Crew Roster · Personal File

Joseph F. Bradley

Radio Operator · 328th Squadron

HometownLyndhurst, NJ

T/Sgt. Joseph F. Bradley served as radio operator aboard B-24J 42-99949, 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group.

On 21 September 1944, after the mid-air collision, Bradley observed a large hole in the nose section. He used that opening to escape the stricken aircraft and landed approximately 100 yards from the wreckage with only a minor scratch on the forehead. He returned to duty.

From the 2nd Air Division Association Yearbook

Entered the service on Jan. 13, 1943. Assigned to basic training at Fort Dix, NJ and Miami, FL. Attended Radio School in Chicago and Gunnery School in Tyndall Field, FL. Met crew in Chatham Field, GA. From there to the 93rd Bomb Group, 328th Sqdn. in Hardwick, England.

Sept. 21, 1944, while flying as radio operator on the 10th mission to Coblenz, Germany, their B-24, The Naughty Nan, was involved in a mid-air collision with another B-24 from the 330th Bomb Sqdn. near the little town of Inglemunster, Belgium. Four from their plane parachuted to safety: E.E. Johnson, pilot (deceased 1983); S. Mikolajczyk, co-pilot; C.D. Johnson, flight engineer; and Bradley. No one else survived from either plane.

Returned to England where, after a couple of months, he was sent to Radar School near London. Flew 20 more missions as radar operator and upon completion of the 30th mission, returned to the U.S. in April 1945 and was discharged in September 1945 at Greensboro, NC.

In 1972 he and his wife went back to Belgium to thank the people of Inglemunster for all the help given to them in 1944. Retired in 1984 to Brick, NJ near a lovely shore. After 40 years met the survivors of the Naughty Nan. Meets with them and their wives annually at conventions and considers them family.

Crew members remembered: Lt. A. Kibler, NY; Sgt. M. Conaway, DE; Sgt. O. Bregman, MA; Sgt. Lee Grafe, ID; and from the 330th Bomb Sqdn. crew: Lt. C. Mullin, MN; Lt. E. Morgan, IN; Lt. M. Guisti, CA; Sgt. J. Picard, engineer; Sgt. D. Strait, gunner; Sgt. L. Miller, gunner; C.J. Johns, gunner; and M.H. Unnderdahl, radio operator. All died on Sept. 21, 1944, but they will never be forgotten.

ROTATED 01 SEP 1945

Sortie Log

7 CATALOGUED SORTIES
21 SEP 1944 — 03 MAR 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

№ 644

21 SEP 1944

Koblenz

B-24J serial 42-99949, nicknamed 'Naughty Man' (with a Warga Girl drawing on the side), was assigned to the 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, based at Hardwick. On 21 September 1944 the aircraft departed Hardwick on an operational mission to Koblenz, Germany. At approximately 1256 hours, at coordinates 50 53N 03 18E at 16,000 feet over Belgium, the aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision while forming up in clouds. The nose section of 42-99949 struck the tail assembly of another B-24 (plane 'C', flying in the 3-3 position). The collision sent 42-99949 into a left bank and then into an unrecoverable spin. Pilot Lt. Johnson was thrown half out of his seat and unable to open the escape hatch. He was flung clear when the forward bomb bay door opened under his weight. The radio operator escaped through a large hole in the nose section. The aircraft crashed and two bombs exploded on the ground. The fuselage from the nose section to the waist windows was completely demolished. Four crew members did not survive: the tail gunner (found half out of his turret), the bombardier, the waist gunner (both found at the rear escape hatch), and the navigator and nose gunner (found near the nose section). The other B-24 involved in the collision (plane 'C') crashed approximately 1/4 mile away. Unmatched crew (not in DB): Johnson Everett (pilot, RTD).