Crew Roster · Personal File
Bonnie Hayes
S/Sgt. Bonnie W. Hayes served as nose gunner of B-24J 42-78486. His first name varies across documents (Bonnie, Benny, Benno, Dennis); Bonnie is used per the official MACR form and the next-of-kin list. Witness S/Sgt. Donald V. Codling reported that aircraft 486-G left the formation just before bombs-away and peeled off to the right.
Hayes was among the second group of four crew members transferred to Dulag Luft West on 2 February 1945.
Sortie Log
1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
08 JAN 1945
08 JAN 1945
The sorties below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.
8AF Mission
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 787
08 JAN 1945
Dortmund
B-24J serial 42-78486, marked "486-G," departed Hardwick on a bombing mission to Dortmund on 8 January 1945. The aircraft left the formation just before bombs-away and peeled off to the right, apparently still under control when last observed. German records (Downing No. KU 3628 / H 131) indicate the aircraft crashed and burned on the southwest point of Schouwen Island, Holland, on 28 January 1945 at 1400 hours. Markings were not identifiable as the aircraft burned in the combat area. All ten crew members survived and were captured. They were processed through the POW Concentration Point of the Air Forces, Holland, and transferred to Dulag Luft West (Evaluation Center West, Oberursel) beginning 30 January 1945.
42-78486