Personnel

CREW



CAPT JOSEPH H. "BUBBLES" PAYNE JR.



JOSEPH "BUBBLES" PAYNE ENLISTED IN THE US ARMY AIR FORCES ON JANUARY 14, 1942 AT FT. THOMAS, NEWPORT, KENTUCKY. PAYNE HAD BEEN A RESIDENT OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY AT THE TIME HE ENLISTED. FELLOW NAVIGATORS HARRY CROSBY AND JIM BROWN REGARDED PAYNE TO “HAVE BEEN THE BEST.”  CROSBY POINTS OUT THAT THIS COMMENT FROM BROWN, WHO WAS OFTEN CALLED THE 100TH’S GREATEST NAVIGATOR, IDICATES THE HIGH SKILL LEVEL OF BUBBLES PAYNE. 



PAYNE WAS ORGINALLY ON EVERETT BLAKLEY'S CREW IN THE 418TH SQUADRON, AND SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME GROUP NAVIGATOR AND WAS SHOT DOWN WITH COL ROBERT KELLY, THE NEW GROUP COMMANDER, ON KELLY'S FIRST MISSION LEAD. 



HARRY CROSBY BECAME PART OF THE BLAKELY CREW FOR MISSIONS THREE AND BEYOND AFTER PAYNE FAILED TO RETURN FROM PASS IN NORWICH, WHERE HE HAD BEEN VISITING HIS BELLE, AND HE WAS HOSPITALIZED WITH A STOMACH BUG. PAYNE SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME PART OF THE GROUP STAFF AND BECAME 100TH GROUP NAVIGATOR. 



HE WAS NOT PART OF A REGULAR CREW AGAIN UNTIL HE WAS “DEMOTED” TO 350TH BOMB SQUADRON LEAD NAVIGATOR FLYING WITH OWEN “COWBOY” ROANE IN “LADEN MAIDEN/TORCHY III” B-17F 42-30487 (XR-F).  PAYNE FLEW A NUMBER OF MISSIONS AS SQUADRON LEAD, INCLUDING THE DOCUMENTED MISSION TO BLOW UP THE HEAVY WATER PLANT IN NORWAY.



THE ORIGINAL EVERETT BLAKELY CREW, OF WHICH PAYNE WAS A PART IS DETAILED BELOW:





1st Lt Everett E. Blakely                          P   CPT



2nd Lt Charles A. Via, Jr.                      CP  SWA   8/10/43   Bremen



1st Lt Joseph H. "Bubbles" Payne Jr.     NAV   KIA   28/4/44 (With crew of W.G. Lakin)  (see below)



2nd Lt James R. Douglas                    BOM   CPT   Became Group Bombardier



T/Sgt Howard J. Brock                      TTE  POW   17/8/43 (with crew of W.R.Flesh)



T/Sgt Monroe B. Thornton                   WG  CPT



T/Sgt Edmund G. Forkner                   ROG   CPT



S/Sgt John L. Olson                            BTG  Transferred 



S/Sgt Lyle E. Nord                               WG  KIA   29/5/44   (with crew of B.L. Williams) 



S/Sgt Lester W. Saunders                      TG  KIA  8/10/43    Bremen





28 APRIL 44 – MISSION TO SOTTEVAST



COL ROBERT KELLY COMMANDED THE 100TH BOMB GROUP FOR ONE WEEK AND TWO DAYS, AND WAS LOST ON HIS FIRST MISSION TO SOTTEVAST. AT TAKE-OFF TIME THE NEW COMMANDER ELECTED TO BUMP THE 100TH'S BEST FLIGHT LEADER (CAPT JACK SWARTOUT) AND LEAD HIMSELF. THE RESULTS WERE A DISASTER; TWO SHIPS WERE LOST WHEN COL KELLY ELECTED TO MAKE A SECOND RUN OVER THE TARGET AT THE SAME ALTITUDE AND ON THE SAME HEADING. AMOUNG THOSE KILLED IN ACTION WAS THE 100TH’S BELOVED LEAD NAVIGATOR JOSEPH "BUBBLES" PAYNE 



PAYNE’S CREW FOR THE SOTTEVAST MISSION IS BELOW





CREW (28 APR 44)







COL  ROBERT H. KELLY                     COM KIA   28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



CAPT WILLIAM G. LAKIN                        P KIA   28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



LT HERBERT ALF                               CP POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL) flew as formation officer in tail 



CAPT  JOSEPH  H. "BUBBLES" PAYNE JR. NAV KIA    28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



LT MAURICE H. CAIN                         BOM POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



T/SGT LEO  R. CANNON                     ROG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL



T/SGT JAMES C. BROWN                    TTE KIA   28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



S/SGT ALBERTM. FREITAS                  BTG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



S/SGT JOHN N. SPIKER                       WG KIA   28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL)



S/SGT JOSEPH  A. RICHARD                WG POW 28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL



S/.SGT DELBERT E. BARNHART               TG KIA   28 APR 44 SOTTEVAST (NO BALL) flew in radio room, manned 50 cal. 



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



THE ABOVE CREW WAS WHAT CAN BEST BE CALLED A "PICK-UP" CREW COMPRISED OF VETERAN AIRMEN, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COL. KELLY WHO WAS FRESH FROM THE STATES AND HAD BECAME THE 100TH'S COMMANDING OFFICER ONLY NINE DAYS PRIOR TO THE MISSION. “BUBBLES” PAYNE WAS A MEMBER OF THE ORIGINAL AIR ECHELON OF THE GROUP AS WERE T/SGT JAMES C. BROWN AND S/SGT ALBERT M. FREITAS.



WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MAGEE FULLER, THEY WERE THE LAST OF THE "ORIGINAL 100TH" TO BECOME CASUALTIES. T/SGT LEO R. CANNON JOINED THE GROUP IN AUGUST 1943, HIS ORIGINAL CREW (F.H. MEADOWS) WAS SHOT DOWN AT BREMEN 08 OCT 1943. CAPT WILLIAM G. LAKIN HAD BEEN WITH THE GROUP PRIOR TO OCTOBER 1943.  LT MAURICE H. CAIN WAS FROM LT JOHN P. GIBBONS CREW.  



THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT IS FROM THE MISSING AIR CREW REPORT (MACR):  



“SUMMARY REPORT: A/C #024 WAS HIT BY TWO BURSTS OF FLAK; ONE NEAR COCKPIT AND ONE NEAR TAIL. COCKPIT BURST INTO FLAMES. PLANE WENT INTO VERTICAL DIVE; TOP TURRET CAME OFF, AS PLANE ENTERED CLOUDS AND IT SEEMED TO DISINTEGRATE WITHOUT EXPLODING. ONE CHUTE SEEN. PLANE HIT AT 1019 HOURS, ONE MINUTE AFTER BOMBS AWAY, NEAR 4953E- 0130W. (LT. HARRIS, LT. NORDYK, LT. WOLDT)”



"….ON 02 MAY 1944, AT 0730 HOURS AN AMERICAN AIRMAN WAS CAPTURED BY TWO GERMAN SOLDIERS ON THE STREET OF ROCHVILLE, SOTTEVAST, FRANCE. THE GERMANS RECORD THE FOLLOWING DATA: NAME: CAIN, MAURICE # 0-681859. ACCORDING TO HIS STATEMENT HE RESCUED HIMSELF FROM THE BURNING AIRCRAFT ON 28 APRIL 1944. SENT TO AIRBASE COMMAND, PARIS, FRANCE..DATE 3 MAY 1944 @ 1320 HOURS."  THE ORIGINATING GERMAN OFFICER IS NOT IDENTIFIED.





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





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



NOTE: 1ST LT GONZALES IS REPLACED BY LT HOWARD BASSETT (FROM LT VICTOR REED CREW) FOR MISSONS OCTOBER 18-19, 1943, BOTH TO DUREN. CAPT. JOSEPH "BUBBLES" PAYNE IS THEN ASSIGNED TO LT ROANE'S LEAD CREW.





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. EV BLAKELY CREW)



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



T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB               ROG  (ORIGINAL COWBOY CREW MEMBER)



T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART               TTE  (ORGINAL COWBOY CREW MEMBER)



T/SGT   RICHARD DETWEILER          LWG  (CAME FROM LT VICTOR REED CREW)



           ?                                                BTG



           ?                                                RWG



S/SGT RICHARD TANGRADI               TG  (FROM LT AMIERO CREW)







CREW ON 16/11/43 RJUKAN MISSION-  GROUP LEAD: 



 



COMMAND PILOT:                  MAJ. JOHN M. BENNETT 



LEAD PILOT:                          LT OWEN "COWBOY" ROANE 



CP/FORMATION OFFICER:      F/O REGINALD A. "SMITTY" SMITH  (FLEW IN TAIL)



LEAD NAVIGATOR:                 CAPTAIN JOSEPH "BUBBLES" PAYNE



LEAD BOMBARDIER:               CAPTAIN ROBERT PEEL



TOP TURRET ENGINEER:        T/SGT ROBERT A. STUART     



RADIO OPERATOR GUNNER:   T/SGT CLARENCE R. TOMB  



BALL TURRET GUNNER:             ?      



LEFT WAIST GUNNER:            T/SGT RICHARD DETWEILER             



RIGHT WAIST GUNNER:             ?                                         



TAIL GUNNER:                       S/SGT RICHARD TANGRADI ((BUMPED FROM CREW, CP FLEW AS FORMATION OFFICER ON THIS MISSION)



        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





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

POW/KIA info: Original 100th, Crew #35.  Served as Group Navigator. Buried at the Normandy American Cemetery, France.