Supports 1 fact
Escape and Evasion Report 1602
Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1943 · Escape and Evasion Reports
The crew.
§ 6 aboard
Name
Position
Serial
Hometown
On this flight
1LtRoy Harms
Pilot
Station 1
O-384490
WI
Returned
→
2LtW. H. Heath
Bombardier
Station 4
O-731509
—
Returned
→
T/SgtR. E. Richardson
Radio Operator
Station 6
14073773
SC
Returned
→
T/SgtJohn Shupitz
Ball Turret Gunner
3413630
—
Returned
→
S/SgtMichael Doka
Tail Gunner
Station 9
36148552
—
Returned
→
S/SgtArnold Holen
Top Turret Gunner
20709155
MN
Returned
→
In their own words.
§ 6 entries
Roy HarmsPilot
1st Lt Roy C. Harms served as pilot of the aircraft on the August 1, 1943, Ploesti mission with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. His fate after the aircraft was hit by flak and caught fire was listed as unknown by the reporting crew member, T/Sgt Jack Reed. Reed saw no other crew members after reaching the ground and received no information about Harms' fate.
W. H. HeathBombardier
2nd Lt W. H. Heath Jr. served as bombardier on the August 1, 1943, Ploesti mission with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. His fate after the aircraft sustained flak damage and fire was unknown to T/Sgt Reed. No further information about Heath appears in the report.
R. E. RichardsonRadio Operator
T/Sgt R. E. Richardson served as radio operator on the Ploesti mission of August 1, 1943, with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. His fate following the aircraft loss was not known to T/Sgt Reed. Reed believed the crew members were likely killed in the crash or fire given the low altitude at which the bailout occurred.
John ShupitzBall Turret Gunner
T/Sgt John Shupitz served as ball turret gunner on the Ploesti mission of August 1, 1943, with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. His fate after the aircraft was lost to flak damage was listed as unknown by T/Sgt Reed.
Michael DokaTail Gunner
S/Sgt Michael Doka (listed in the report as 'Mike Doka') served as tail gunner on the August 1, 1943, Ploesti mission with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. His fate after the aircraft was downed was listed as unknown by T/Sgt Reed. Reed made no specific mention of observing or hearing about Doka's condition.
Arnold HolenTop Turret Gunner
S/Sgt A. M. Holen served as top turret gunner on the August 1, 1943, Ploesti mission with the 329th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group. Holen was wounded during the mission. T/Sgt Reed noted on page one of the report that the top turret gunner was among those wounded before the aircraft went down, and Reed's crew list annotates Holen with the word 'wounded' based on interphone communications. His ultimate fate was not confirmed.
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 part of the low-level Ploesti mission flown on August 1, 1943, departing Bengazi at 7:00 AM. It sustained flak damage including a hole in the left vertical stabilizer and at least two additional hits, one of which struck the waist section and set the rear of the aircraft on fire. The top turret gunner and right waist gunner were both wounded before the aircraft went down. Surviving crewmen attempted to bail out at an extremely low altitude of 100 to 200 feet. The source was uncertain whether the plane exploded on impact or whether other crew members successfully bailed out. Reed, the reporting crew member, believed most of the crew were either killed in the crash or burned to death. He noted that even those who bailed out would have had little chance of survival given the extremely low altitude at the time of bailout.
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