Donald M. South

LippstadtA/F

M1 (first mission). Plane: 168 'Y', B-24J, 409th — not found in DB. Captain Kenneth Gilbert (on his 71st mission) rode co-pilot seat per 93rd policy of pairing new crews with a veteran pilot. Prop-wash from another aircraft inverted the plane near bombs-away; crew salvoed bombs while inverted — bombs hit a crossroads dead center. Crew was posted MIA on return. McGuire called the target Paderborn; official target was Lippstadt M/Y.

Harburg Rhenania EbanoO/I

OsnabrückM/Y

Kaiserslautern??

Cologne/GereonM/Y

McGuire M5, 1944-10-17, Cologne. Flew old 'G' George (though posted for 362 'J' Jigg). Bomb bay doors frozen shut; McGuire drew .45 and threatened substitute navigator, bombs dropped through the doors tearing them loose. 12x AN-M64 500lb GP. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 095-097.

Hamburg/HarburgO/R

McGuire M6, 1944-10-30, Hamburg. First of three Hamburg trips; 500 guns briefed. Flak so heavy it formed a black cloud over target. Held formation for the full 10-min bomb run expecting death; came through without a hole. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 100-101.

Hannover/MisburgO/I

McGuire M7, 1944-11-04, Hannover/Misburg (official credit Merseburg). Heavy and accurate flak, saw red in the center of bursts. Overran formation on turn into target, had to dog-leg out and back in alone; last mission McGuire had trouble holding formation. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 101-102.

MetzT/T

McGuire M8, 1944-11-09, Fort L'Asine (4 miles in front of Patton's 3rd Army). McGuire called this his worst mission. Hi-Right Squadron in 362 'J' Jigg (B-24H). Lead had faulty early bomb release; #2 tach failed over target (feared engine loss); broke formation and hit heavy ice, rain, snow squall; landed at Framlingham (B-17 base), came home later. No flak. Flight time 6:30. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 102.

Hamburg/Dpag??

McGuire M9, 1944-11-21, Hamburg. Second of three Hamburg trips. Tail gunner Eller tracked flak bursts approaching from 6 o'clock; McGuire called half flaps, full throttle, right rudder, jumping 500 ft — four bursts went through their former position. Watched crippled B-24 get fired on near Heligoland on withdrawal. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 103.

BingenM/Y

McGuire M10, 1944-11-25, Bingen/Bingerbruck (official credit Ringerbruck). Milk run; missed target but Division hit it. Flew 334 K 'Old Patches' high right on 448th lead (heavily flak-patched, required more manifold pressure). Let co-pilot Hanf fly most of the mission including the bomb run — only time McGuire let him fly the bomb run. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 104.

Bielefeld/SchildescheR/V

McGuire M11, 1944-11-26, Bielefeld (viaduct). Widely known as a milk run. McGuire may have neglected to connect electric pants to electric jacket; roasted from waist up and nearly froze below. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 104-105.

NeunkirchenM/Y

McGuire M12, 1944-11-30, Neunkirchen (McGuire hand-out: Saarbrucken M/Y). Milk run; saw ship explode, long flight (diary notes 'd--- long flight'). Leach, South, Powell, Gardner all in bomb bay holding bomb fuse propellers while re-inserting arming wires. Form 5: 5:45 pilot. Source: McGuire memoir pp.006, 105-106.

KaiserslauternM/Y

EuskirchenR/J

McGuire flew 814 'G' George on this mission; plane ID not resolved.

Target unrecorded

Last of three Hamburg trips. Heavy contrails, soup flying at 30,000 ft, -42 C, near stall speed with 10 degrees flaps. Bombs salvoed approximately 5 minutes from Hamburg, likely north rather than west of the city. McGuire notes he believes his hand-out label '#6' was an error.

NeunkirchenM/Y

Hi Right 2-3; Command Pilot indicated by 'O' prefix on crew list

Target unrecorded

Lead aircraft (Ø marker).

KaiserstuhlO/I

Brunswick??

Mission sheet says 'Berlin-Dresden-recalled'; ultimately bombed Brunswick. Very grim flying weather. McGuire recalls an instrument takeoff where he broke out to see three pillars of smoke from three crashed ships.

Magdeburg/RothenseeO/I

Formation position not stated; ship number listed without position suffix in source

MagdeburgM/Y

Second Magdeburg mission. Took new pilot Blanchard on his first mission. Lost #1 engine on way out from target, intercooler baffle collapsed into induction passage; three-engine return. Stayed in formation and was reprimanded by Lt. Col. Fant for turning into the dead engine. Form 5: 7:10 Day, :30 P-AI.

OsnabrückM/Y

Osnabruck. Flew old 'Queen,' a war-weary B-24. McGuire's only note: 'not bad.' Form 5: 5:30 Day, :30 P-AI. Plane not identifiable from available records.

SiegenM/Y

NürnbergM/Y

Target unrecorded

3-3; Fill in

HesepeA/F

Hespe airfield. First mission after 30-day grounding following Nuremberg return and crash of O Oboe. First mission in Wee Willie (serial 44-50600, YM-W), brand-new unpainted B-24H with rudder boosters. McGuire flew takeoff, form-up, bomb run through rally, and landing only during this late-tour period.

KitzingenA/F

Kitzingen airfield. Flown in Wee Willie. Part of McGuire's March 21-24 sequence.

MunsterM/Y

Munster. Flown in Wee Willie. Part of McGuire's March 21-24 sequence.

Target unrecorded

Stormede airfield. Flown in Wee Willie. Part of McGuire's March 21-24 sequence.

BuckenO/D

Target unrecorded

Target unrecorded

Target unrecorded

Target unrecorded

Bayreuth. Formed over Charleroi in poor visibility; a B-24 spun in. Descended the Rhine River on the deck in Javelin formation; near Bonn/Cologne encountered barrage balloons in murk. McGuire threw ship into vertical bank right, then left, dodging balloons by reflex and luck. One or two ships lost in the incident. Hanf spotted the second balloon. Form 5: 2:10 CP, 4:10 P, 2:00 P-AI.

Target unrecorded

Royan/Pointe de la Coubre area, Gironde Estuary (bypassed German troops). First of two paired Gironde missions. Each ship carried five 1,000 lb. bombs (AN-M65) — the only trip with this size. Very long 10-hour trip. Flight time noted as 8:35 Day P, 1:35 P AZ.

Target unrecorded

Landshut. One of three long end-of-tour missions. Flight time 8:35.

Target unrecorded

Target spelled 'Krocehlauy' by McGuire (Certificate of Service); modern identification uncertain, possibly Kralupy or Kraichgau area. One of three long end-of-tour missions. Flight time 7:50.

Target unrecorded

Muhldorf. McGuire technically completed his required combat tour on this mission, as did most of his crew. Waist gunner Gardner had fallen one mission behind the crew, prompting McGuire to volunteer for one final mission (M36). Form 5: 4:10 co-pilot, 4:10 pilot.

Target unrecorded