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Kenneth Shilling

E&E Report Account

Capt. Shilling was the bombardier on the June 24, 1944 mission. After bailing out, he was sheltered by French civilians at a neighboring home near St. Sauveur. The day after the crew came together at the chateau, the local resistance group's leader arrived and Shilling joined the group of four evaders — along with Wright, Bies, and Huitt — who were able to walk.

Shilling traveled with the group by horse-drawn wagon and eventually reached the forest camps near Cloyes and Freteval, where they sheltered with other Allied airmen for several weeks. At the time of Wright's debrief, Shilling was reported to be hospitalized at Le Mans, France.

Sortie Log

4 CATALOGUED SORTIES
25 FEB 1944 — 24 JUN 1944

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

Nancy Lee42-100329

Target unrecorded

Nancy Lee42-100329

Frankfurt Am MainM/Y

One row of crew data replaced by XXXXX redaction line between Bombardier and Engineer positions; likely an Engineer/Top Turret entry was crossed out or redacted.

Melun Airfield, France

The B-24 was the lead ship in the Division on the June 24, 1944 mission. The primary target, Melun Airfield, was covered by cloud, so the formation looked for targets of opportunity. Near Treon they hit a small flak battery at 21,000 feet at approximately 0900 hours. The aircraft was struck by flak at the moment the bombs were dropped. According to S/Sgt Wright, the plane blew up a few seconds after he bailed out. The French, who investigated the crash scene, reported that the nose gunner S/Sgt Klot and engineer T/Sgt Arnold were killed in the incident. Lt. Col. Porter, riding as co-pilot and formation commander, did not bail out and was also believed killed. Two other ships in the formation were reportedly knocked down as well. Seven of the eleven crew members got out of the aircraft. Three parachutes were observed coming down as Wright regained consciousness after hitting the ground at St. Sauveur. The mission had taken off at approximately quarter to six on the morning of June 24, 1944. Flak was described as not intense but very accurate.