Norbert L. Ecclesfield.
Radio Operator · Hughes Crew · 330th Squadron
The man.
Norbert Ecclesfield — known to the crew as Eck — served as radio operator, and on the worst day the crew ever had, he was the one who kept things together in the back.
On November 21, 1944, after Pete Scott was struck by flak over Hamburg, it was Ecclesfield who helped Hughes disengage Scott's radio, oxygen tube, and safety belt from the seat. Hughes asked him to hold the emergency oxygen on Scott's face for the trip home. Scott was already gone, but Ecclesfield did it anyway, all the way back. While Hughes flew the damaged aircraft, Ecclesfield got on the radio and transmitted the crew's situation to Division — steady enough to handle the operational report while everything else was falling apart around him.
He appears in the crew photo taken March 24, 1945, standing in the top row.
On April 7, 1945, during Mission 34 over Geesthacht, the same 30mm cannon shell that wounded co-pilot Douglas Schetter also caught Ecclesfield. The shell had come through the armor plate beside the pilot, angled back, and exploded behind the pilots' seats. Both men were rushed to the hospital after landing. The crew's final mission flew the next day without either of them.
Service record.
Missions flown.
The missions below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.