Mission

ON THIS DAY...APRIL 27, 1944

The 100th’s Air Executives had been busy all night with mission details coming in from Wing headquarters. This would be the 100th’s first double mission day.

At the morning briefing, the red string to the target showed the crews that they would be flying a short mission to France, across the English Channel, to the tip of Normandy and over the port city of Cherbourg and from where the Germans had been launching V-1 missiles (buzz bombs) targeting England. Referred to as ‘No Ball’ missions under ‘Operation Crossbow,’ the British Government had requested the Americans give top priority to attacking the missile launching sites. The 100th was assigned to the site near Flottemanville, S of Cherbourg.

With plans to attack twenty-one various V-weapon sites that morning, the 8th AF was to be led by the 1st Division with the 3rd Division flying next in line. The 13th CW would fly between the 4th and 45th CBWs with the 13th sending up sixty-three bombers that morning.

At Thorpe Abbotts, twenty-four crews were seated in the 0330 hours briefing. The 100th would fly three squadrons under the command of Sumner Reeder.

Loaded up with sixteen 500 lb. ’armor piercing bombs’ the weather for the mission was good with assembly successful. However, for a B-24 named ‘Satans Sister’ from the 446th BG Suffolk base there were problems. After jettisoning its bombs and a failed engine, the tail-damaged B-24 crashed into a field behind Site 6 of Thorpe Abbotts. Vernon Sheedy from the Quartermaster group recorded, “There was another plane accident today when a B-24 came down in a field just back of Site 6 and ploughed into a flock of sheep. Most everyone thought it was going to crash in Site 6. After the crash, you could find pieces of sheep all over the field.”

Meanwhile, as the 100th’s formation neared its target, the pilots flew through extremely heavy and accurate flak at Cherbourg, picking up battle damage. According to Richard Kendall on Julian Rogers Crew, “Our ship was hit by flak in two places. No one hurt.” 

Bombs were away at Flottemanville from 18000-20000 feet with the target ‘plastered’.

All ships returned to Thorpe Abbotts safely after the five hour mission. The six bombers flown by Harrison, Cowan, Wright, Horne, Malooly and Ruppert returned with battle damage picked up from the flak.

While the crews were in their debriefing for the first mission of the day, the Air Executives were setting up for the afternoon’s mission. The crews would learn that the 3rd Division would only fly four Groups that afternoon: 94th, 100th, 385th and 447th and the 100th would be the only Group from the 13th CW flying to the Primary target of a Luftwaffe air base at Thionville, near Metz.

The ships for this mission had been readied, loaded up with twelve 500 lb bombs. A successful take-off commenced at 1530 hours. As the 100th’s formation neared the target, both the Primary and Secondary targets were covered by clouds so the Le Culot air field near Brussels was identified as a Target of Opportunity.

Although enemy aircraft was not encountered, the dangerous flak was and the ship flown by Winans Cornell Shaddix was hit at 1939 hours as it left the target area. With a smoking engine, Shaddix and copilot George T. Sullivan tried to stay with the formation until 2010 hours, when ten chutes were observed popping out of the ship as it ‘descended in slow spirals.’

The remainder of the 100th’s ships returned safely to Thorpe Abbotts at 2130 hours, with those crews having flown the double mission including the Loren Van Steenis crew, exhausted.

Shaddix's ship, on fire as it spiraled down, crashed in Belgium and exploded on impact. All crew members except Shaddix became Prisoners of War while the 24 year-old pilot known as 'Cornell' in Double Springs, Alabama, evaded capture through the help of Belgians Marcel Huybrect in Beghem and Edward Verleys in Ruddrvoorde. Winans Shaddix reported that he and his TTE, Frederick Erb had been slightly injured in the bail out.

Crews flying this day: Bethea, Cowan, Dille, Harris, Harrison, Horne, Kincannon, Kinder, Lischer, McGuire, Malooly, Rogers, Rosine, Ruppert, Ryan, Schomp, Scott, Shaddix, Shelly, Wright, Van Steenis with spares flown by Hunter, Siewert and Simmons