Unidentified ship.Over Ploesti, Romania.
Mission 115 · 01 August 1943
The crew.




In their own words.
1st Lt Enoch M. Porter served as pilot of the aircraft on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. According to Warner's E&E questionnaire, Porter burned in the plane when it crashed. Five crew members in total were reported found in the wreckage. Porter was among those who did not bail out before the aircraft crashed and burned southeast of Ploesti.
Flight Officer Joe Boswell served as co-pilot on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. Warner's questionnaire states Boswell burned in the plane when it crashed. Boswell was among the five crew members found in the burned wreckage of the aircraft after the crash southeast of Ploesti.
2nd Lt Raymond P. Warner (O-796633) served as navigator on the Ploesti mission of 1 August 1943. He was wounded — sustaining 17 pieces of flak in his head, 18 in his left shoulder, and burns on his face, right calf, and buttocks. He bailed out at approximately 180–200 feet altitude southeast of Ploesti. Warner was captured and held in a POW camp in Romania along with other Ploesti raid survivors. He was held from August 1943 through mid-1944. During captivity he was involved in escape planning with Capt. Taylor, helped make escape maps using a light table he built, and participated in at least one failed escape attempt through a cellar window that was thwarted by a Romanian guard. Warner eventually evaded and made his way out of Romania. He signed a security certificate in Bari, Italy on 4 September 1944, arrived at Gibraltar on 6 September 1944, and arrived in the UK on 6 September 1944 (date of birth: 19 September 1917; civilian occupation: engineering student; 3 years 2 months service; decorated with the DFC). In his E&E report Warner provided detailed accounts of camp conditions, Romanian guard behavior, a suspected German informant (Sgt. Treichler of the 98th BG), disciplinary problems with the senior American officer (Major Yeager/Yaeger), and intelligence-related activities including counting oil trains and copying maps for potential escape use.
1st Lt Jesse D. Franks served as bombardier on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. Warner reported that Franks bailed out but his parachute failed to open completely. Warner was not positive about the fate of all crew members but described Franks as jumping with a parachute that did not open completely. The casualty questionnaire lists Franks as having bailed out and been killed.
T/Sgt Bernard Lucas served as radio operator on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. He was hit by 20mm or 34mm flak and gravely injured before the plane crashed. Lucas was listed as burned in the plane. His serious pre-crash wounds likely prevented him from bailing out. He was among the five crew members found in the wreckage.
S/Sgt James Vest served as ball turret gunner on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. He bailed out safely and survived the crash. After landing, Vest and Sgt. Reed visited the crash site and confirmed the plane was completely burned. Warner noted that only two sergeants — Vest and Reed — lived from the crash. Vest's ultimate fate beyond surviving the bail-out is listed in the questionnaire as "bailed out safely."
T/Sgt Frank Ferrel served as waist gunner on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. Warner's crew list records his fate as "unknown." With five crew members confirmed in the wreckage and three surviving the bail-out (Warner, Vest, Reed), Ferrel's status could not be determined definitively from the information available to Warner at the time of the report.
S/Sgt Charles Reed served as waist gunner on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. He bailed out safely and was one of only two enlisted men who survived the crash. Reed and Sgt. Vest visited the crash site after landing and found the plane completely burned. Warner noted that Reed bailed out safely and that "only 2 S/Sgts. who lived" referred to Reed and Vest.
S/Sgt Earl Frost served as tail gunner on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. Warner's questionnaire lists him as burned with the ship. Frost was among the five crew members found in the burned wreckage southeast of Ploesti. He did not bail out before the aircraft crashed.
1st Lt Dickinson (first name unknown) served as top turret gunner on the 1 August 1943 Ploesti mission. Warner's questionnaire records him as burned in the plane. Dickinson was one of the five crew members found in the wreckage of the aircraft after it crashed southeast of Ploesti. Only his last name was recorded in the E&E report.
The flight.
The target.
Notes.
Read the records.
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.