Operation: Villacoublay airfields (Mission #442), France

Date: 25th June 1944 (Monday)

Unit No: 845th Bombardment Squadron (H), 489th Bombardment Group (H), 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-24H Teaser

Serial No: 42-95249

Code: S4:-U

Location: Le Poirier at Hacqueville, France

Base: Halesworth airfield (Station #365), Suffolk, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Jay D. Coffman O-693634 AAF Age 23. Id No: 78319 *, PoW No: 8131 ** (1)

Co Pilot: 2nd Lt. Frederick Walter Carr O-818597 AAF Age 22. Id No: 78318 *, PoW No: 8128 ** (1)

Navigator/Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Roy Earl Waller O-697749 AAF Age 22. Evader (2)

Engineer: S/Sgt. Douglas Murrell Chesshir 18190919 AAF Age 21. Id No: 78285 *, PoW No: 8164 ** (1)

Radio Op: S/Sgt. Dayle A. Yoder 39272678 AAF Age 23. Evader (2)

Nose Gnr: Sgt. Steve James Pecus 33430117 AAF Age 20. Id No: 78315 *, PoW No: 8182 ** (1)

Ball Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. William Joseph Alexander 32884032 AAF Age 28. Id No: 78287 *, PoW No: 8161 ** (1)

Waist Gnr: Sgt. Harry Richard ‘Rich’ VanDongen 32143805 AAF Age 24. PoW *** (3)

Waist Gnr: Sgt. William Emmanuel Mauk Jr. 15126020 AAF Age 22. Id No: 78298 *, PoW No: 8176 ** (1)

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Earl Ellsworth Fix 17089607 AAF Age 25. Id No: 78313 *, PoW No: 8168 ** (1)

* 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 Poland (Moved from Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug. Moved to Wöbbelin near Ludwigslust and then to Usedom near Swinemünde).

The B-24 had 10 crew positions. Crew complements evolved during the war and comprised 9 personnel who were typically, but not always, Pilot, Co-Pilot, Bombardier, Navigator, Flight Engineer/Top Turret gunner, Radio Operator/Waist gunner, Nose gunner, Ball Turret gunner, Waist gunner, Tail gunner.

REASON FOR LOSS:

B-24H Teaser took off from Halesworth airfield on the afternoon of the 25th June 1944 on a mission to bomb the Villacoublay airfields.

The aircraft was hit by flak just as they released their bombs. Part of the starboard wing was shot away, a large hole was blown in the flight deck and both windows of the navigator compartment were smashed, injuring 2nd Lt. Waller in the left hand. The radio operator, S/Sgt. Yoder, was peppered by flak shrapnel which inflicted a number of minor injuries. No one else was injured.

The Villacoublay airfields were bombed on the evening of the 25th June by 63 B-24 Liberators. There were many hits in the dispersal areas with 3 x Bf-109s destroyed and 2 more damaged, 10 x Fw-190s destroyed and 1 more damaged, 1 x Fi-156 destroyed and 1 x He-111 damaged. Hangars, admin buildings, parachute and spare parts storage areas, refuelling points and billets were all destroyed. (Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-45 France by Henry L. deZeng IV).

They remained airborne for another 20 mins with #4 engine knocked out, #3 engine giving trouble and the aircraft‘s altitude dropping to 8000 ft. They jettisoned guns, ammunition and other removable parts in an effort to remain airborne as they headed up the route of the river Seine. As they approached Étrépagny German fighters appeared and 2nd Lt. Coffman gave the order to bail out.

All of the crew bailed out before the aircraft crashed, at about 19:45 hrs, at a place called Le Poirier at Hacqueville, about 9½ km (6 mls) east of Les Andelys, France.

(1) 2nd Lt. Coffman, Sgt. Pecus, S/Sgt. Alexander and Sgt. Mauk Jr were hidden by a friendly Frenchman in his home near Étrépagny under the supervision of the Maire (Mayor) of Étrépagny, for a greater part of six weeks. After leaving his home a Nazi collaborator turn them over to the Gestapo on the 5th August 1944. 2nd Lt. Coffman was not positive that the Maire was entirely innocent of their betrayal.

2nd Lt. Carr was given civilian clothes, hidden and fed by the Maire (Mayor) of Étrépagny along with his wife and a number of other helpers for six weeks. He was captured near Étrépagny on the 5th August 1944.

S/Sgt. Chesshir and S/Sgt. Fix was hidden by family in Saint-Denis-le-Ferment in the Eure department, France for six weeks before being turned over to an unknown Frenchman who told them that he would arrange for them to escape to Spain and back to England. However, they was taken to Paris and turned over to the Gestapo on the 7th August.

They were 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 who received 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.

(2) 2nd Lt. Waller and S/Sgt. Yoder landed just north of Étrépagny, Eure. With occasional but unidentifiable aid they made their way, covering some 67 km (41 mls), to Le Bois Ricard, some 12 km (7 mls) north-west of the centre of Rouen. Here they lived with in a friendly Frenchman’s home from the 29th June 1944. Whilst here they were helped by a number of other people providing food and security for about the next 4 weeks.

On the 24th August they were liberated by elements of the US 5th Armoured Division which had broken out from Normandy. They were sent to the Divisional HQ and finally to the US 9th Air Force HQ where they were given orders and air transportation was arranged back to the UK. They arrived back in the UK on 27th August 1944.

(3) Sgt. VanDongen was captured almost immediately after he landed near Hacqueville.

Courtesy of the Democrat and Chronicle, dated July 15th, 1944

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:

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