Personnel

CREW 



2nd Lt Reginald A."Smitty" Smith  P POW  20/2/44  TAPS; 1984 TARGET WAS POSEN & SETTIN, FACTORIES

2nd Lt Orlin H. Markussen         CP POW  20/2/44

2nd Lt Gerald C. Scott           NAV POW  20/2/44  TAPS:

2nd Lt Ernest Cribbs              BOM POW  20/2/44

  T/Sgt Thomas M. Egan         TTE POW  20/2/44  TAPS: 1977

  T/Sgt Ira G. Evans               ROG INTERNED 20/2/44

  S/Sgt Edward B. Dyblie         BTG POW  20/2/44

  S/Sgt Edward Britko            LWG   POW  20/2/44  TAPS: 1985

  S/Sgt Robert L. Dunbar       RWG   POW  20/2/44

  S/Sgt Michael E. Udick            TG  POW  20/2/44



418th Sqdn.  A/C #42 37790 "AIN'T MIS BEHAVIN" Lt Smith flew as Lt Cowboy Roane's copilot/formation officer in Nov 1943



"At 1452 hours near the Danish coast Lt. Smith called over VHF saying he was going to  try and reach Sweden.  His a/c was hit over the target area by rockets and was smoking badly, but shortly after the entire crew had to parachute.  The crash was observed by the Germans at the radar station in Skovby, and some of the airmen were taken prisoner of war shortly after landing.  Some managed to hide in the forest near Fjellerup parsonage and they were found by the farmer Mr. Rasmus Thrane, who hid them for a while. But they were anxious to reach Sweden so they went for the sea, and they were taken prisoner near Baring beach. Ira Evans hid in the forest and came in contact with the Danish resistance movement.  He reached Sweden on 7/3/44.



A/C crashed at Harslev Mark, 7 km s of Bogense town on NW part of Funen Island.



Of interest in this crew's last mission is an article in THE BLOODY HUNDREDTH   (page 141 to 147) by Horace Varian

in which Orlin Markussen relates the story of how he made contact 31 years after the fact with the German fighter pilot

who shot down "AIN'T MIS BEHAVIN" Mar 20th, 1944..



*************************************************************************************************************

Lt Reginald Smith was Cowboy Owen Roane's co-pilot on his lead Crew.  He flew as formation officer on the Rjukan mission to Norway.  According to Capt Roane, Lt Smith came to USAAF from the RAF/RCAF as a Flight Officer.  Reginald Albert Smith transferred to the USAAF May 19, 1942. He was posted to Maxwell Field, Alabama.



Subj: Re: Reginald Smith in  RCAF 

Date: 5/9/2003 6:11:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

From: wpf13@hotmail.com 

To: MPFaley@aol.com 

Sent from the Internet (Details) 

 

Re: Reginald Smith



I'll have more on him next week when I revisit DND archives.

He graduated from No. 5 Service Flying Training School Brantford, Ontario

In order to have this info in my notes, I must have a photo taken at his 

wings parade at Brantford. I'll check.



The digging continues!!



Wally



Here's a bit more information about Reginald Albert Smith

 

On March 12, 1942 he received his RCAF pilot wings at No. 5 SFTS, Brantford, Ontario. 

 

Reggie Smith, Columbus, Ohio, has been a drummer since he was about 13 years old. At the age of 15 he won the Ohio State Championship for drumming. He left Ohio State University for a musical career in numerous bands and became popular with the Ohio "jitterbugs".

 

At the time of his transfer to the USAAF on May 19, 1942, he was serving as a staff pilot at No. 5 SFTS, Brantford, Ontario.

 

Wally



*********************************************************************************************************

CREW

                    LT R.A. SMITH



BAILED OUT OVER SWEDISH COAST ON THE 20 FEB 44 POSEN MISSION.  A UNCONTROLLABLE FIRE WAS STARTED BY A FLAK HIT, CAUSING THE CREW TO EVACUATE THE AIRCRAFT. MR SMITH PROABLE ENTERED THE SERVICE AT LONDON, OHIO; HE DIED IN 1984 AT SHELBY, OHIO



ABOVE INFORMATION FROM COL BILL E. THOMPSON  DATED 3/17/93….pw



________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



CREW



2ND LT OWEN D. (COWBOY) ROANE         P CPT 26 NOV 43 PARIS (flew one additional mission on Feb 29, 1944-Brunswick) 

2ND LT ARTHUR C. "BUD" STIPE        CP CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN (replaced by F/O R.A. Smith)

2ND LT DANIEL L. SCHMUCKER         NAV CPT 29 NOV 43 BREMEN

2ND LT CURTIS K. CAMPBELL         BOM CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN

T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB             ROG CPT 16 NOV 43 RJUKAN, NORWAY

T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART             TTE CPT 16 NOV 43 RJUKAN, NORWAY

S/SGT ROGER O. STROBLE              BTG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN

S/SGT JAMES JARVIE                   RWG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN

S/SGT ARTHUR HAUGE                 LWG NOC  X-FERRED TO BASE MP'S.  Replaced by T/SGT RICHARD DETWEILER

S/SGT PATRICK J. HEALY                  TG CPT 20 OCT 43 DUREN



349th Sqdn.. Crew joined 100th in June 26, 1943 as one of the first replacement crews along with Lt Henry Henington, Lt John Justice and Lt  "Big Chief" Walter Moreno. 



Repacments on Lt Roane Crew:  



LT STIPE IS REPLACED ON THE CREW ON BY F/O REGINALD A. SMITH (TRANSFERRED FROM RAF) STARTING WITH 3 NOV 43 MISISON TO WILHEMSHAVEN. HE WOULD LATER TRANSFER TO THE 418TH BS AS A 2ND LT AND COMMAND HIS OWN CREW. LT REGINALD "SMITTY" SMITH WOULD BECOME A POW 20/2/44 ON THE MISSION TO POSEN & SETTIN.





        MISSION LOG OF CAPT OWEN D. "COWBOY" ROANE:



        04 JUL 43       La PALLICE

        10 JUL 43       La BOURGET

        14 JUL 43       LA BOURGET

        17 JUL 43       HAMBURG

        24 JUL 43       TRONDHEIM

        25 JUL 43       WARNEMUNDE & KIEL

        26 JUL 43       HANOVER

        29 JUL 43       WARNEMUNDE

        12 AUG 43       WESSELING

        15 AUG 43       MERVILLE & LILLE

        17 AUG 43       REGENSBURG

        24 AUG 43       BORDEAUX-MERIGNAC

        31 AUG 43       MEULAN Les MEUREAUX

        02 SEP 43       KERLIN-BASTARD

        03 SEP 43       PARIS & BEAUMONT La ROGER

        06 SEP 43       STUTTGART

        07 SEP 43       WATTEN, V-WEAPONS

        09 SEP 43       BEAUVAIS-TILLE

        08 OCT 43       BREMEN*

        14 OCT 43       SCHWEINFURT* (BLACK THURSDAY)

        18 OCT 43       DUREN

        20 OCT 43       DUREN

        03 NOV 43       WILHEMSHAVEN

        05 NOV 43       GILSENKIRCHEN

        07 NOV 43       DUREN

        11 NOV 43       MUNSTER-RECALL (LEAD CREW WITH COL CHICK HARDING AS COMMAND PILOT) COWBOY MAKES 1S LIEUTENANT

        16 NOV 43       RJUKAN, NORWAY (HEAVY WATER) LEAD CREW WITH COL JOHN BENNETT AS COMMAND PILOT 

        26 NOV 43       PARIS



STARTING 3 NOV 43 2ND LT OWEN D. "COWBOY" ROANE IS A LEAD PILOT. HIS CREW CONSISTS OF:



2ND LT OWEN D. (COWBOY) ROANE     P

F/0  REGINALD A. "SMITTY" SMITH       CP/FORMATION OFFICER (TRANSFERRED FROM RAF) POW 20/2/44  POSEN & SETTIN

CAPT. JOSEPH H. "BUBBLES" PAYNE   NAV  (FROM CAPT. EVE BLAKELY CREW)

CAPT. ROBERT K. PEEL                     BOM  (CAME OVER WITH ORIGINAL CADRE, LEAD BOMBARDIER)

T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB                ROG 

T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART                TTE  

T/SGT   RICHARD DETWEILER            LWG 

           ?                                          BTG

           ?                                         RWG

           ?                                            TG