Mission Date: January 31, 1945
BREMEN/ BERLIN (JOHN A. CLARK DIARY
Mission Summary
ON THIS DAY...JANUARY 31, 1945
On the last day of January, the veteran fliers that were listening intently to the mission details remained outwardly calm, while more than some were feeling a sense of anxiousness as they remembered the 100th's previous two month-end missions. The Merseburg (Nov) and Hamburg (Dec) missions had been rough ones for the Group and the boys were hoping for something different on this month end. The sudden increase in temperatures brought the previous days’ cold snowy weather to a rapid thaw and Headquarters thought it OK to fly.
The boys were briefed for the target of a synthetic oil plant at Bremen and the 100th’s formation took off at 0800 hours. The Group, Wing and Division assemblies were without incident however, as the 3rd Division neared the Dutch Coast, the mission was recalled due to the “doubtful” weather conditions expected upon its return to England.
Aborting the mission earlier than the recalled formation, the 418th’s twenty-year old LT William Stradley Appleton returned his bomb laden ship ‘Heaven Can Wait’ and crew back to Thorpe Abbots where the “doubtful” weather had turned into “zero visibility.” Unable to find the runway in the heavy fog and circling the field three times, Appleton attempted to land. As his ship banked to the right, he headed directly toward the control tower, missing it and flying through two unmanned maintenance tents. Fortunately, it was the last day of the month, payday, and the ten men normally in the maintenance tents were at their squadron headquarters, standing in line to be paid their cash.
According to Bill Carleton, the 351st Engineering Officer, “The plane itself belly landed, slid across the little public road that ran next to our tents and stopped in the field. The Appleton crew’s Navigator, LT Leroy Duncan adds, “The fuel tank on the right wing caught fire, and the plane began to burn.” Everyone was worried about explosions. Fortunately, all of the crew were able to get out of the ship except for the pilot who was trapped when one of his legs was pinned between the crumpled cockpit seats. Reportedly, LT Duncan, larger in stature, used his bare hands and adrenaline to expand a ripped opening in the cockpit, allowing the Ball Turret Gunner, J.P. Judd who was smaller in stature, enough space to crawl through the window and cut the pilot loose.
Although there may be debate as to who actually freed him, LT Appleton was extracated and the entire crew was away from the B-17 when it exploded, "explosions so powerful that glass around the air base needed to be replaced, including glass in the control tower’s windows." Vernon Sheedy reported in the Quartermaster diary that the crash “shook all the buildings. We thought the Germans had landed.” Even the English neighbors around the base felt the explosion when « Brick-Kiln Cottage nearby lost its windows and the ceilings were brought down. »
Bill Carleton continued, "The plane was on fire, but it was possible for all of the crewmen to escape with no serious injury. The plane burned for possibly twenty or thirty minutes and then the bombs exploded. Although that area of the base had been evacuated, we were not able to get the airplanes out, and three other aircraft were so badly damaged they had to be destroyed…"
There was little left of the B-17 ‘Heaven Can Wait’ but fortunately, no lives were lost. In the Medical Department's month-end report up to Headquarters, it stated, “Medical officers who were nearby treated the combat men for burns and bruises, sending five (5) of them to the hospital and putting four (4) into quarters.”
It was reported that the rest of the formation “returned at another field due to the weather.” That evening, the Stand Down light was on.
Bombing Results
Bombing Results: RECALL
Aircraft Lost:
Crew Lost:
Claims of Enemy Losses (CLS):
Aircraft Returned:
Photos
338975 - LN-Z
338975 - LN-Z - Landing at Thorpe Abbotts. The smoke in the background are from the Jan 31, 1945 crash. (100th Photo Archives)
