16 APRIL 1943 · FRIDAY · STATION 104Missing in Action

Mission 51.Brest.

Brest, France

Intended Target
Brest
Brest, France
Operating Group
93rd BG
2BW
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
25

The cost.

§ Outcome
3
Ships Lost

The route.

§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
224° T
Bearing In
40° T

The formation.

2 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew

B-24D serial 41-23732, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Hardwick on 16 April 1943 on a bombing mission to Brest, France. The aircraft was last sighted at approximately 1328 near Isle D'Ouessant (Ushant), off the coast of Brittany, where it was seen to crash into the sea after coming under attack from enemy aircraft. Three men were seen to parachute from the aircraft before it went down. Those three crew members were subsequently declared Prisoners of War and later returned to duty. No eyewitnesses to the attack remained in the group at the time the MACR was compiled on 26 October 1944, more than a year after the loss. The MACR was prepared at the request of Headquarters, Army Air Forces, Washington, D.C.

BTGS/Sgt Paul F. LoganKIA
WGT/Sgt James J. BarnesKIA
WGS/Sgt Walter C. RaceKIA
TGS/Sgt Paul KirkenKIA

B-24D serial 41-23732, assigned to the 409th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group, departed Hardwick on 16 April 1943 on a bombing mission to Brest, France. The aircraft was last sighted at approximately 1328 near Isle D'Ouessant (Ushant), off the coast of Brittany, where it was seen to crash into the sea after coming under attack from enemy aircraft. Three men were seen to parachute from the aircraft before it went down. Those three crew members were subsequently declared Prisoners of War and later returned to duty. No eyewitnesses to the attack remained in the group at the time the MACR was compiled on 26 October 1944, more than a year after the loss. The MACR was prepared at the request of Headquarters, Army Air Forces, Washington, D.C.

Sources.

§ Provenance
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published