Personnel

CREW



2ND LT DENZI "TAIL SPIN" NAAR P CPT   DATE UNK.

2ND LT WILLIAM V. WILSON     CP CPT   31 MAR 45 BAD BERKA, OIL STORAGE (100TH "A")

2ND LT BERT H. LATTA       NAV CPT   31 MAR 45 BAD BERKA, OIL STORAGE (100TH "A")

2ND LT HARRY F. BOTT        BOM POW 03 MAR 45 BRUNSWICK, MT FACTORY (with Lt Thrasher Crew, see below)

CPL CECIL R. FULTS              ROG CPT   21 FEB 45 NURNBURG, MY (S.T.)

CPL ANDREW R. POCZES       TTE CPT   28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY

CPL JOHN R. O'HARE             BTG CPT   28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY

CPL NAPOLEON H. OWEN       WG CPT   (became Toggelier on Lt William McGuire Crew) see below

CPL DEWEY W. QUINN, JR.     WG CPT   28 MAR 45 HANOVER, TANK FACTORY 

CPL CHARLES J. HERLIHY         TG CPT   19 MAR 45 FULDA, LUTZKENDORF, & JENA



349TH SQDN.. CREW AS ABOVE JOINED THE 100TH ON 05 OCT 1944

Aircraft flown by Capt. Naar 43-28313" Lil Butch" and Yehudi 42-107230 XR-B which was scrapped after the "prop wash" incident that sent the plane into a tail spin.  After Sgt Herlihy finished his missions, S/Sgt.James D.Barger (sn# 33920989) from Lt Sanford Crew filled in for 3 missions (March 23, 24, 28, 1945).  Capt Denzil "Denny" Naar became the 349th Ops Officer in August 1945.  On September 26, 1945 he became 349th BS C.O. when Maj. Robinson flew back to the States.   



Some Missions of Capt. Naar Crew:



30 NOV 44  MERSEBURG (" LIL BUTCH IS HIT SERVERAL TIMES BY FLAK)

02 DEC 44  KOBLENZ (YEHUDI GOES INTO A TAIL SPIN DUE TO PROP WASH AND IS SALVAGED UPON RETURN FROM MISSION)

23 MAR 45  MARBURG, GER.           

24 MAR 45  STEENWIJK, HOLLAND 

28 MAR 45  HANOVER, GER,          



 Mission Memories of Capt. Naar: (Oct 2006)

 

"I flew my first mission as a copilot. It was common practice to "bloody" a new pilot by flying a combat mission with an experienced crew.  Well, I saw this big black cloud off in the distance and I asked the pilot, what is that, and he said flak!  I said, aren't they a bit off target with their guns.  Just then we hit the IP and all of a sudden we are turning right towards that big black cloud!  I said how are we going to get around the flak and he said we are not going around it, we are going to fly right through it!  Well, when we got back from the mission, the rest of the crew surrounded me and asked how it was, I told them it was a piece of cake, a milk run, why worry them, they would learn soon enough it was Hell up there."   

 

"Our Crew was on 13-14th mission (Dec 2, 1944 mission to Koblenz…Ray Bowden) and we took off in pitch black darkness, fully loaded with gas and bombs.  Just above after breaking through on top, we hit prop wash from the planes ahead and went into a tail spin. We went down doing over 350 mph and redlining the engines.  We did 5 tail spins and dropped 8,000 feet before I (and copilot Wilson) could get her back under control at about 3,000 feet.  I climbed back up to rejoin the group.  After going through all of that, I didn't want to lose credit for a mission.  We were all trying to get our 35 finished and go home.  Our Ailerons were shot but I was able to control the plane with the rudder so we went on the mission.  Utilizing the rudder to control the plane, I was extremely tired when we got back to England.  As we were coming in for the landing, the plane stalled about 30 feet off the deck and we hit the the runway hard.  I had no idea what caused this until we inspected the plane.   What I did not know was that the tail spins had damaged the outer skin and twisted the fuselage so much that the air flow was affected. The damage included broken struts, the right aileron broken, tail assembly was loosened from the stress and part of the wing supports buckled. At interrogation Col. Sutterlin told me "I don't know whether to court martial you or give you the DFC."  Well, lucky for me it was less paperwork for the DFC, which I received for the mission!  The event was written up in Stars and Stripes and that is how I got my nickname.  After the article appeared in Stars and Stirpes, I was in London on pass and I ran into one of my friends on the street who had read the story and he yells over to me, hey "Tail Spin" and from that point on, the nickname stuck!"

 

"The hardest target was Merseburg!!!!!!!  When they pulled back the curtain and the string went all the way to that target, I am getting chills just thinking about it now, the black puffs, the sky filled with flak bursts, planes exploding everywhere and going down, parachutes, debris, and death and you had to keep on course. There was no where to hide, no room to move."  

                                                                                                                        ……. CAPT DENZIL "TAIL SPIN" NAAR

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CREW: On board the PFF A/C#44 8220 on 3/3/45 were: 



2nd Lt Jack W. Thrasher                P  KIA    3-Mar-45 Brunswick 

Lt Charles S. Bayha                       CP POW  3 Mar-45 Brunswick (from the crew of J. V. DePlanque.)

Lt Harry F. Bott                         BOM POW  3-Mar-45 Brunswick (from the crew of Denzil Naar)

2nd Lt Gerald A. Rimmel             NAV POW   3-Mar-45 Brunswick 

Lt Willis R. McGuire          RADAR NAV KIA     3-Mar-45 Brunswick (from the crew of L. C. Williams) 

Cpl Thomas C. Browning             TTE POW   3-Mar-45 Brunswick 

Cpl Albert L. Egsieker                 ROG POW   3-Mar-45 Brunswick 

Sgt. Ray U. Muffley                     WG POW   3-Mar-45 Brunswick (from the crew of J. A. Carroll) 

Cpl Cecil A. Baker                         TG KIA     3-Mar-45 Brunswick  



"Re:MACR:12892, Jack Thrasher. For the record I would like to submit my recollection of Jack Thrasher's death. I was Joe Martin's copilot and we were off of Jack's left wing on that mission. I believe that the 100th was leading the 13th Combat Wing and six 100th aircraft were in two flights dropping chaff ahead of the 100th and the remainder of the Wing. We had not yet arrived over the target when two ME-262's attacked us from seven o'clock high. The lead 262 fired 2 or 3 canon shells into Jack's left wing root starting a fire. Jack side-slipped the 17 in an effort to blow it out. He was unsuccessful and returned the plane to straight-and-level. Jack was clearly visible holding the airplane steady as his men bailed out. At least three did so before the plane exploded. His was the bravest act I have I have ever witnessed. Jack bunked across the aisle from me and only the night before I had watched as he reached over, picked up his large photo of a beautiful girl, kissed it and said, "Two more honey. Only two more and I'll be home." Several years ago, an article appeared in Splasher Six about Jack's family. I tried to get their home address to send them this recollection but it was withheld from me…. Hank"



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CREW



LT WILLIAM V. "Mac" McGUIRE    P CPT      8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 

F/O LOUIS C. CIRIEGIO             CP POW   31 DEC 44 HAMBURG WITH LT. MORIN CREW 

CPL CHARLES F. LANG            ROG CPT      8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 

CPL WILLIAM L. MAGEE          TTE CPT      8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 

CPL ELVIN LaRome SWIM       BTG CPT       8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 

CPL OTTO E. LEIGHTON         WG CPT       8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 

CPL GAIL H. DAUGHERTY        WG NOC TAKEN OFF CREW TO REDUCE TO NINE MEN.  

CPL HAROLD L. PARKINSON      TG CPT      8 MAR 45 GIESSEN, MY (S. T. ) 



418TH SQDN. . . CREW, AS ABOVE, JOINED THE 100TH ON 09 JUL 1944



In December 1944 Lt Louis Cireigio and Lt McGuire had a personality conflict and Lt Ciriegio was replaced on the Crew by Lt John Alden Clark from Lt Charles Blanding Crew. 

Navigator on this Crew was a 1st Lt nicknamed "Hiny"

Sgt Napoleon H. Owen from the Denzil Narr crew served as toggelier on this crew.