Personnel

CREW



 1st Lt Alexander W.Kinder                P POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF 

 2nd Lt Theodore R.Schmuck          CP POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF 

 2nd Lt Dale R.Wynn                 NAV POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF        (known as Richard Wynn)

 2nd Lt William J.Dodd               BOM POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF

 T/Sgt Robert W.Mazzacane         ROG POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF

 T/Sgt Charles J.Wllson              TTE POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECKHOIL REF

 S/Sgt Charles R.Daniels               BTG POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF         A/C 42-31504 "Rosie's Riveters"

 S/Sgt Eugene W.Wayrynen       RWG POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF         MACR #4865,Micro_fiche #1735

 S/Sgt David F.Castles               LWG POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF 

 S/Sgt Charles R.Stewart               TG POW 12/5/44 BRUX, CZECH OIL REF 



418th Sqdn. Crew,as above, taken from the MACR.Crew assigned on in February 1944



Photo on web page order.  Left to Right: David Castles, Ted Schmuck, Richard Wynn, Bill Dodd, Alex Kinder,

Back Row: Left to Right:  Robert Mazzacane, Charles Wilson,  Charles Daniels, Eugene Wayrynen, 



MISSIONS OF LT AL KINDER CREW (PROVIDED BY T/SGT MAZZACANE 2007)



        10 APR 1944         MALDEGEM, (AIR FIELD)                 A/C OUR BABY           (LT KINDER FLEW AS CP ON LT RICE CREW)                      

1.     11 APR 1944         ROSTOCK, (T.O.)                          A/C MESSIE BESSIE      (FIRST MISSION OF CREW)

        12 APR 1944         SCHKEUDITZ (AC FACTORY            A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"    RECALL

2.     13 APR 1944         AUGSBURG (AC FACTORY)             A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"  (FLAK DAMAGE TO #1 ENGINE AND GAS TANKS)

3.     18 APR 1944         GENSHAGEN (BERLIN, AC ENGINES) A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS" (

4.     19 APR 1944         LIPPSTADT & WERL (AIR FIELD)     A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

5.     22 APR 1944         SOEST (T.O.)                               A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

6.     26 APR 1944         BRUNSWICK (S.T.)                        A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

7.     27 APR 1944         FLOTTEMANVILLE (NO BALL)         A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"    

8.     27 APR 1944         THIONVILLE, (AIR FIELD)               A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

9.     28 APR 1944         SOTTEVAST (NO BALL, COL KELLY SHOT DOWN)  A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

10.     7 MAY1944         BERLIN                                        A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"  (FLAK DAMAGE)

11.   11 MAY1944         LIEGE (MY)                                  A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"

12.   12 MAY 1944        BRUX, CZECH (OIL REFINERY)         A/C "ROSIE'S RIVETERS"  



On 12/5/44 flak caused failure of 2 engines and crew was forced to bail 

out. Report of Channel ditching were in error.



EYEWITNESS: "A/C #504 was damaged by flak in the target area. It began to lag after the bomb run and was last seen at the French Coast with a P-38 escort. Enroute out the pilot was heard to say on VHF he was jettisoning as much equipment as possible and flying on two engines. This A/C was later heard to request fighter support, and the pilot asked for A/S (Air Sea) Rescue, appartently in preperation for ditching." author is unknown, the location of the last sighting is undoubly in error..pw (This report is in error from information provided by David Castles 2001)



 However the crew did not ditch as the following German report indicates:



"On 12 May 1944 at 14:30 hours a four engine American bomber crashed on the south exit of the township Niederbachheim, District of St. Goarshausen. The bomber exploded and was competely destroyed. Type and number of the bomber could not be determined. The engines were Studebaker type. The crew bailed out prior to the crash, they were captured by the Land Guard and the people..NAMES OF CAPTURED FLYERS: The crew names are listed above.. The POW enemy airmen were sent to Armed Forces Land Guard Battalion 786 in St Goarshausen and from there on 15 May 1944, at 0940 hours to Dulag Luft Oberursel."



Subj: FW: 100th_BG_Historian 

Date: 8/3/2001 3:21:16 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

From: janr@cei.net (Jan Riddling)To: MPFaley@aol.com (100BMike Faley)  

 -----Original Message-----From: Obel [mailto:DoritundMarkusObel@gmx.de]Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2022 1:24 PMTo: janr@cei.netSubject: 100th_BG_Historian

Dear Sir, 

my name is Markus Obel and I`m living in Germany. My hometown lies 1 mile north of Niederbachheim, the town, were after the attack to Brux on the 12 May 1944 a B-17G had been crashed and exploded. The plane was the "Rosies Riveters", 100th BG, 418th Sq., Serial Number: 42-31504, pilot 1st Lt Alexander W. Kinder.  In my childhood I was living in Niederbachheim. My parents were the owner of the garden in which the plane crashed. So I remember, that everytime we had been working there, we found some pieces of that plane. This was in the early 1970th. 



 According to the eyewitness description the plane was damaged by flak over the target area. The plane was last seen at the french coast with a P-38 escort. They had heard the A/C to request fighter support and later asking for A/S rescue (MACR 4865). A lot of eyewitnesses (Germans) told me, they had seen the plane flying alone, a long time after the bomber formation had passed by. The plane had been attacked by three german fighters. There was no fighter support (P-38). The plane was shoot down and the crew bailed out. They were captured by farmers and police. The plane had crashed beside the parsonage of Niederbachheim, setting it on fire. The parson and his housekeeper were rescued by the people from a window upstairs. The captured crew was sent to the Armed Forces Land Guard Battalion. 786 in St. Goarshausen (the town beside the famous rock "Loreley" at the river rhine) and later to Dulag Luft in Oberursel near Frankfurt. 

I have been searching in a lot of archives, but the only report I found was the MACR 4865. So I was happy, as I found the Internet homepage of the 100th BG foundation. There I found some more information about the crew and the mission, but I still have some more questions and I hope you can help me: 

 

On the homepage of the 100th BG foundation there are some faults at the sides of Lt. Kinders crew (100thbg.com/mainpages/crews/crews1/kinder.htm and 100thbg.com/mainpages/418th/alexkinder1.htm): the name of the township were the bomber crashed was Niederbachheim (not Miederbachheim). The crew was brought to the Armed Forces Land Guard (not Gurard) Battalion and later to Dulag Luft Oberursel (not Cherusel). 

Thank you very much and best regards 

Markus Obel



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Robert Mazzacane   |   Visit Guest Book 

MAZZACANE, ROBERT W. Robert W. Mazzacane, 87 of Trumbull passed away on Dec. 30, 2011 in Wichita, KS. Born April 11, 1924 in New Haven, son of the late Joseph B. and Helen Connors Mazzacane. He graduated from Hillhouse High School in 1941 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1942. He flew 12 missions over Europe in the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force until his plane "Rosie's Riveters" was shot down on May 12, 1944 over central Germany. He was held as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft IV in the Polish Corridor until the Russian Army advanced across Poland and when they came close to the camp it was evacuated in February of 1945. He was on a forced march for 88 days and 500 miles across northern Germany with little food or shelter until liberated by the English Army. He holds the Air Medal, POW Medal, Purple Heart, World War II Victory Medal and several other regional medals.Robert was also awarded the French Legion of Honor for his part in French Liberation. He belonged to a number of veterans associations including the Connecticut Chapter of Ex-POWS. He married Louise L. Lan Franco in 1948 and she assisted him in his effort to obtain a degree in Electrical Engineering from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY in 1950. He worked for General Electric for 43 years as an engineer on small electrical consumer products and was granted several patents and management awards. He became a specialist in product safety and product liability and was accepted as an expert witness in 12 jury trials. He felt that his most important contribution in life was his participation in the development of U.S. National and International product safety standards for electrical appliances through his participation in a number of Underwriters Lab (UL) committees and councils and for 20 years as Chief US Delegate representing the US Appliance Industry to the International Electro-technical Committee on product safety. This group met twice a year in countries around the world and he was accompanied by his wife Louise on many of these trips. He retired from GE in 1993 but he continued to act as a product liability and quality consultant for GE. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, and a daughter, Carol Lambe of Kansas and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his son Robert S. and two brothers, Joseph B. and David Mazzacane Friends may call at MARESCA & SONS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Chapel St. New Haven, Saturday from 9:30 am to 10:30 am and are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial in St. John Vianney Church, West Haven at 11 am. Burial in St. Lawrence Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675. Offer condolences at www.marescafuneralhome.com