Crew Roster · Personal File

Hubert H. Womble

Pilot · 409th Squadron

1st Lt. Hubert H. Womble served as pilot of his aircraft on the August 1, 1943 low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania, as part of Operation Tidal Wave. During the attack, his plane was struck by heavy anti-aircraft fire and ground machine gun fire approximately eight miles past the target, and crashed at 3:00 PM.

According to the tail gunner's report, Womble survived the crash and ended up in Italy following the incident. He was eventually freed and accounted for, returning to Allied control and completing his service.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
01 AUG 1943

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

№ 115

01 AUG 1943

Ploesti

B-24D serial 42-40265, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Site #7 Bengasi on 1 August 1943 on a combat mission to the Ploesti oil fields in Romania. The aircraft was lost as a result of enemy anti-aircraft fire during the low-level attack. Anti-aircraft damage forced the aircraft down at approximately 1150pm on 1 August 1943 near the town of Ploesti, Romania. The aircraft crash-landed in flat terrain approximately 5 to 10 miles from Ploesti. Several crew members were seen standing near the aircraft on the ground. The forced landing was confirmed by photographs taken by the 44th Bomb Group, which flew over the same area approximately 15 to 20 minutes later. The aircraft was described as riddled during the low-level attack, with no altitude remaining for any alternative to a crash landing.

Honkey Tonk Gal / Naked Truth, The42-40265