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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.

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8th Air Force
29.01.1944 549th Bombardment Squadron (H) B-17F 42-30354 ‘Hustlin’ Hussy’, 2nd Lt. Ralph H. Palmer

Operation: Frankfurt (Mission #198), Germany

Date: 29th January 1944 (Saturday)

Unit No: 548th Bombardment Squadron (H), 385th Bombardment Group (H), 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17F Hustlin’ Hussy

Serial No: 42-30354

Code: Not displayed

Location: Anderlues, 9½ km (6 mls) west of Charleroi, Belgium

Base: Great Ashfield (Station #155), Suffolk, England

Pilot: 2nd Lt. Ralph H. Palmer O-678320 AAF Age? PoW *

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Ryal Lester Skaggs O-684067 AAF Age 28. Evader (1)

Navigator: 2nd Lt. William Powell O-808137 AAF Age 27. Id No: 78296 **, PoW No: 8152 *** (5)

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Frank Francis Wieczerzak O-683171 AAF Age 24. Evader (2)

Radio/Op: T/Sgt. Robert James Piarote 13093716 AAF Age 21. Evader (3)

Engineer: T/Sgt. Arthur Milton ‘Art’ Pacha 37232097 AAF Age 22. Id No: 78288 **, PoW No: 8180 *** (5)

Ball Turret Gnr: T/Sgt. Leo James Reynolds 32365470 AAF Age 32. Id No: 78292 **, PoW No: 8185 *** (5)

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Allen Dean Patterson 31171364 AAF Age 24. KiA

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. William Joseph Williams 35721866 AAF Age 23. Id No: 78294 **, PoW No: 8197 *** (5)

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Elmore Seth Loveland 39274861 AAF Age 24. Evader (4)

* Stalag Luft 1 Barth-Vogelsang, today part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

** 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).

REASON FOR LOSS:

The Hustlin’ Hussy took off from Great Ashfield on the morning of the 29th January 1944 on a mission to bomb the I.G. Farben and Vereinigte Deutche Metallwerke in Frankfurt, Germany.

The Hustlin’ Hussy was last seen at about 11:30 hrs near the Rally Point (RP) with one engine feathered, under control but dropping behind the formation.

The aircraft was later attacked by German fighters which damaged 3 engines. The right side stabilizer was destroyed and the Radio Room set ablaze. #4 engine was burning, could not be feathered or shut down.

S/Sgt. Patterson was confirmed KiA aboard the aircraft by 20mm fire from the attacking German fighters which hit him in the head and neck. The remainder of the crew abandoned the aircraft at about 16,000 feet.

The Hustlin Hussy crashed at Anderlues, 9½ km (6 mls) west of Charleroi in Belgium.

(1) 2nd Lt. Skaggs landed near Lobbes, Belgium at about noon. He was badly shaken up by the landing and sprained a leg. He was immediately helped by a number of Belgian people who moved him to Morlanwelz where he was hidden in various homes.

Lobbes is some 6½ km (4 mls) south of the crash site and Morlanwelz is some 12 km (7½ mls) north of Lobbes.

The home of one of his helpers was searched twice by the Germans who took the helper prisoner once but was released. He was liberated by American forces on the 4th September 1944.

2nd Lt. Palmer was also helped in the village of Morlanwelz but in February was found and arrested by the Germans who shot and killed the Belgian national who was helping him.

(2) 2nd Lt. Wieczerzak landed near Lobbes, Belgium at about noon. He hurt his spine, left leg, chest and abdomen in the landing. He was immediately helped by Belgian people who found transportation for a doctor to attend to his injuries. He was bed-ridden for two weeks in a safe house in Namur.

Namur is some 45 km (28 mls) ENE of Lobbes and some 30 km (18¾ mls) east of Charleroi.

He was eventually taken to Charleroi where he was moved between a number of safe houses before being liberated by American forces on the 4th September 1944.

One of his helpers was arrested by the Germans but was released by bribing his captors.

(3) T/Sgt. Piarote was slightly wounded by 20mm shell splinters in the fighter attack. He landed near Lobbes, Belgium, at 12:30 hrs where he was hidden and helped by the Belgian people for a month. He was them moved to Thuin where he remained in a safe house for a week then onto Brussels were he was hidden in a number of safe houses before moving for twelve weeks.

Thuin is about 1½ km (1 ml) from Lobbes.

He was then moved to an unidentified farm for a week and then to another farm in Thulleneer for nine weeks. He was then moved back to Brussels to safe house in Pierre, Brussels for three weeks.

Thulleneer is 17 km (10½ mls) north of Brussels.

It was here that he was captured along with his helper and his daughter on the 10th August.

The Germans assaulted the two Belgians but they survived and were liberated on the 2nd September.

T/Sgt. Piarote was held at the St. Gilles prison in Brussels for the next 22 days. On the night of September 2nd/3rd the Germans evacuated the jail by train including 42 Allied airmen.

With the Allies closing in and with the Belgian railway workers doing everything to delay and obstruct the passage of the train it eventually returned to Brussels. On the 3rd September the order to release the Belgian prisoners reached the German guards. The last of the SS guards disappeared after releasing the Belgian prisoners but overlooked the 42 airmen who remain locked in their wagon.

It was not until dark that they managed to open the door to the wagon and stole away under cover of the night in groups of four or so. T/Sgt. Piarote and his group got away and made their way to the Hotel Metropole in Brussels, where they were liberated by American forces.

(4) S/Sgt. Loveland was hit by flak in the chest but was not believed to be serious. He landed near Lobbes, Belgium, at 12:30 hrs where he was hidden by the local Belgians.

He was moved around several safe houses in Brussels until he was liberated by American forces. He interviewed on the 9th September 1944.

(5) The details of the escape and evasion of 2nd Lt. Powell, T/Sgt. Reynolds, T/Sgt. Pacha and S/Sgt. Williams are unknown. However, what is known is that all four were betrayed in Paris and arrested by the Gestapo on the 3rd August 1944.

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.

They were transferred to Stalag Luft 3 over the period 15th to 20th August 194. In early April 1945 they joined the forced march to Stalag 7a, Moosburg in Southern Bavaria. The camp was liberated on the 29th April 1945 by units of the 14th Armoured Division from Patton’s 3rd Army.

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.

Burial Details:

S/Sgt. Patterson was initially buried in Grave 74 of the Communal Cemetery at Gosselies, Belgium.

Above: Grave marker for S/Sgt. Patterson (Dominique Potier - Find A Grave)

S/Sgt. Allen Dean Patterson. Air Medal, Purple Heart. Recovered and reinterred at the Ardennes American Cemetery Plot F, Row 1, Grave 20. Relocated to Plot B, Row 39, Grave 45. Born on the 20th January 1921 in New London, Connecticut. Son of Allen D. and Alice M (née Wilcox) Patterson of New London, Connecticut, USA.

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

Other sources listed below:

RS 29.02.2024 - Correction to the Buchenwald narrative

Pages of Outstanding Interest
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CWGC: Your Relative's Grave Explained •  USA Flygirls •  Axis Awards Descriptions •  'Lack Of Moral Fibre'
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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.
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