Personnel

CREW



1ST LT WILLIAM GRISWOLD SMITH         P FEH  CREW FLYING AT END OF HOSTILITIES

2ND LT ROBERT W. SMITH, JR            CP FEH

2ND LT WILSON P. TURNIPSEED, JR.   NAV FEH

2ND LT PAUL A. WILKERSON            BOM FEH  (became 349th BS Bombardier after 6 missions)

CPL DELOME CUMBAA, JR                 ROG FEH

CPL STANLEY A. SZALWINSKI, JR        TTE FEH  TAPS: 19 SEP 1982

CPL ANTHONY R. RUSSO                  BTG FEH

CPL JOHN J. O'LEARY                        WG FEH  TAPS; 1985

CPL EARL J. BAUGH                            TG FEH



349TH SQDN.. CREW, AS ABOVE, JOINED THE 100TH ON 14 MAR 1945



 MISSION LOG OF THE W. G. SMITH CREW

 

 Mis No#      Date            Target                        A/C No#       



#290           3/30/45       HAMBURG                 43-38602       XR-P    “Grumblin Gremlin II”



#291           3/31/45       ZEITZ                       44-8334        XR-B



#293            4/4/45        KEIL                        43-38602       XR-P….”Grumblin Gremlin II”



#294            4/5/45        NURNBURG               43-38313       XR-S     “Lil   Butch”



#296            4/7/45       BUCHEN                    43-38602       XR-P    “Grumblin Gremlin II”



#297            4/8/45      EGER,Czech.                44-8532       XR-G    “Kleen Sweep”



#298            4/9/45      MUNICH                      44-8532        XR-G    “Kleen Sweep” 



#299          4/10/45   BURG-BEI-MADGEBURG    44-8532        XR-G    “Kleen Sweep”



#300          4/11/45   LANDSHUT                    43-38383      LN-F



#305          4/18/45   STRAUBING                   43-38865      XR-0       “Goin My Way”



All Dutch Food Drop Missions                Some flights to Europe Post-Hostilities



 4/19/45   Combat Mission Scrubbed/                43-38865   XR-O   “Goin My Way”



Practice



5/3/45   CHOWHOUND                                    44-8532   XR-G   “Kleen Sweep”



5/5/45   CHOWHOUND(HILVERSUM)                  44-8532   XR-G   “Kleen Sweep”



5/7/45   CHOWHOUND(SCHIPHOL)                   43-38865   XR-O   “Goin My Way”



5/19/45   DP Ferry from Germany to Paris           43-39424   EP-B



6/3/45     DP Ferry from Austria to Paris              44-8552    XR-D



6/7/45   Food run to Dutch



6/9/45   357th FG Ferry to Munich



6/10/45  Food run to Dutch



6/12/45  Fighter Ferry to Casablanca                 44-8810    XR-L   “Target for Tonight”



6/13/45  Returned to Thorpe Abbotts



              from Port Lyautey



7/15/45  Ferry to Nice, France……………….         44-8810…XR-L…”Target for Tonight”



 



My Dad was based at Thorpe Abbotts from  3/14/45 to 12/8/45 – 100th BG (349thSqdn)



Gris Smith’s crew until he left U.K. on Queen Mary to USA on 12/8/45,arriving USA 12/13/45 



The misson data is courtesy of Mr J.J. O'Leary, Jr.





  Disposition of some100th Aircraft flown by  J.J. O'Leary



#48532 48532 349 XR G   Clean Sweep(Kleen Sweep)

                                             11 10 44 AI 23 10 44 AOS 00 00 44 G

                                             20 05 45 482 BG 28 11 45 Kingman, Arizona

  Indicates the aircraft built 11/10/44 and entered Air Force inventory 23/10/44 

  Overseas unknown month and date in 1944 and was a "G" model. She was tranferred to the 

  482nd Bomb Group 20/05/45 and was returned to the ZI (Kingman, Arizona 28/1145

  # 48810 48810  349 XR L Target for Tonight 

  04/0145 AI 04/unk/45 AOS 00 00 45 "G"

  10/10/45 Walnut Ridge, Arkansas



XR_crew@yahoo.comuname = Jack O'Learycomments 

= RE: Gris Smith Crew photo on page 13,349th Sqdn page…

I would like to see a bit more DETAILED information regarding this crew photo..So use whatever you feel is useful and have space for....this photo was taken at DREW FIELD,FLORIDA (NOW TAMPA INTERNATIONAL)where the crew was first put together..their individual flying records indicate; assigned from late October,1944 until January 24,1945 to 3rd Air Force,Bomber Command,89th Wing,Group CCTS HB,Squardron T,Flight Secion 1, CREW # 11-47...Flying from Nov 1,1944 until Jan 7,1945...52 landings in 31 days of flying..181.50 TOTAL flying HRS...Usual training pattern of many takeoff and landings first three flights,13(in 5.40 hrs),3,and 6,and then 1 per day average 6.00 hrs per...with 2 flights toward end of cycle at 9.05 hrs and 10.40 hrs each...Flying over Gulf of Mexico which could be tricky when flying over water...crew members used phrase to me "one a day in Tampa Bay"...not sure if this AAF base had any MORE crashe!s than usual at a Training base for aircrews!!! Crew cycled out to Savannah Ga (HUNTER Field,AAF)in late January,1945 then traveled to NYC for their Feb,1945 crossing of the Atlantic,via Queen Elizabeth to Scotland,then to Thorpe Abbotts,arriving March 14,1945;flying four practice flights,3/20,3/25,3/27,3/29 before jumping into the fray on their first combat mission,March 30th,HAMBURG...Interesting from Jan 8th,1945 until March 20th...NO FLYING TIME for the crew after such intense training in the States...Jack O'Leary,son of WG John J.O'Leary on the Gris Smith crew





In a message dated 4/18/2003 8:27:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time, john_oleary07@yahoo.com writes:





Subj:One ship down,two chutes opened many years ago,March 30,1945 

Date:4/18/2003 8:27:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time

From:john_oleary07@yahoo.com

To:cumbaade@bellsouth.net, phyllisbaugh8457@aol.com

CC:janr@cei.net, fortress@nortexinfo.net, MPFaley@aol.com

Sent from the Internet 







Hi De and Earl



RE: Your first combat mission,March 30th,1945



Where it's Good Friday today and I TRY to keep from

talking much on this solumn of days I decided to do a

little research on your first combat mission to

HAMBURG,March 30,1945



specificly to follow up Gris Smith's mission log with

his,and your (crews) comments on the mission regarding

the accuracy of the comments.."I was flying the run

and therefore couldn't see much,but out of the corner

of my eye,saw the Squardron on our right in a pretty

thick concentration of flak.Further to the right was a

Yellow Tail outfit.The flak around us was thick,but

that Yellow Tail group was really taking a

beating.Right waist gunner (Sgt.John O'Leary,THE waist

Gunner,9 man crew)reported that one ship went down

with two chutes opened."



Well De they were right on with their observations.



After researching the mission for the day,I found

three  B-17G's  lost on the mission to Hamburg..only

one from a "Yellow Tailed Group...the 486th BG...



The Lt Fredrick Veal crew on their 9th mission...they

arrived at the 486th four days (March 10th)before your

crew did ..



See the 486th BG website for a photo of the crew and a

listing of what happened...



www.486th.org  CLICK on 832th Sqdn artwork...select

VEAL...they were flying in the low low Sqdn #5 when

hit by flak..a wing broke off and a/c went into

dive,shortly after the a/c exploded...two crew were

able to get out...Sgt Robert Herman,was the Tail Gunner that got out and

    became a POW  with Lt. Don Johns,the Nav.

    the other seven are buried at the American Cemetery in

Cambridge..(wish I knew this when I visited in

Sept-Oct 2002,would have looked them up and said a

prayer)



The Veal crew were flying RODNEY THE ROCKS #43-38142

MACR 13550 that crashed in Pinneburg,Germany that

day,an a/c transferred from another Sqdn prviously

named LIL BUTCH...the same nickname as one a/c your

crew flew in the 100th BG...



With all that was going on around them,Gris and Dad

were right on the money in their observations.Just

like they were trained to be by the USAAF..



Best as ever,



Have a good EASTER!



Jack





Subj: USAAF Numerical MOS listings  

Date: 4/15/2003 11:10:44 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

From: john_oleary07@yahoo.com 

To: MPFaley@aol.com 

CC: cumbaade@bellsouth.net, phyllisbaugh8457@aol.com 

Sent from the Internet (Details) 

 





Hi Mike



RE: USAAF Numerical MOS listings from 380th BG King of

Heavies website



I recently uncovered some additional USAAF WWII

records of my dad that my mom had...



  Sgt. John O'Leary,349th Sqdn



One of them was his Separation Qualification Record

from 1945 ...



As I've mentioned to you before,my dad was in the

USAAF from Dec 8th,1941 enlistment..Jan 8,1942 Date of

entry to active service,until Dec 19th,1945



During that period,he was all over the southwestern

USA at different Army Air Fields for varied training

for several years ..before going overseas with the

100th BG



i.e. some of his MOS training codes and listings



521  Basic Airman



747 Airplane and Engine Mechanic



686 Airplane Instrument Mechanic



612 Airplane Armorer-Gunner   17 1/2 months



Lowry Field,Colo Airplane Armament 7weeks Studied bomb

loading .50 cal. machine guns,20 mm cannon,electrical

system in bomb bay.



Flexible Gunnery School,Kingman AZ. Flexible Gunnery 6

weeks ,studied mal

functions,assembling,loading,firing,sighting of .50

caliber machine guns.





he has   others listed that I don't see posted on the

380th site.



629  for one  ???



I see a 628 which is a Senior Technical Instructor





Any idea what a 629 is ???





 I know a 509 is an enlisted bombardier





Thanks in advance.



Regards,



Jack O'Leary





Jan and Mike...I had one more piece of info on the

W.Griswold SMITH crew...changes in crew assignment

positions,etc...



Where Paul Wilkinson the original BOMB on the

W.G.Smith became the 349th Sqdn Bombardier after 6 or

7 missions...I'm STILL not sure exactly when my dad

was changed to permanent TOG,(though Gris Smith did

tell me he flew "some missions" as Toggilier)... I do

know he was riding in the nose as TOG on some of the

CHOWHOUND food drops in May,1945..Not sure HOW the

bombbay release worked,since plywood was put in over

the bomb bay area,with some type of hinges...if

release was in bomb bay.... 



Jack o'leary







RE: 349th Sqdn Airmen



2nd Lt. William Groover CP 349th Sqdn FEH



S/Sgt. Russell O. Beyne WG  349th Sqdn FEH



Sgt Henry (NMI) Leffew  WG (spare) grounded FEH



A couple of things on these airmen;



I did a search on the 100th BG database

website...Nothing on LEFFEW,had no position for

BEYNE..



My information is incomplete but I have some info for

you.. When my dad was moved to permanent TOGGLIER

position,from WG sometime after hostilities ...Beyne

replaced my dad  in that position...right up until the

end of flying in October 1945...Russell also bunked

with the Gris Smith NCO's crew in Hut #33...Henry

Leffew was a SPARE gunner...in the summer and up to

the end of 1945 the flying CREW assignments were 10

men...9 actually flying,with a 10th person as a

spare,sub.etc...All I know about Henry Leffew was he

was grounded,don't know if he actually flew anytime

with the SMITH crew...Finally William T. Groover was

the CP that replaced Robert Smith Jr. on the SMITH

crew in early June and stayed on the crew up to the

end of flying in Oct. 1945…Jac O'Leary







Hi Mike: Just an FYI Editor's Note to make clear what my father meant by "we lost" our Bombardier and Navigator during our combat mission.....Paul Wilkerson,Gris SMITH crew Bombardier became 349th Bomb Squadron Bombardier after 6 combat missions and he took Wilson Turnipseed SMITH crew Navigator with him to train as a Lead Crew,SMITH crew received two replacements from another crew which included Nav. John Accinelli.......:Best Regards, Jack                -30-