01 AUGUST 1943 · SUNDAYMissing in Action
Mission 115.
Operating Group
93rd BG
2BD
Takeoff Base
Benghazi (Benina Main)
The formation.
17 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
P1Lt Milton Teltser
CP2Lt Wilmer H. Bassett
BTG2Lt Willard N. Beaumont
WGSgt Francis W. Doll
WGS/Sgt Robert Locker
The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943, during the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania — Operation Tidal Wave. The plane departed Benghazi at 7:40 a.m. and was hit over the target area. No. 1 engine was windmilling and No. 2 engine was on fire when the crew was forced out of the aircraft. The wing buckled and the plane crashed with flames covering it. The aircraft did not explode on ground impact. None of the crew bailed out by parachute. The crash site was in or near Ogresnie, Romania. Sgt. Doll reported seeing four members of the crew alive on the ground after the crash, accompanied by an observer, but did not examine the wreckage.