Sortie2ADB-24Bombed Primary
44-50543.Over Bucken.
Mission 913 · 25 March 1945 · Bucken, Germany
Serial
44-50543
Unknown
Fuselage Code
AG
Squadron
330th
Ted's Traveling Circus
Aboard
8
men
The crew.
§ 8 aboard
Name
Position
Serial
Hometown
On this flight
1LtWalter F. Hughes
Pilot
Station 1
O-764680
Santa Barbara
Completed his tour
Returned
→
2LtWinfield T. Curtis
Co-Pilot
Station 2
—
—
Returned
→
2LtLouis H. Windsor
Navigator
Station 3
O-712976
—
Returned
→
2LtRalph Hendershot
Bombardier
Station 4
O-0768958
—
Returned
→
SgtConway Thorstenson
Engineer / Top Turret
Station 5
39464774
—
Returned
→
T/SgtNorbert L. Ecclesfield
“Eck”
Radio Operator
Station 6
3904111
—
Returned
→
SgtMichael J. Kusnir
Waist Gunner
Station 8
35236546
—
Returned
→
T/SgtRobert E. Lee
Waist Gunner
Station 8
16060729
Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Killed in action
Returned
→
The load.
§ 5,300 lb aboard
AN-M47
100 lb Incendiary
52× 100 lb
TypeGeneral Purpose · Oil/gel mix
Weight5,200 lb
FuzingHughes Memoir
100lb Smoke Bomb
1× 100 lb
TypeSmoke
Weight100 lb
FuzingHughes Memoir
The flight.
§ Ship’s Record
The Day
Took off fromHardwick (Sta. 104)
Landed atHardwick (Sta. 104)
The Record
ResultBombed Primary
Record confidenceValidated against a source
Formation
Flew with330th Squadron
Fuel & Equipment
H2X scope photoNo
The target.
§ As Briefed
BuckenOil Dump
LocationBucken, Germany
Notes.
§ From the Record
The 32nd mission came the day after the Rhine crossing supply drop. The target was an oil storage facility at Buchen, roughly 20 miles southeast of Hamburg. The sight of that course on the briefing map brought the familiar knot back.
Over the target, at least 15 ME-262 jet fighters attacked the formation. The covering fighters drove them off without a loss. The waist gunner claimed a probable. No flak, no battle damage, all crew safe. Bombing results were assessed as very good.