked by three Ju-88s at altitude of 8000 ft. 1st Lt. Carscaddon took evasive action, but they were outnumbered and it was impossible to shake them off and the aircraft suffered a number of hits. No 2 engine caught fire which was feathered and they continued on three engines. The fighters continued their attacks, attempting to drive the B-24 towards flak batteries. Over the town of Elbeuf, some 62 km (39 mls) east of the French coast, moderate flak was encountered which started a fire in the bomb bay. With No. 2 engine still burning and with the fire raging in the bomb bay, 1st Lt. Carscaddon ordered the crew to bale out. All the crew baled out except for S/Sgt. Hasty who discovered that his parachute had been damaged by flak splinters. (Ref 1. pp 56-57)

Determined to save the life of S/Sgt. Hasty if possible 1st Lt. Carscaddon stayed at the controls of the bomber while S/Sgt. Hasty battled the flames in the bomb bay, which he succeed in extinguishing. The fire in No. 2 engine also died down. Taking the bomber down as low as possible 1st Lt. Carscaddon headed for home without any instruments and their exact position unknown. Evasive action was continued until they crossed the French coast to try and avoid the moderate flak encountered. (Ref 1. pp 56-57)

They crossed the English coast at Shoreham where friendly aircraft and searchlights guided them to RAF Ford in Sussex. With no brakes and with the bomb bay doors open the B-24 overshot the end of the runway, struck a ditch, and came to rest in a field at 03:15 hrs with its nose crumpled and the starboard landing gear buckled. (Ref 1. pp 56-57)

1st. Carscaddon maintained the required watch over the B-24 after landing because of the secrecy of the Carpetbagger special operations. An examination of the airplane showed blood on the tail-gunner's seat, indicating that S/Sgt. Salo had been wounded inside the airplane. It was also believed that S/Sgt. Stralka was also wounded. Several 20mm cannon shell holes were found in the engines, wings, and elsewhere. Smaller holes from machine guns, as well as hundreds of small tears from cannon fire and flak bursts, were also counted. Neither 1st. Carscaddon nor S/Sgt. Hasty had been wounded. S/Sgt. Hasty had claimed one Ju-88 probably destroyed: he had fired approximately 400 rounds at the enemy aircraft at the same altitude, 150 yards out at three o'clock. The Ju-88 fell off in a tight spin out of control, although no fire or smoke was seen. (Ref 1. pp 56-57)

The Hell and Back was claimed by Ofw. Wilhelm ‘Willi’ Glitz and his regular Funker Fw. Martin Bohnhof flying a Ju-88, from Stab NJG2 in the St. Valery-Dieppe-Barentin area, at 4.000m, at 00:38 hrs. Note: This claim was not listed in the OKL/RLM Stab NJG2 Abschussübersicht (Claim summary) but was officially filed with the OKL/RLM but was either rejected or never confirmed. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten).

Note: Available German records indicate that three Ju-88s were lost this night but none from NJG2 to the north, east and south of the engagement with the Hell and Back.

Three aircraft from the Sqn failed to return to base and were posted missing in action:

B-24H 42-50386 on ‘Operation Peter’ was claimed by Uffz. Gottfried Schneider, his 9th Abschuss, from 3./NJG3 between Senlis and St. Soupplets in France. The eight man crew were KiA. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten);

B-24H 42-95317 was claimed by Hptm. Fritz Söthe, his 14th Abschuss, from 2./NJG2, 40 to 60 km SW of Paris. Two of the crew were KiA, one became a PoW and five successfully evaded capture. (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten);

B-24D 42-72873 Star Spangled Banner on an SOE mission to France was claimed by Hptm. Fritz Söthe, his 15th Abschuss, from 2./NJG2 in the Artenay area. Seven of the crew were KiA and one successfully evaded capture (Nachtjagd Combat Archive (24 July 1944 - 15 October 1944) Part 4 - Theo Boiten).

(1) 1st Lt. Carscaddon was awarded the Silver Star (SS) which was presented by Gen. Doolittle on the 11th August 1944 for his actions on this mission. He was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on the 22nd March 1945. By the end of Hostilities he had been awarded the Air Medal (AM) with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters (OLC).

After recovering from minor injuries sustained in the crash landing, on his fourth mission, he flew a further seven missions in August, but by the end of September he had only flown seventeen missions in total, which was not enough to keep him on to finish a tour.

He remained in the air force after the war. He was promoted to Maj. in the USAF and was stationed with the HQ Section, 3625 Flying Training Wing at Tyndall AFB, Panama City, Florida. Tragically he was killed when his F-94C Starfire jet serial No. 50-987, was in mid-air collision with another F-94C Starfire serial No. 50-1004, 5 mls NW of Orange in Florida on the 27th January 1953. His back-seater safely bailed out and the second aircraft managed to land back at Tyndall AFB.

Courtesy of the Bristol Virginia Tennessean. Dated; Thursday January 29th 1953.

(2) In his Escape and Evasion report 2nd Lt. Murphy reported that he had suffered wounds to his right leg from shell fragments, cuts to his head and a sprained knee when he landed near Serville.

He reported that he was fired upon whilst under his parachute and after he had landed. He hid in some bushes, cut and stunned, and after recovering somewhat he left the area and covered about 8 km (5 mls) before laying up for the rest of the day.

The next day on the 6th July he approached a farmer who hid him for three days. Whilst in hiding he witnessed three A-20 Havocs being shot down.

Note: On this day three A-20 Havocs had been lost on a mission to Dreux in France.

A-20G #43-9490 and A-20J #43-21715 of the 647th Bombardment Sqn, 410th Bombardment Group (2 KiA, 1 Evd and 3 KiA, 1 PoW respectively);

A-20G #43-9936 was listed as Missing in Action - No further information found on this loss.

On the 9th July he was moved to Dreux, then to Nonancourt, some 14 km (8½ mls) to the west of Dreux, and finally moved to La Poterie-au-Perche, some 38 km (24 mls) further to the WSW, to stay with a farmer who hid him until the 17th August.

On the 2nd August two Wehrmacht Leutnants (2nd Lts) arrived at the farm with a rabbit which the farmer cooked. As 2nd Lt. Murphy was dressed as a Frenchman and spoke fluent French the Germans did not suspect him. He and helped serve their meal and overheard them talking about going back to Germany to defend the ‘Fatherland’ and not France and that they were tired of the whole campaign.

On the 17th August the French Resistance contacted American forces and at 15:00 hrs that day he set out on a bicycle guarded by Resistance members. After riding about 16 km (10 mls) he crossed Allied lines and to safety. He returned to the USA aboard an Air Transport Command (ATC) flight arriving in Washington DC on the 22nd September 1944.

(3) 2nd Lt. Denaro, 2nd Lt. Granbery III, S/Sgt. Salo and S/Sgt. Stralka were betrayed whilst evading and arrested by the Gestapo then taken to the Fresnes prison located to the south of Paris. This was where French political prisoners were held and ordinarily Allied airmen, after questioning, were moved to a PoW Camp. In the summer of 1944, with the Allies having liberated Paris and closing in, the Gestapo guards started reducing the prison population by execution, and then relocating surviving prisoners to various concentration camps east of France. On the 15th August 1944 they were amongst 169 Allied PoWs and hundreds of French men and women who were packed into a freight train and transported to Buchenwald concentration camp on a journey lasting five days. Buchenwald was located 8 km (5 mls) north of Weimar, in the German province of Thüringen. It was established and administered by the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Fg Off. Joel Mathews ‘Tex’ Stevenson C27788 RCAF, the pilot of 419 (Moose) Squadron, RCAF Lancaster X KB727 VR:H escaped from the train and successfully evaded.

Sqn Ldr. Lamason and Fg Off. Chapman succeeded in getting all but two of the Allied PoWs transferred to Stalag Luft 3. Two airmen, 1st Lt. Levitt Clinton Beck Jr. O-736945, US AAF and Fg Off. Philip Derek Hemmens, 152583, RAFVR died in the sick barrack.

Recognition:

For decades the International Red Cross (IRC) had stated that there were no military personnel in Buchenwald despite the overwhelming documentary and anecdotal evidence. It was not until 1988 that the IRC eventually confirmed the airmen were illegally held at Buchenwald.

The Australian, New Zealand and Canadian governments also consistently denied that any of their service personnel were ever held in concentration camps and refused to investigate the claims made by a 'mere’ handful of men.

Reparations were made to the British airmen who had been illegally held at Buchenwald in 1965. Eventually in 1988 the Australian, New Zealand and it is believed the Canadian governments acknowledged that their airmen had been illegally held in concentration camps.

American airmen were among those receiving compensation and the US Air force have acknowledged the Buchenwald airmen with an exhibit at the Air Force Museum, albeit the airmen are shown in uniform rather than in civilian attire. Furthermore, there is no mention of decades-long denial of their experiences by other branches of the government.

They were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 over the period 15th to 20th October 1944.

On the night of the 27th January 1945, with Soviet troops only 26 km (16 mls) away, orders were received to evacuate the PoWs to Spremberg which is to the West in Germany. The PoW’s were informed of the evacuation, which was on foot, at about 22:00 hrs the same night and were given 30 mins to pack and prepare everything for the March. The weather conditions were very difficult, with freezing temperatures, and it was snowing accompanied by strong winds. There was 15 cm (6 in) of snow and 2000 PoWs were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main groups.

The first groups of American PoW’s set out from the South Compound with the last PoW leaving at 23:00 hrs. The next group of American PoWs set out from the West Compound. At 03:45 hrs the North Compound left, followed by the Centre Compound. At 06:00 hrs the East Compound left. All the groups were accompanied by guards.

After a 55 km (34 mls) march, the PoWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours. The PoWs were then marched the remaining 26 km (16 mls) to Spremberg where they were housed in empty garages, storerooms and in military barracks. There they were provided with warm soup and bread.

During next days, PoWs were divided up according to Compounds, and they were led to railway sidings and loaded into tightly packed carriages.

On the 31st January, the South Compound prisoners plus 200 men from the West Compound were sent to Stalag 7A at Moosburg followed by the Centre Compound prisoners on the 7th February.

The camp was liberated on the 29th April 1945 by units of the 14th Armoured Division from Patton’s 3rd Army.

Burial Details:

None. All of the crew survived

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Jan 2023). Update to include forced-march information (Jun 2024).

Other sources listed below:

References:

1. Carpetbaggers 2nd Edition – America’s Secret War in Europe – Parnell.

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