Supports 1 fact
Missing Air Crew Report 11754
Military Record · United States Army Air Forces · 1945 · Missing Air Crew Reports
Sortie2ADB-24Missing in Action
42-51275.Over Lauta.
Mission 796 · 16 January 1945
Serial
42-51275
B-24J
Fuselage Code
YM
Squadron
409th
Ted's Traveling Circus
Aboard
9
men
The crew.
§ 9 aboard
Name
Position
Serial
Hometown
On this flight
2LtDonald A. Hastreiter
Pilot
Station 1
O-710933
—
Prisoner of war
Returned
→
F/ORobert A. Newell
Co-Pilot
Station 2
T-128582
1818 Court St., Redding, California
Killed in action
Returned
→
Nathan Solomon
Navigator
Station 3
—
—
Returned
→
SgtCharles W. Curran
Radio Operator
Station 6
32836006
—
Prisoner of war
Returned
→
S/SgtIra A. Glass
Waist Gunner
Station 8
35807205
KY
Killed in action
Returned
→
S/SgtHarvey Reiquam
Waist Gunner
Station 8
17113941
—
Killed in action
Returned
→
S/SgtJohn H. Cowden
Nose Gunner
18071001
CO
Killed in action
Returned
→
S/SgtCornelius J. Davison
Tail Gunner
Station 9
12221225
NY
Killed in action
Returned
→
T/SgtDave Threadgill
Top Turret Gunner
38432542
TX
Killed in action
Returned
→
In their own words.
§ 9 entries
Donald A. HastreiterPilot
1st Lt. Donald A. Hastreiter served as pilot of the B-24J (42-51275) on the 16 January 1945 mission to Lauta. He was listed as MIA (POW) on the MACR. German records confirm Hastreiter, born 8 March 1920, was captured and identified as one of the five crew members taken prisoner following the crash near Saalau/Kamenz.
Robert A. NewellCo-Pilot
F/O Robert A. Newell served as co-pilot on the 16 January 1945 mission to Lauta. He was initially listed as MIA on the MACR. German records state that Newell was killed when his parachute failed to open. His body was identified by a 1942 car operator license and a Social Security identity card found at the crash site. His home address was recorded as 1818 Court St., Redding, California.
Nathan SolomonNavigator
2nd Lt. Nathan Solomon served as Navigator-Bombardier on the 16 January 1945 mission to Lauta. He was listed as MIA (POW) on the MACR. German records confirm Solomon, born 22 November 1917, was captured and identified as one of the five crew members taken prisoner after the crash near Saalau/Kamenz.
Charles W. CurranRadio Operator
T/Sgt. Charles W. Curran served as Radio Operator. He was listed as MIA (POW) on the MACR. German records confirm Curran was captured after the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He provided German authorities with the names of the five crew members killed in the crash. His serial number appears in German records as 32836006.
Ira A. GlassWaist Gunner
S/Sgt. Ira A. Glass served as Left Waist Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR. German records identify Glass as one of five crew members killed in the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He was from Kentucky. His body was not individually identified. German records list his first name as "Ire" — corrected to Ira per the MACR.
Harvey ReiquamWaist Gunner
S/Sgt. Harvey M. Requiem served as Right Waist Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR. The MACR spells his surname as "Reiquan" and German records spell it "Raiquam" — the correct form appears to be Requiem based on cross-referencing. German records identify him as one of five crew members killed in the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He was from North Dakota. His body was not individually identified.
John H. CowdenNose Gunner
S/Sgt. John H. Cowden served as Nose Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR. German records identify Cowden as one of five crew members killed in the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He was from Colorado. His body was not individually identified.
Cornelius J. DavisonTail Gunner
S/Sgt. Cornelius J. Davison served as Tail Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR. German records identify Davison as one of five crew members killed in the crash near Saalau/Kamenz. He was from Long Island, New York. His body was not individually identified.
Dave ThreadgillTop Turret Gunner
T/Sgt. Dave Threadgill served as Engineer and Top Turret Gunner. He was listed as MIA on the MACR. German records, based on information provided by T/Sgt. Curran, identify Threadgill as one of five crew members killed in the crash. He was from Texas. His body was not individually identified; only hands and body parts were recovered.
The flight.
§ Ship’s Record
The Day
Took off fromHardwick (Sta. 104)
The Record
ResultMissing in Action
Record confidenceValidated against a source
Formation
Flew with409th Squadron
Fuel & Equipment
H2X scope photoNo
The target.
§ As Briefed
Lauta
As the log wrote itLauta
Notes.
§ From the Record
B-24J Liberator serial 42-51275, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Hardwick on 16 January 1945 on a bombing mission to Lauta, Germany. Eyewitness S/Sgt. Metro Hereshko observed the aircraft drop out of formation about a minute after bombs away, peel off to the left and downward apparently under control, then go into a spin. No parachutes were observed from the tail position before visual contact was lost. German records confirm the aircraft crashed on 16 January 1945 at approximately 1300 hours at the north border of the village of Saalau near Wittichnau, northeast of Kamenz, Saxony. The crash was reported as 100% destruction. Of the nine-man crew, five were captured, one (F/O Robert A. Newell) was killed when his parachute failed to open, and five other crew members were killed in the crash. German authorities identified the five dead by name from information provided by T/Sgt. Charles W. Curran.
Read the records.
1 document
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Sources.
§ Provenance
United States Army Air Forces · National Archives and Records Administration · 1945
Official record