Norman C. Adams.
Bombardier · 330th Squadron · Of Pomona, California.
The Man Behind the Name
1st Lt. Norman C. Adams, born 6 June 1917, served as bombardier aboard his B-24 during the low-level Ploesti raid on 1 August 1943 -- his ninth mission. The aircraft was hit by flak, losing two engines and catching fire, before crash landing near Ploesti. A former teacher by profession, Adams had served two years and nine months at the time.
Adams was wounded in the crash, sustaining flak in his right thigh and injuring his right shoulder. Despite his injuries, he returned to the burning wreckage and pulled the engineer free; that man died later from his wounds. Adams was subsequently captured, his aids box and purse confiscated by captors.
Adams eventually evaded captivity and made his way to Gibraltar, arriving on 9 June 1944. He was transported to Bari, Italy, arriving on 6 September 1944, where he was debriefed by the ETO P/W and X Detachment, Military Intelligence Service. He signed a security certificate on 7 September 1944.
Adams held the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal. He had been lectured on evasion and escape by the 92nd Group S-2 in June 1943. His firsthand account, recorded in E&E Report No. 1613, provides one of the most detailed surviving records of what happened to the crew on the ground following the Ploesti crash.
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.