Black Week - Marienburg

According to Frank Murphy’s Book "Luck of the Draw"…"as a result of the costly Bremen mission the previous day, during which 7 aircraft were missing in action, a further 6 sustained significant battle damage and one later had to be salvaged, the 100th could assemble only seventeen serviceable aircraft for the Marienburg operation. We would be the high group in the Combat Wing behind the 390thBG, who would follow the 385th and 94th BG’s. Crew 31 would lead the 100th BG with Col "Chick Harding" flying in our airplane which was M’lle Zig Zig (230830). " The 100th Bomb Group lost no A/C on this mission.

Here are the Crews and Aircraft flown that day in take off order (from Paul Andrews’ appendix in Frank Murphy’s book "Luck of the Draw")

LEAD SQUADRON

A/C 42-30830 LD-U M’lle Zig Zig 418th BS

A/C 42-3237 LD-R " STYMIE" 418th BS

A/C 42-6087 LD-Z "ROYAL FLUSH" 418TH BS * (see note below)

*Interesting note: This crew flew Royal Flush on this mission and the following day to Munster. Their assigned plane, Rosie’s Riveters 230758 LD-W was damaged on the October 8th mission to Bremen. This Crew’s first three missions with the 100th BG were Bremen, Marienburg and Munster, three of the toughest and longest of the Air War. On the Munster mission on October 10, 1943, this would be the ONLY 100BG crew to return to Thorpe Abbotts.

A/C 42-30723 EP-D "SEXY SUZY, MOTHER OF TEN" 351ST BS

351st Sqdn. This crew joined 100th Group on 6/9/43 On 10/10/43, Sgt John Rupnick was replaced by Sgt. Smith J. Young who was KIA. Young was an original member of the crew of V. E. Fienup.

A/C 42-30090 XR-B "EL P’SSTOFO" 349TH BS

349th Sqdn. Arrived at 100th Bomb Group in September 1943.
G. W. Briggs died in POW camp 6 Apr 45 - no cause is given

A/C 42-30023 XR-M "FOREVER YOURS" 349TH BS

349th Sqdn. Assigned to 100th Bomb Group on Sept. 26, 1943 from the 96th Bomb Group. Composition of this crew taken from MACR #1022, Microfiche #338.

Two days before their final mission, this crew had limped home from Germany on one engine in the a/c "Miss Carriage/Hot Spit" (Bremen). The first crew in the 8th Air Force to accomplish this task, 400 miles back to England on one engine.

HIGH SQUADRON:

A/C 42-3433 LN-W "LENA" 350TH BS

THIS IS BILL DESANDERS 2ND CREW. HE TOOK OVER CAPT MARK CARNELL’S CREW WHEN MARK BROKE HIS ARM.

NOTE – S/SGT WILLIAMS: CREW #15 LT BERNIE DeMARCO. DO NOT KNOW WHO REPLACED SGT WILLIAMS ON THE MISSION TO MARIENBURG)

A/C 42-30062 LD-O "TERRY N’ TEN" 418TH BS

350th Sqdn. Crew, as above , joined 100th Group on 25/8/43.

On 10/10/43 a S/Sgt CLARENCE C. COMBS was BTG in place of Sgt Brassell and was KIA.

A/C 42-6094 LD-Q NO NAME 418TH BS

418th Sqdn. Letter from Bertholf 8/Sep/88 : Crew joined the 100th in Sept. 1943.

LOW SQUADRON:

A/C 42-30799 XR-L "BIGASSBIRD II" 349TH BS.
BELIEVE THIS CREW WAS DEPUTY LEAD FOR THIS MISSION

This crew flew #1 position of the Low Squadron, but returned early due to low oil pressure in the #3 engine.

NOTES: COL BARR FLEW 50 MISSIONS WITH THE 100TH, SECOND ONLY TO COL "ROSIE" ROSENTHAL'S 52. HE WAS THE LAST OF THE ORIGINAL 100TH AIRMEN TO FLY COMBAT MISSIONS, LEAVING THE 349TH FOR THE HQ DET OF THE 100TH ON 18 JAN 1945. STARTING FROM THE FIRST MISSION OF 25 JUN 43 UNTIL JAN 45 THE INTREPID MISSISSIPIAN WAS ON COMBAT STATUS. TO THE DISMAY OF ALL 100TH VETERANS "SAMMY" APPEARED ON THE 1988 TAPS LIST. COL BARR DIED 17 APR 1988 AS THE RESULT OF A MAJOR STROKE. HE IS MOURNED AND MISSED, BUT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN BY THE 100TH.

A/C 42-3534 XR-L "OL DAD" 349th BS

349th Sqdn. Original Crew #7

On 10 Oct 43 (Munster) Winton MacCarter had already became the 1st pilot for the crew and Lt Dan Barna (From Lt Barr Crew took over as CP). MacCarter was flying in 42-30090 XR-B "El P'sstofo" on October 10, 1943. Fuller later became the 418th Commanding Officer. He went down with the F. C. Kincannon crew at Merseburg 20 Jul 44. Magee became the last original 100th airmen to become a POW.

After a few missions Magee Fuller was made Operations Officer of the 349th - Later transferred to the 418th as Commanding Officer of the 418th Sqdn. He went down with crew of F. C. Kincannon on 20/7/44.

A/C 42-3229 XR-A "PASADENA NENA" 349TH BS

349th Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined the 100th Group in early July 1943. It was one of the first four replacement crews of the Group. The other three were Lt Henry Henington, F/O Owen "Cowboy" Roane, and Lt Walter "Chief" Moreno. Medals Awarded Lt Justice: DFC, Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart

MACR #1021, Microfiche #338, A/C #42 3229 "PASADENA NENA" XR-A.

A/C 42-3271 EP-L "NINE LITTLE YANKS AND A JERK" 351st BS

351ST SQDN. . CREW, AS ABOVE, JOINED THE 100TH GP ON 14 JUL 43; THIS WAS THE 351ST'S FIRST REPLACEMENT CREW. SECOND WG FOR BOTH THE MARIENBURG AND SCHWEINFURT MISSIONS IS UNKNOWN AT THIS POINT IN TIME. THE ORIGINAL TTE SGT JAMES ANGEL WAS GROUNDED AND T/SGT GULICH (WG AT THE TIME ON THE CREW) REPLACED HIM.

A/C 42-30734 EP-G "SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS" 351ST BS

351ST SQDN. . CREW JOINED THE 100TH IN AUGUST 1943, A VERY EARLY REPLACEMENT CREW. THEY WERE FLYING THEIR FIFTH MISSION ON 10 OCT 43.

A/C 42-3307 EP-N "SKIPPER" 351ST BS

351st Sqdn. Sgt James says that the crew joined the 100th Bomb Group "first part of September 43".

SPARES

A/C 42-3413 LN-V "HARD LUCK" 350TH BS

350th Sqdn. This the 3rd mission for this crew, having flown the first one 4 Oct 43. (Hanau)

A/C 42-30823 LN-F "INVADIN’ MAIDEN" 350th BS

350th Sqdn. Assigned September 1943.