Capt
Sam R. TURNER
Hometown During Time of Service: Orlando, FL
Army Serial Number: O-798521
Assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group
Location:
Unit: 351st Bombardment Squadron
Rank:
Position: Pilot
Beginning Date of 100th Service: Unknown
Time of Service at Thorpe Abbotts: Unknown - Unknown
Additional 100th Service Notes
Status: INT
MACR: 00689
CR: 00689
Comments: 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (CRASHED IN LAKE CONSTANCE)
Biography
Died postwar on January 14, 1958
Sam died at the age of 36 years old. He was survived by his wife and two children.
Sam graduated from Orlando HS in 1938 and attended University of Florida before joining the Air Corps before Pearl Harbor. Upon his return to the USA after the war, Sam joined the advertising department of the Sentinel-Star newspapers. Called back to active duty in 1948, he instructed student pilots. He eventually quit The Sentinel and became sales manager for Clayton’s Realty Co, eventually forming his own business Sam Turner Real Estate.
Media Articles
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| Media Item | Type | Page | Volume/Issue | Broadcast Source | Time | Description | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Turner on way to England | Orlando Evening Star June 9 1943 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner June 28 1943 mission quote | The Arizona Republic June 30 1943 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner bombs France | Orlando Evening Star June 29 1943 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner | Orlando Evening Star August 26 1943 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner August 12 mission to Bonn | Orlando Evening Star September 4 1943 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner Crew Stuttgart mission part 1 | Springfield Evening Union April 15 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner crew Stuttgart mission part 2 | The Springfield Evening Union April 15 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner silver star | Orlando Evening Star May 31 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner, Joseph Moloney dead turret gunner saves plane | St Louis Globe Democrat May 13 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner POW exchange | Orlando Evening Star June 28 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Joseph Moloney saves crew, Sam Turner crew | The Boston Globe May 12 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner home after prisoner exchange | Orlando Evening Star April 22 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner home raises bonds | Orlando Evening Star March 31 1944 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Sam Turner death | Orlando Evening Star Jan 16 1958 | 12:00 am |
Comments and Notes
Memo 1:
CREW
CAPT. SAM R. TURNER P INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND) Taps date unk
2ND LT WILLIAM R. FREUND CP INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND)
2ND LT MORRIS WEINBERG NAV INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND)
2ND LT VANCE R. BOSWELL BOM INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND) TAPS: 1985 (original Lt Ray Crew)
T/SGT HAROLD W. SMITH TTE INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND)
T/SGT CARMINE A. GALLO ROG INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND) TAPS:10 FEB 1985
S/SGT JOSEPH F. MOLONEY BTG KIA 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART
S/SGT CARTER F. THORNTON WG INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND) TAPS: 9 JUL 1988
S/SGT DEWITT J. WEIR TG INTERNED 6 SEP 43 STUTTGART (SWITZERLAND) TAPS: 4 JUL 1987
S/SGT NORMAN F. BRETT WG RFS Medicial - failed flght physical..
351ST SQDN.. AN ORIGINAL 100TH CREW. A/C 42-30057 "RAUNCHY"
S/SGT JOSEPH F. MOLONEY IS BURIED IN THE EPINAL AMERICAN CEMETARY. PLOT B, ROW 2, GRAVE 13
NORMAN F. BRETT TAIL GUNNER ON ORIGINAL CREW, GROUNDED AFTER 7 MISSIONS. REPLACED ON THIS MISSION BY JAMES SPEAKMAN
STATEMENT BY SAM TURNER: "I crashed - landed on Lake Constance on 06 Sep 1943 at 1030 hours approximately one and one fourth miles from land. The plane remained afloat for about four minutes. The life rafts failed to work properly. The plane was completely demolished. After the plane crashed I saw the ball turret gunner who had been killed by a 20mm shell. He was left in the plane. On 05 Oct 1943, the plane was raised by the Swiss and the ball turret gunner was removed and buried."
Capt.Turner was slightly wounded in the chest by a 20mm fragment. He was interened until March 1944 at which time he returned to the U.S.A.
According to Morris Weinberg, Joseph Moloney was hit by two 20mm's between the shoulder blades. He was buried at Bad Ragaz and later moved to American Cememtary at Musterlingen, Switzerland.
On this sixteenth mission for the crew, Vance Boswell was wounded and his chute torn to pieces.
Mission Log
Sam Turner Crew
Mission log courtesy of William Freund in 1995.. Paul west..
Sam Turner Crew
# MISSION DATE COMMENT
1 Bremen, Germany June 25, 1943
2 LeMans, France June 26, 1943
3 St. Nazaire, France June 28, 1943
4 LeMans, France June 29, 1943
5 La Pallice, France July 4, 1943
6 Hamburg, Germany July 17, 1943 (Aborted -- engine failure)
7 Trondheim, Norway July 24, 1943
8 Warnemunde, Germany July 25, 1943
9 Oschersleben, Germany July 28, 1943
10 Bonn, Germany August 12, 1943 (major damage to “Raunchy”)
11 Woensdrecht, Belgium August 19, 1943 (not flown in "Raunchy")
12 Evreux-Fauville, France August 24, 1943
13 Watten, France August 27, 1943 V-1 Rocket, No Ball
14 Meulan les Merueaux, France August 31, 1943
15 Paris, France September 3, 1943 (Difficult mission for the crew)
16 Stuttgart, Germany September 6, 1943 (Interned in Switzerland)
Mission log courtesy of William Freund in 1995.. Paul west..
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Special Orders, March 2, 1944 (see this page on http://www.americanswiss.org/andrews/Special%20Orders%20Bern.htm)
The Special Orders cut in Switzerland on 2 March 1944 designating seven U.S. Army officers to be exchanged against seven German aviators also interned in Switzerland.
1st Lt. William Cantwell was a B-17 pilot of the 99th Bomb Group based in Tunisia. His plane was shot down on 1 October 1943 while on a mission to Regensburg, Germany. Only five of his plane’s ten-man crew parachuted out and landed safely in the Alps where they were picked up by Swiss soldiers.
Lst Lt. Donald Oakes piloted a B-17 of the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. He landed at Dubendorf near Zurich on 17 August 1943 while on a mission to Regensburq, Germany. His was the first B-17 -- though not the first plane -- to land in Switzerland.
Lst Lt. Martin Andrews piloted a B-17 of the 306th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force, who made a forced landing at Magadino, Switzerland while on a mission to Stuttgart on September 6, 1943.
lst Lt. Alva Geron, piloting a B-24flying out of Tunisia, was on a mission to Wiener Neustadt, Austria when he was forced to make a landing in a farmer's field at Thurnau, Switzerland on 13 August 1943. His was the first American plane to land in Switzerland.
Lst Lt. Sam Turner, piloting a B-17 of the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th AF, was on the same mission to Stuttgart as Andrews. He was forced to ditch in the Lake of Constance where his dead ball turret gunner went down with the plane.
2nd Lt. Robert Titus was a navigator of the 95th Bomb Group of the 8th AF. When his plane went down over France on the 6 September 1943 mission to Stuttgart, he parachuted safely down, evaded capture and crossed the French-Swiss border. Because he had walked into Switzerland, he was considered an "Evadee," not an "Internee," and could move freely around Switzerland.
2nd Lt. Stephen Rapport piloted a B-17 of the 390th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. He was on the same mission to Regensburg as Lt. Oakes, when battle damage forced him to make a crash landing in a farmer's field near Utzendorf, Switzerland.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Subj: Wm Freund
Date: 7/16/2002 6:05:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: rwtechserv@bartnet.net
To: MPFaley@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)
Hi Michael,
Yes I do have that info.
William R Freund
3335 Coldwell Dr.
Tarpen Springs, FL
(727) 944-2050
Have a good one.
Rene
EMAIL = chris@familyfoundation.org
UNAME = Chris Freund
CONNECTION = I am a relative of a 100th veteran
COMMENTS = My Father was Lt. William Freund, CP on "Raunchy." I noticed some new pictures of "Raunchy" submitted by Mark Boswell, son of Vance R. Boswell, "Raunchy's" bombadier. I was wondering if I could get a phone number or email addres to Mark. My dad and I are trying to contact as many relatives of "Raunchy's" crew as possible.
VISITS = 21 - 100
MOST_USEFUL = Database search
GRADE = A+ (Outstanding)
Mark Boswell
4604 101st Street
Lubbock, TX
home telephone: 806 698-9437
email: boswellmv@earthlink.net
KIA / MIA / EVA / INT Information:
Target:
Stuttgart
Aircraft:
"RAUNCHY" (42-30057)
Date:
1943-09-06
Cause:
EAC -Interned in Sweden
Burial Information:
Cemetery:
Greenwood Cemetery
Photos

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Crew List
1st Crew List
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capt | TURNER, Sam R. | P | INT |
| Lt | FREUND, William R. | CP | INT |
| Lt | WEINBERG, Morris | NAV | INT |
| T/Sgt | SMITH, Harold W. | TTE | INT |
| T/Sgt | GALLO, Carmine | ROG | INT |
| Sgt | MOLONEY, Joseph F. | BTG | KIA |
| S/Sgt | THORNTON, Carter F. | WG | INT |
| S/Sgt | WEIR, Dewitt J. | WG | INT |
| S/Sgt | BRETT, Norman F. | TG | RFS |
| Sgt | SPEAKMAN, James E. | TG | INT |
2nd Crew List
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Rank | Name | Pos | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capt | TURNER, Sam R. | P | INT |
| Lt | BOSWELL, Vance R. | BOM | INT |

















