Supports 1 fact
Escape and Evasion Report 1613
Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1943 · Escape and Evasion Reports
The crew.
§ 10 aboard
Name
Position
Serial
Hometown
On this flight
1LtWorthy A. Long
Pilot
Station 1
O-666314
—
Prisoner of war
Returned
→
2LtJohn O. Lockhart
Co-Pilot
Station 2
O-740848
—
Prisoner of war
Returned
→
2LtDavid Lipten
Navigator
Station 3
O-670144
The Bronx, Bronx County, New York City, New York
Killed in action
Returned
→
1LtNorman C. Adams
Bombardier
Station 4
O-734292
Pomona, California
Completed his tour
Returned
→
T/SgtFrederick E. Fagan
Radio Operator
Station 6
33255330
—
Killed in action
Returned
→
PfcIgnatius F. Dies
Waist Gunner
Station 8
—
—
Prisoner of war
Returned
→
S/SgtMarion J. Szaras
Waist Gunner
Station 8
32475471
Buffalo, Erie County, New York
Killed in action
Returned
→
S/SgtJim M. Crumley
Tail Gunner
Station 9
14040230
Washington County, Tennessee
Killed in action
Returned
→
S/SgtLeycester D. Havens
Tail Gunner
Station 9
38202168
Breckenridge, Stephens County, Texas
Killed in action
Returned
→
T/SgtMaurice J. Peterson
Top Turret Gunner
19079103
—
Killed in action
Returned
→
In their own words.
§ 10 entries
Worthy A. LongPilot
1st Lt. Worthy A. Long was the pilot of the aircraft on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. After the crash landing, Adams reported seeing Long at a first aid station along with the co-pilot, tunnel gunner, and himself. Long was subsequently captured and held as a prisoner of war.
John O. LockhartCo-Pilot
2nd Lt. John O. Lockhart served as co-pilot on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1618. Lockhart survived the crash landing and was seen by Adams at a first aid station. He was subsequently captured and held as a prisoner of war.
David LiptenNavigator
2nd Lt. David Lipton served as navigator on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Norman C. AdamsBombardier
1st Lt. Norman C. Adams 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, and crash landed near Ploesti. Adams was wounded — he received flak in his right thigh and injured his right shoulder in the crash. Despite his injuries, he went back to the wreckage and pulled the engineer out of the burning aircraft; the engineer died later. Adams was captured and his aids box and purse were taken away. He eventually evaded and arrived at Gibraltar on 9 June 1944, then was transported by sea or air to Bari, Italy, arriving 6 September 1944. He was debriefed by the ETO P/W and X Detachment, Military Intelligence Service, and signed a security certificate on 7 September 1944. Adams held the DFC and Air Medal. He was born 6 June 1917 and had served 2 years and 9 months. His civilian occupation was teacher. He had been lectured on evasion and escape by the 92nd Group S-2 in June 1943.
Frederick E. FaganRadio Operator
T/Sgt. Frederick Fagan served as radio operator on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Ignatius F. DiesWaist Gunner
S/Sgt. Ignatius Dies served as waist gunner on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Marion J. SzarasWaist Gunner
S/Sgt. Marion Szars served as waist gunner on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Jim M. CrumleyTail Gunner
S/Sgt. Jim Crumley served as tail gunner on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Leycester D. HavensTail Gunner
S/Sgt. Leycester Havens served as tail gunner on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. He was captured and held as a prisoner of war following the crash landing near Ploesti.
Maurice J. PetersonTop Turret Gunner
T/Sgt. Maurice Peterson served as top turret gunner/engineer on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He is referenced in E&E Report No. 1617. Adams reported pulling Peterson out of the burning aircraft after the crash landing; Peterson died of his injuries. Adams specifically noted: "The engineer was caught in the burning part of the airplane and I went back and pulled him out. He died later."
The flight.
§ Ship’s Record
The Day
Took off fromBenghazi (Benina Main)
The Record
ResultMissing in Action
Record confidenceValidated against a source
Fuel & Equipment
H2X scope photoNo
The target.
§ As Briefed
Ploesti
As the log wrote itPloesti
Notes.
§ From the Record
The aircraft was badly shot up by anti-aircraft fire over Ploesti on 1 August 1943. Two engines were knocked out and fire broke out in No. 1 engine. The crew did not bail out; instead the aircraft crash landed. Upon impact it began burning. Only the nose section, wing tips, and vertical stabilizers survived — the rest of the aircraft was reduced to ashes. Six crew members survived the crash landing. The tail gunner (Havens) was killed in the turret before the crash. The engineer was pulled from the wreckage by the bombardier, Adams, but died of his wounds later.
Read the records.
1 document
Original documents behind what this page says about this sortie — reports, records, and histories the archive holds and is free to reproduce. Check the sources for yourself.
Sources.
§ Provenance
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1943
Official record