MACR PILOT: 1Lt Frank H. Meadows O-672378
MACR #: 00947
Fiche #: 00313
Organization
Location: AAF Station #139
Group: 100th Bomb Gp (H) AAF
Squadron: 350th BS
Command: VIII AF
Detachment:
Detail
Departure/Base: AAF Station #139
Initial Course: ENE
Intended Destination: Bremen
Mission Type: Operational
Weather
Weather: CAVU
Give
Date: October 8, 1943
Time: 15:00
Location: Near Wildeshausen, Germany
Specify: Last Sighted
Confirmed or believed reason for loss
Loss due to: Other circumstances
Other reason for loss: Unknown
Engines
Model: R-1820-97
A: 43-58881
B: 43-58883
C: 43-58884
D: 43-56971
Weapons
A: 495572
B: 495481
C: 502397
D: 502430
E: 495383
F: 495541
G: 502884
H: 495714
I: 503133
J: 463891
L: 464027
Persons are listed as
Casualty Type: Battle casualty
Number of persons on board
Crew: 10
Pass: 0
Total: 10
Personnel
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| Position | Name | Rank | Serial |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | |||
| P2 | Frank H. Meadows | 1Lt | O-672378 |
| CP | Lloyd W. Evans | 2Lt | O-677693 |
| NAV (N) | Frank B. Bush | 2Lt | O-735264 |
| BOM (B) | William C. Hubbard | 2Lt | O-669408 |
| RAD | Robert H. Wussow | SSgt | 16094871 |
| ENG | Harold R. Jackson | TSgt | 38131435 |
| BAL | Richard H. Agor | SSgt | 13052841 |
| WG (W) | James F. Ward | SSgt | 32518361 |
| WG (W) | Dexter B. Pate | Sgt | 14151245 |
| TG (T) | Vincent D. Sapone | SSgt | 12096707 |
Personnel who are believed to have survived
Reason: Unknown
Other: Circumstances of the loss of this A/C arae unknown.
Eyewitness description of crash
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| Last Name | First name | Report |
|---|---|---|
| Inbox :: Message From: Jabo To: Michael Faley Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:54 am Subject: S/Sgt Sapone 8th oct 1943 Dear Mr. Faley, the eye witness report is only a voice report,but here the story which told me Mr. Peper from Fischerhude. I have added some suggestions in (). : One day in october 1943 (8 th oct ) I was 3 or 4 kilometers west of Fischerhude on a field to look at the cows.I saw a plane that smoked and suddenly it exploded above me.Debri fall down around me like rain.I belive 8 men died. One wrecked part of the aircraft was still at the place where it falled down, all the time untill the end of the war.It looked like something where you can mounted weapons.(Maybe a part from the tail.) I collected cartridges there and wondered ,something smelled but I have not had a idea what it was.After the war I realized it.As they (whoever it was) clean the fields from that what was left from the plane ,they found in or under the wrecked part a body.(S/Sgt Sapone ?) Round about 15 minutes after the first plane crashed ,a second one came down in a spin ,touched a high voltage cable and exploded.It crashed between Fischerhude and Surheide.Nothing what was left from the plane was bigger than a car.(Shepherd crew,390th BG,crashed Quelkhorn. I have a photocopy from the photo that shows the crashsite.) End of Report. I know a man, who was 17 in 1943.He found in the night after the crash a Flight Jacket at that location where the first aircraft crashed.He show me the jacket, it is a B-3 model,size 36R.One sleeve was damaged and replaced by a new one (other typ of leather )just after the war.But now the best: At one of the rips,to close the jacket at the throat,there was written on a rank and a name,but unreadable.The only thing I was able to read was the rank, a Lt. Now it will be nice to know whom jacket it was.Is there a way to find out the size from the officers ? Sorry for my simple english but it is 25 years ago that I have learned it at school. Regards Jens-Michael Brandes Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2005 5:00 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recived now a page from MACR 783 ( Shepherd,390 BG) that shows a german KU report where 3 airmen reported dead,one of them S/Sgt. Sapone. Sapone coudn´t be the man who was found after the war. Does anybody know where the B-17 # 42-30358 crashed exactly? Regards from Germany Jabo[/img][/list] | ||
| No Data | This was the crew's eighth mission. Leo Cannon was replaced for this mission by Sgt. Robert H. Wussow who was KIA. Wussow was from the crew of Lt R. F. Claytor. Also on this 8/10/43 mission was Sgt Dextar B. Pate, LWG, who was KIA. Apparently 2 bombs hung up in bomb bay over target (Bremen). A/C then hit by direct flak burst which blew one waist gunner out of ship. Hubbard later stated that he believed both Meadows & Evans were killed by the flak burst and that Bush said; "I'm getting the hell out of this plane" and bailed out of the nose hatch. Hubbard further states that he thought Bush''s chute caught fire and burned in midair Statement of James Ward: "The reason I cannot answer most of the questions is because our plane had two bombs which failed to release, they were hit by flak, causing the plane to explode. I was lucky enough to get out alive with quite a few injuries, which caused me to go unconscious after I pulled my rip cord. Therefore I didn't see any more of the crew". Does anybody know why S/Sgt Sapone wasn´t burried at Bremen/Walle ? An eye witnesss report from somebody who lives in Fischerhude said that one crewmember was found after the war,as they(whoever it was) cleared the crashsite from the last wrecked parts. |
Description of search effort
Detail: No search made.
Preparing Officer
Prepared by: CLAUDE L. HOSFORD 1st Lt Air Corps Personnel Officer
Date prepared: October 12, 1943
