Personnel

CREW

               1ST LT EDGAR F. WOODWARD, JR.



CREW #33   A/C #42-5860 "Escape Kit"                  MACR #688



1ST LT  EDGAR WOODWARD, JR               P; INT      6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

F/O     JOHN H., THOMPSON                    CP; POW   6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

2ND LT  EMANUEL A. CASSIMATIS          NAV; POW   6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

2ND LT  ROBERT E. DIBBLE                    BOM; KIA   15 AUG 43 MERVILLE AF (killed by Flak)

S/SGT   FRANK DANELLA                       TTE; POW   6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

T/SGT   MELVIN E. GAIDE                     ROG; POW    6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

S/SGT   CHARLES J. GRIFFIN                  WG; POW     6 SEP 43 STUTTGART    

S/SGT   GEORGE A. JANOS                   BTG; POW     6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

S/SGT   WILLIAM D. BROOKS                 TG; POW     6 SEP 43 STUTTGART

S/SGT   DONALD H. FLETCHER              WG; POW      6 SEP 43 STUTTGART



NOTES:  THIS IS AN "ORIGINAL CREW" OF THE 100TH BOMB GROUP.





1ST LT EDGAR F. WOODWARD, JR. Missions



           Date.        SN#.    Target.      A/C Name

June 26, 1943 25860 LeMans     Escape Kit

June 28, 1943 25860 St Nazaire Escape Kit

June 29, 1944 25860 LeMans     Escape Kit

July 4,  1943 25860 LaPallice     Escape Kit

July 10, 1943 229931 LeBourget Jaybird

July 14, 1943 25860 LeBourget  Escape Kit

July 17, 1943 25860 Hamburg    Escape Kit

July 24, 1943 25860 Trondheim  Escape Kit

July 25, 1943 25860 Warnemunde Escape Kit

July 26, 1943 25860 Hanover    Escape Kit

July 28, 1943 25860 Oschersleben Escape Kit

July 30, 1943 25860 Kassel     Escape Kit

Aug 15, 1943  25860 Merville & Lille Escape Kit

Aug 24, 1943  230402 Conches, Evreux-Fauville The Poontang

Sept 3, 1943  230402 Kerlin-Bastard The Poontang

Sept 6, 1943  Stuttgart 230402 The Poontang

                SHOT DOWN          



ON 6 SEP 43, LT PAUL L. ENGLERT WHOSE CREW (#30 Lt William Flesh) WAS LOST ON THE 17 AUG 43 REGENSBURG MISSION AS BOMBARDIER AND BECAME A POW.



Crew #33 418th Sqdn.       MACR #688 Microfiche #227



 Mission: Stuttgart       A/C#'42-30402 (POONTANG)

 Date: 6 Sept.1943

 Time. 0930



Capt.Edgar F.Woodward,Jr.               P  INTERNEE 

F/O John H.Thompson                     CP  POW 

2nd Lt Emanuel A.Cassimatis           NAV  POW

1st Lt Paul L,Englert                      BOM  POW

  T/Sgt Frank Danella                     TTE   POW

  T/Sgt Melvin E.Gaide                   ROG   POW

  S/Sgt George A.Janos                  BTG   POW

  S/Sgt Donald H.Fletcher               RWG  POW

  S/Sgt Charles J.Griffin                  LWG  POW

  S/Sgt William D.Brooks                  TG  POW



Eyewitness accounts:



"Saw Woodward's ship going down at 4830N-0803E at 0929  #2 engine was windmilling. everything else seemed to be OK."

                                                     Walter U. "Chief" Moreno  1st Lt.



"Saw Capt. Woodward's A/C turned out of formation under control and headed for Switzerland. Nothing seemed wrong with A/C,"

                                                     John D. Brady, 1st Lt.



"A/C #402 at 0930 approximately 2 miles north of Strasbourg salvoed bombs into a woods. Headed south and went under cloud deck.All engines turning over. No E/A or AA at this time."

                                                     Gale W.Cleven,Major, 350th BS C.O.



A letter from D.H.Fletcher of 25/1/84 states that on the way into the target, an oil leak in #2 engine. Woodward could then have aborted,but decided to press on.Somewhere near the IP oil pressure went to zero and prop would not feather - cylinder head temp. went sky high. If engine seized and prop came off it could have been disastrous to ship.It was decided to head south for Switzerland. When they believed themselves over Switzerland,the crew bailed. It turned out that only Woodward, who remained with aircraft until the crew had successfully bailed out, landed in Switzerland,the others in Germany.



See S.O.C. p.19





EDGAR WOODWARD WAS ON THE "ADDRESS UNKNOWN"  V.A. LIST FOR MANY YEARS, BUT AS OF 1993 HE RESIDES IN ALEXANDER, VA .  HE WAS CONTACTED  BY THE 100TH SPLASHER SIX EDITIOR  HARRY H. CROSBY.CREW





T/SGT GAIDE WAS IN Stalag 17B Braunau Gneikendorf Near Krems Austria 48-15.

Mike,



I don't have any videos or diaries. All I can offer is what he told me over the years.



I saw that letter from Don Fletcher in '84. Don and my dad remained good friends after the war and kept in touch but I didn't finally get to meet him until the reunion here in Cincinnati. The only thing I can add over Fletcher's letter about the plane was that my dad said that the engine was hit by flak and that's what caused the oil leak. He also said that the pilot waited too long to try to feather the prop.



The navigator, Cassimatis, was the one who said that they were in Switzerland but he ended up being a little off. They were bailing out when Woodward went back to destroy the bombsite and that's why he ended up being the only one to make it to Switzerland.

Fletcher and my dad both ended up in Stalag 17B. After 18 months my dad and a few of his friends escaped. Fletcher did not go with him. They exchanged dog tags with a bunch of Welsh guys who were being taken out on work parties. My dad's new name was Benny Kitsen (not sure of that spelling). They went out on the work party and at night they made their escape and all survived the trip back to Hungary which was quite an adventure. They passed through Russian lines on the way and had interesting stories about the Russians.



His memories of the camp were mainly the lack of food and the rats and all the weight he lost.



He never told me that his crew was part of the original group. That's interesting.

Thanks for those links. Somehow I missed the bottom picture of the crew in the States.



Frank







On 7/19/18, 9:01 AM, "Frank Danella III"  wrote:



    Frank Danella Jr. passed away on May 15, 2018 at the age of 96.

    

    I am his son:

    Frank Danella III

    11656 Symmes Valley Drive

    Loveland, OH 45140

    frankd3@fuse.net