Operation: Schweinfurt, (Mission #84), Germany

Date: 17th August 1943 (Tuesday)

Unit No: 322nd Bombardment Squadron (H), 91st Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17F Dame Satan

Serial No: 42-2990

Code: LG:R

Location: Frasnes-lez-Buissenal, Belgium

Base: Bassingbourn (Station #121), Cambridgeshire, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Jack Arthur Hargis O-734080 AAF Age 22. KiA

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Carl Newton Smith O-742904 AAF Age 24. Evader (1)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. Carlyle Hahn Darling O-673492 AAF Age 23. PoW *

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Edward Parks Winslow O-730834 AAF Age 25. PoW **

Engineer: T/Sgt. Jarvis Allen 35430340 AAF Age 28. Evader (2)

Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Victor Ciganek 32392925 AAF Age 28. PoW ***

Ball Turret Gnr: Sgt. Starr Alfred Tucker 31259205 AAF Age 19. KiA

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Albert T. DiMinno 35380608 AAF Age 29. Evader (3)

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Gerald Hollensteiner Tucker 19071594 AAF Age 24. PoW *

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. LeLand George Judy 15321001 AAF Age 20. Evader (4)

* Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia, Germany, now Żagań in Poland.

** Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

*** Stalag Luft 4 Groß-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland.

REASON FOR LOSS:

Above: Capt. Robert B. Campbell DFC O-437993 and crew from the 332nd Bombardment Sqn, 91st Bombardment Group, pose in front of B-17 "Dame Satan". England, 21st April 1943. (Official photograph).

On the 17th August 1943 the 91st Bombardment Group launched 24 B-17s to join a force of 230 bombers on a mission to bomb the three factories at Schweinfurt which manufactured ball bearings critical to the production of aircraft and railway rolling stock for German war machine.

After crossing the Channel into Belgium about 200 German fighters attacked the formation from head-on. The lead group, high squadron, in which Dame Satan was flying, had not properly formed up even at this time and after the attack the formation almost became 9 separate aircraft.

Whilst fending off the fighter attacks their engines started to overheat. About 30 mins later they lost power on #2 engine and fell out of the formation. As the formation pulled away from them the #2 engine supercharger failed.

They then salvoed their bombs on a small town, a target of opportunity, and then turned back for home. When it was determined that they did not have enough fuel to make in back the pilot gave the order to prepare to abandon the aircraft but not to leave until he gave the order.

When they were in sight of Brussels a number of Fw190s and Bf109s attacked. The gunners ran out of ammunition in repelling the fighters and all that remained was to take evasive action. More fighters came in from the nose and directly hit the #3 engine and almost blew off the wing.

B-17F Dame Satan was claimed by Oblt. Harald von Arnim, his 2nd Abschuss, flying a Bf 109G-4R3 of the Aufkl.Gr.5.(F)/123 over Montrœul-au-Bois, 14 km east of Tournai, Belgium

Aufkl.Gr.5.(F)/123 = Aufklärungsgruppe Staffel.5 (F)/123 = 5 Fighter Squadron of the 123rd Reconnaissance Group.

The aircraft was on fire but 2nd Lt. Hargis kept the aircraft level so the crew could bale out. The aircraft exploded and crashed near Frasnes-lez-Buissenal, Hainaut, Belgium at 14:22 hrs.

It was reliably reported by S/Sgt. Judy to 2nd Lt. Smith that 2nd Lt. Hargis had baled out but either his parachute did not open or was ripped to shreds when it did. It was speculated that he was thrown clear of the exploding bomber. Also that 2 days after the crash Sgt. Tucker’s shirt was seen and was bloody and torn to shreds. It was believed that he may have been hit by gunfire from German fighters which continued to fire upon the crashing bomber.

Above: Courtesy of The Sacramento Bee, Dated 26th May 1944

On the 26th July 1943 2nd Lt. Hargis was flying B-17F 42-3119 "Destiny's Tot", LG:M of the 322nd BS, 91st BG on a mission to bomb Hamburg, Germany. On the return flight, fuel transfer problems forced the aircraft to ditch in the North Sea off the Norfolk coast. Two Walruses from 278 Sqn landed to rescue the 10 crew. Neither of the aircraft were able to take off resulting in the crew being transferred to a High Speed Launch. One of the two Walruses did take off but the other was towed into Great Yarmouth Harbour.

Above: 2nd Lt. Hargis (front 1st from the right) and his crew after being rescued. The rest of the crew have not been individually identified although their names and roles are known (Official photograph)

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Hargis; Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Smith; Navigator: 2nd Lt. William H. Turcotte ; Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Capen R. Simons; Engineer: T/Sgt. Allen; Radio Op: T/Sgt. Ciganek; Ball Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. Rudolph A. Thigpen; Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Gerald H. Tucker; Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. DiMinno; Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. James A. Bowcock.

2nd Lt. William H. Turcotte O-674236 PoW, Stalag Luft 3 - B-17F 42-29778 lost on the 9th October 1943;
2nd Lt. Capen R. Simons O-738586 PoW, Stalag 7A - B-17F 42-5178 lost on the 9th October 1943;
S/Sgt. Rudolph A. Thigpen - Completed 30 missions and returned to the USA;
S/Sgt. Gerald H. Tucker 19071594 PoW, Stalag Luft 3 - B-17F 42-2990 lost on the 17th August 1943;
S/Sgt. James A. Bowcock 32507462 PoW, Stalag 17B - B-17F 41-24453 lost on 17th August 1943.

(1) 2nd Lt. Smith instructed 2nd Lt. Winslow to open the bomb bay doors to facilitate the crew in baling out. As the pilot had his hands full 2nd Lt. Smith gave the order to bale out and helped T/Sgt. Ciganek, who was wounded, to exit the aircraft

He then strapped on his chest parachute and held the aircraft straight and level to allow the Pilot to don his. T/Sgt. Allen came into the cockpit with blood on his face and was told to jump and he went back to the open bomb bays. He waited for 2nd Lt. Hargis but was told to get out and went back to the bomb bay where he saw the Eng, Nav and Bomb jump. After the Eng had jumped he looked into the Radio Room and saw no one and then went back to the cockpit where the pilot was still in his seat. He told him to get out and while he was checking his parachute the aircraft lurched and he was thrown to roof of the bomb bay and cut his head.

He baled out at about 13,000 ft but opened his parachute whilst tumbling and snapped his neck badly. Just before he landed in a ploughed field his parachute pulled him over and landed sideways which broke his leg quite badly.

He could see a bone sticking out and as he was trying to push the bone back some peasants arrived and began to remove his flying kit and clothing. When they saw Germans approaching they carried him to some bushes where they left him. After 30 mins or so later the Germans left and the peasants returned and brough some civilian clothing. They then put him on a bicycle and pushed him to the cover of some woods, provided him with a drink and set up a bed for him where he remained until dark.

He was then taken on a bicycle to a nearby peasant’s house were he thought he would be seen by a doctor. However, instead of receiving medical attention his helpers tried to convince him by moving his leg about that it was fine but only resulted in him sweating and feeling nauseated from the pain. It was some 5 days later after a lot of painful moves by bicycle and motorbike that he was seen by a doctor, who determined that his leg had been broken in four places. The doctor put a cast on it and from then he was well cared for by his helpers, including hiding him from German searches. After his cast had been removed his arranged journey to Spain started in late October.

He added that because his leg still healing after the cast was removed the hike over the Pyrenees was worse that the usual rough climb. Part of the time he was on his hands and knees and feeling pretty miserable. The other evaders would get ahead of him and by the time he caught up they were resting and then immediately started off again and he had no chance to rest. When they stopped to sleep or tried to sleep in barely adequate shelters it was bitterly cold. The closest to any comfort was found in barns along the way. They eventually crossed the frontier into Spain on the 15th December 1943. Looking back he wondered how he actually survived the hike.

He arrived in Madrid on the 22nd December 1943 and left by air from Gibraltar on the 24th December 1943 arriving in Bristol the next day. He was listed as Comet Evader No. 228.

Carl Newton Smith born on the 12th October 1918 in Burlington, Kansas. He passed away on the 20th August 1992 in Sun City West, Arizona, USA.

(2) After the order to bale out was given T/Sgt. Allen saw all the men in front of aircraft leave except for 2nd Lt. Smith, the co-pilot, who was ready to jump when he jumped. He went out through the bomb-bay at 16,000 feet and delayed his jump until he was below 10,000 feet. He saw six parachutes above him all some distance away. After he landed he could see the parachutes still in the air.

He landed, twisting his ankle, in the backyard of a house in a small village where they waiting for him before he actually touched the ground. For the most part they watched quietly while he unbuckled his parachute and took off his flying equipment. One or two of them helped him pile his equipment into a bundle which he left without stopping to hide it and headed off over the fields. He was followed by a boy on a bicycle as he ran away but tried to ignore him when the boy kept repeating asking him if he was English. The boy was joined by a girl and they both became insistent that he should reply to the question. He finally relented and told them that he was an American.

The girl then tried to get him to ride her bicycle but T/Sgt. Allen had not learned to cycle so he followed them on foot into the fields and was hidden in a hole which they seemed to know about. Both of them disappeared for a short time but returned with food and civilian clothing. After he had changed into the clothing they kept him in the hole until dark though they remained close by. After dark he was led away by two boys. By that time his ankle was bothering him but he managed to reach a small village. During the night the entire village called to see him so it was thought wiser to move him quietly to another house.

In the early hours of the morning he rode the handle-bars of a bicycle to another house where he spent 9 days in bed, allowing his ankle to heal. On the 3rd day the house was searched by the Germans but his hosts were warned by telephone and he was moved to a prepared hiding place during the search. He learned later that the Germans had searched the neighbourhood all afternoon. Due to language difficulties and for security reasons he was told little of what was happening in the neighbourhood and just did as he was told.

By the time his ankle had healed he was becoming frustrated and threatened to walk to France on his own. He was then told that in 2 weeks, on about the 27th October he would be taken to Brussels. He joined a Sgt. Cornelius and was taken to Brussels. In Brussels he was questioned and was shown photographs of his crew members after which he stayed at the home of a couple for 5 days. For some reason Sgt. Cornelius was looked at with some suspicion for unknown reasons.

Sgt. Reginald Wilfred Cornelius 1314549 (Comet evader No. 193). He was the 2nd Pilot from 10 Sqn, Halifax II JD368, ZA:A which was shot down by a night-fighter on a mission to Nürnberg on the night of the 27th/28th August 1943 (1 KiA, 1 PoW, 6 Evd). Sgt. Cornelius was on detachment from 1663 HCU.

Note: Sgt. Cornelius was appointed to a commission and promoted to 186499 Plt Off. on the 14th October 1944. (London Gazette 5th December 1944).

He was injured in a Liberator accident on the 3rd December 1944. (No further details found). He was promoted to Fg Off. on the 14th April 1945. (London Gazette 18th May 1945).

He was serving with 13 Operational Training Unit (OTU) when he committed suicide on the 14th May 1945 whilst on leave at home in Bedminster from coal gas poisoning.

T/Sgt. Allen left Brussels by train on the 4th November where he met a Sgt. Kellers and two men, a Radio Operator and an Engineer, from 401st Bombardment Sqn, 91st Bombardment Grp. Arriving at the frontier they walked across and then caught a bus to Lille and from there by train to Paris.

Believed to be T/Sgt. Theodore R. Kellers 35335090, the Engineer from 413 BS, 96 BG, B-17F 42-30372 “Shack Rabbitt II” which was lost on the 20th October 1943 (4 KiA, 4 PoW, 2 Evd). T/Sgt. was captured and became a PoW at Stalag Luft 4;

The Radio Operator and Engineer from the 401st BS, 91st BG have not been identified and therefore is it known if they were captured or if they successfully evaded.

In Paris T/Sgt. Allen was taken to an apartment where he stayed for 3 days, during which time an identity card (IC) was forged for him. At 18:00 hrs on 6th November he was taken to a café where he met his guide. They caught a train to Bordeaux and Bayonne, however, he caught another train at Dax and got off at Bayonne because could not ride a bicycle

On the 10th November T/Sgt. Allen crossed the frontier into Spain. He arrived in Gibraltar on the 15th December 1943. He left by air from Gibraltar on the 18th December arriving in Bristol the same day. He was listed as Comet evader No. 187.

(3) Sgt. DiMinno landed about 150 yards from a church in Rebaix, which is about 3 km (1¾ mls) north of Ath in Belgium. He came down through a tree and was slightly dazed when he reached the ground.

He got out of his parachute just as a woman came around a hedge and told him to run. As he started off a man nearby motioned to him to follow. By this time 20 or 30 people had gathered, so he ran after the man, carrying his parachute and GI shoes. After about ½ ml they stopped at a shed, where he took off his electric suit and the rest of his uniform and changed into civilian clothing that he had been brought.

He was then told to follow a boy who led him to a cafe in Rebaix. The cafe proprietor’s took him to their home in Lanquesaint, some 3¼ km (2 mls) NW of Ath, where he stayed for 3 days. During this time his host went to Brussels to get in touch with an organisation. While there he received a note from 2nd Lt. Darling, his Navigator and S/Sgt. Judy, his Tail Gunner, who were in hiding somewhere in the vicinity.

2nd Lt. Darling was captured and held at Stalag Luft 3, Sagan-Silesia.

Sgt. DiMinno was then moved to another home where he stayed for 8 days. Two men, then came from Brussels and took him back with them to Brussels where he stayed for 17 days at the home of the owner of a fish shop.

Whilst there a Joseph Aquino (USAAF) was brought in by a guide. Another man took both of them and turned them over to an number of different handlers and eventually stopped at another house in the suburbs. Here they were told that a Bill Hooker (USAAF) was living next door. Aquino remained there and Sgt. DiMinno was moved to another house.

S/Sgt. Joseph M. Aquino 33284596 was the Tail Gunner from B-17F 42-30176 ‘Assassin’, 335th Bombardment Sqn, 95th Bombardment Group, lost on the 17th Aug 1943 (1 KiA, 5 PoW, 4 Evd);

FO. Billy James Hooker T-325 was the Co-Pilot from B-17F 42-30208, 563rd Bombardment Sqn, 388th Bombardment Group, shot down on the 30th Jul 1943 (9 PoW,1 Evd).

Sgt. DiMinno stayed at this house for the next 10 days, during which he had new photographs taken. He was then moved because his handlers told him that they suspected that was a leak in the organisation because 6 Allied evaders had been in a house in the neighbourhood and had not known that they were actually in German hands. Sgt. DiMinno was told by his host, if after he left that he did not reach Paris within 24 hrs he was to try to escape and return to the safe house.

Their handlers and a guide took Sgt. DiMinno, S/Sgt. Judy and a Sgt. Street (an Australian in the RAF) to Tournai. They spent the night in a tavern and the next day walked across the French border to a house. From here they were taken by train to Paris via Lille.

Sgt. H.T. Street 940782 RAFVR was the Mid-Upper Gunner from 78 Sqn Halifax II JD409 EY:D which was shot down by a night-fighter on a mission to Mönchengladbach on the 30th/31st Aug 1943 (6 KiA, 1 Evd). He was listed as Comet Evader No. 171.

In Paris they went to a church where they were interrogated after which they were taken to an apartment where they remained for 5 days. They were than taken to a woman who would their guide. She took them by train to Bordeaux where she turned them over to another guide

He took them along with a Plt Off. John Hudson (RAF) to Bayonne from where they walked 5 miles to a tavern where they spent the night.

Plt Off. Harold John Hudson 143810 DFC, DFM, RAFVR was the Flight Engineer from 7 Sqn Lancaster III ED595 MG:Q shot down by a German night fighter on a mission to Wuppertal the night of the 24th/25th Jun 1943 (3 KiA, 3 PoW, 1 Evd). He was listed as Comet Evader No. 172.

The next morning they rode bicycles to a town on the coast where they met two guides who led them on foot for 12 hours to a farmhouse in Spain. From here they went to an apartment in San Sebastian where they spent 2 days. The British Consul took them by car from this apartment to Madrid arriving there on the 26th October 1943. They were in Madrid 3 days and then went by train to Gibraltar arriving there on the 3rd November. They both flew out of Gibraltar on the 6th November and arrived in RAF Portreath the same day.

S/Sgt. Judy was listed as Comet Evader No. 169 and S/Sgt. DiMinno No. 170.

Albert T. DiMinno was born on the 27th March 1914 in Ohio. He passed away on the 17th January 2013 in Missoula, Montana, USA.

(4) S/Sgt. Judy baled out at about 17000 ft and delayed opening his parachute until about half way down. After his parachute opened he saw five others below him and two above. He saw the plane falling to pieces before it hit the ground and was completely destroyed. He landed in a wheatfield about 4¾ km (3 mls) from Meslin-l’Éveque near to Ath in Belgium. He rolled up his parachute and struck it along with his Mae West in a haystack.

Two men working in the field started toward him, and saw that 2nd Lt. Darling had landed about 150 yards from him. As they ran toward one another about a crowd of about 18 people started to gather. A woman then pointed toward the woods, so they ran about ½ ml in that direction. But before they could make the woods got there, a man and two boys on bicycles caught up with them. The boys gave them their bicycles and they then followed the man to a barn about a mile away. The were given some food and a change of civilian clothing and hid in the barn.

At dusk some men came and took them by bicycle to Meslin-l’Éveque, some 5¾ km (3½mls) NE of Ath, where they stayed in hiding for 18 days. From there they were taken to Brussels to the home of the director of a vocational school. After they had been here for 10 days when they were passed along a series of handlers.

2nd Lt. Darling lived in the house of an engraver across the street from S/Sgt. Judy for 3 weeks and then left. S/Sgt. Judy stayed for 5 weeks and then met up with Sgt. DiMinno from then on their journeys were the same (see Ser. 3 above).

LeLand George Judy was born on the 28th August 1922 in Guy Falls in Ohio. He was employed by the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation prior to enlisting in the USAAF. He tragically took his own life on the 25th August 1948.

Above: Obituary for LeLand George Judy (Courtesy of The Akron Beacon Journal, dated 25th August 1948

Burial details:

Above: Grave marker for 2nd Lt. Hargis (Courtesy of Dwight “Andy” Anderson - FindAGrave)

2nd Lt. Jack Arthur Hargis. Air Medal, Purple Heart. Netherlands American Cemetery, Plot N, Row 7, Grave 9. Born on the 10th December 1920 in San Joaquin County, California. Son of Arthur Truman (deceased December 1936) and Malvina (née Henning) Thomas of San Joaquin County, California. Husband of Virginia Alice (née Briggs) Hargis of San Joaquin County, California, USA.

Sgt. Starr Alfred Tucker. Repatriated and laid to rest at the Silver Lake Cemetery in Athol, Massachusetts. Born on the 20th September 1923 in Athol, Worcester, Massachusetts. Son of Starr Wright and Alice H. (née Wood) Tucker of Maine New England, USA.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew. (Aug 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