Crew Roster · Personal File

William Schmoller

Pilot · 409th Squadron
HometownWI

Pilot of B-24J 42-50679, 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, on the 28 January 1945 Dortmund mission. After the aircraft was hit by flak, knocking out engines 1 and 2 and badly damaging the port rudder, Schmoller ordered the crew to bail out.

Post-war statements by T/Sgt. Kerbel and 2nd Lt. Jaffe concluded that Schmoller did bail out but his parachute likely failed to open. He was reported killed in action on 28 January 1945. No body was found in or near the aircraft wreckage recovered by German forces.

Killed in ActionPASSED 28 JAN 1945

Sortie Log

8 CATALOGUED SORTIES
12 OCT 1944 — 28 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
№ 674
12 OCT 1944
OsnabrückM/Y
42-100670
№ 760
24 DEC 1944
Ahrweiller??
Formation position 4-3
42-94814
№ 760
24 DEC 1944
Ahrweiller??
Position in formation listed as 4-3
42-94814
№ 770
30 DEC 1944
MechernichM/Y
Formation position: 2-2
42-94814
№ 781
05 JAN 1945
Target unrecorded
Hi Right 3-3
42-51241
№ 783
06 JAN 1945
Bonn Rhine H/BH/B
Lo Left 4-1
42-XX501
№ 809
28 JAN 1945
Dortmund
B-24J Liberator, AAF serial 42-50679, departed Hardwick on 28 January 1945 on a bombing mission to Dortmund, Germany. After bombs away over Dortmund the aircraft was struck by flak, knocking out engines No. 1 and No. 2 and badly damaging the port rudder. Oil pressure on the two remaining engines also dropped. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out. The aircraft was last sighted near Lippstadt trailing behind the formation, approximately 2,000 feet below, heading north. Engines 3 and 4 were milling intermittently. No major visible battle damage was noted by the eyewitness. German records (KU 3632) show the aircraft went down near Hoevel, district of Arnsberg, on 28 January 1945 at 1226 hours. The wreckage was recovered by German forces; no body was found in or near it.
42-50679
№ 809
28 JAN 1945
KaiserstuhlO/I
XX-XX679
§ Interment
Cemetery
Netherlands American Cemetery
Location
K 13 7