MACR PILOT: 2Lt Charles, B Winkelman O-738320_
MACR #: 00000
Fiche #:
Organization
Location: AAF Station #139
Group: 100th Bomb Gp (H) AAF
Squadron: 349th BS
Command: VIII AF
Detachment:
Detail
Departure/Base: AAF Station #139
Initial Course:
Intended Destination: Paris Reanult Plant
Mission Type: Bombing
Weather
Weather: Overcast over primary, went to Secondary Beaumont-le-Roger AF
Give
Date: September 3, 1943
Time:
Location: Orly AF, La Ferte Alais
Specify: Forced down
Confirmed or believed reason for loss
Loss due to: Enemy aircraft
Other reason for loss: Flak took out engines #1 and #2, Fighters finished off the a/c
Engines
Model: R-1820-97
A:
B:
C:
D:
Weapons
A:
B:
C:
D:
E:
F:
G:
H:
I:
J:
L:
Persons are listed as
Casualty Type: Battle casualty
Number of persons on board
Crew: 10
Pass: 0
Total: 10
Personnel
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Position | Name | Rank | Serial |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | |||
| P2 | Charles, B Winkelman | 2Lt | O-738320_ |
| CP | Ralph, D Smith | 2Lt | O-801345_ |
| NAV (N) | William, H. Booth | 2Lt | O-800093_ |
| BOM (B) | Howard, M. Harris | 2Lt | O-676325 |
| RAD | Jean, E. Ray | TSgt | 374269256 |
| ENG | Thomas, E. Combs | TSgt | 14134640 |
| BAL | Thomas, L. Cuccaro | SSgt | 32437605 |
| WG (W) | Michael, F. Darcy | SSgt | 32443852 |
| WG (W) | Alfred, J. Zeoli | SSgt | 31042353 |
| TG (T) | Ennis, M. Bankhead | SSgt | 38220710 |
Personnel who are believed to have survived
Reason: Parachutes were used
Other:
Eyewitness description of crash
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| Last Name | First name | Report |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Winkelman reports "Halfway between Paris and Chartres we were hit by flak. No 1 Engine went out completely. We dropped behind and flak or an incendiary started a fire between #1 and #2 engines. Two Me 109 fighters made one pass from 11 o'clock, engineer reported fire in the bomb bay, so I had the doors opened and prepared to drop the bombs. I looked back through the ship and saw nobody. As I was snapping on my chute the whole bottom was shot out of the pilots cabin. I saw eight chutes and heard firing from the ground and later noticed two holes in my chute." It has been widely reported that this aircraft and Crew were involved in a mid air collision and the tail section was cut off by the prop of the other a/c. The Bombardier Howard Harris states that "We did NOT have a mid-air collision"! Tail gunner S/Sgt Ennis Bankhead was KIA when he became entangled in the tail wreakage as the ship disintegrated. Winkelman, Smith, Booth, Harris, Combs, Darcy and Zeoli were all evadees. Harris and Zeoli were put in Prison in Seville, Spain upon crossing the Pyrennes Mts. but were release with the help of British intervention and were smuggled to Gibraltar and then to England. | ||
| No Data | Up to this point, we have found no evidence that a MACR was ever filed on this Crew . Was it never filed or just merely misplaced in the National Archives is a mystery to this day. All informaiton on missing crew members were derrived from the MACR reports so I must belive one was generated . In the meantime, we will have to be satisfied with this file Crew was flying TORCHY, original a/c flown over by the Capt. Sammy Barr's Crew. The a/c was was named after the wife of Lt James R. Brown (navigator on Barr Crew) because of her red hair. I note a little error into Evaders' pages: About crewmen of Torchy serial 42-30035 (E&E167, 258, 259, 271, 272 303, and 468.) I read (^) Dhusson-Longueville, France. Sorry, is not D'Huisson-Longueville but precisely Cerny (91). I was searching about the S/Sgt Ennis Bankhead killed in his turret by propellers of Sunny serial 42-30089 and I hope a marble plate in honor to him. According to witnesses The Torchy was crashed in 48° 28' 11.09'' N / 02° 19' 46.97'' E on juridiction of Cerny. Jean Robin. jean-louis.robin5@wanadoo.fr |
Description of search effort
Detail: No search made.
Preparing Officer
Prepared by:
Date prepared: Unknown
