Personnel

CREW



    Lt Clifford H."Ted"Harris         P  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

    Lt Paul H.Hoff                 CP  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT        

    Lt Stanley Russell            NAV  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

    Lt Frederick C.Leech       BOM  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT         

   S/Sgt Frank Kocher        ROG  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

   S/Sgt Robert G.Woodville    TTE  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

   Sgt Albert J.Viltro           BTG  CPT 5/1/45 FRANKFURT

   Sgt Benjamin T.Rogers      WG  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

   Sgt Earl H.Alexander          TG  CPT  5/1/45 FRANKFURT

      

418th Sqdn. Joined 100th,as above, on 29/7/44.



1983 address of Clifford H. "TED" Harris P.0.30x 2141Grantham,NY. 03753.



Harris remained in Air Force until 1950 and then recalled for Korean 

duty (2 years) with American Airlines since 1950 but will retire in 

1984. "Last heard from Stan Russsll 12 or 15 years ago when he was a 

School Superintendent in Mass."



TAPS:

Clifford H. "Ted" Harris, 85

418th BS Pilot, 

Born 8 April,1924

Died 8 February,2010

 

 http://www.rand-wilson.com/obituaries/Harris_Clifford_H.htm 



TAPS:

STANLEY RUSSELL,  Navigator, 418th, 3 March, 1994, in Albuquerque just after he and his wife, Enid, moved there from Groton, CT. He was at Thorpe Abbotts during the latter half of 1944 and Manny Abrams' "dear friend." After the war, Stanley became the school superintendent of the Sharon, MA, school system. (Manny Abrams)





Story from Clifford "Ted" Harris as sent in a email to Jan Riddling March 3, 2000…JR



"On Aug 27 ,1944 the 8th AF started for Berlin with the 100th BG leading. I led the second element in Milk Run Mabel (43-37808) which put me under and slightly right of the lead and he had two wingmen and so did I. I had another element of three below me. So I was right in the middle of a lot of airplanes. As we flew across the Channel we could see a cold front ahead nortwest to southeast across northern Germany. The lead kept zig-zagging to gain altitude to get over the front but it was pretty high. We were up about 30,000ft when we ran out of room and the lead went right straight into the clouds with the rest of us behind. It was so thick I could barely see my inboard engine. I held airspeed , heading and altitude as close as I could as I had no place to go. At any time I expected to run into the guy ahead of me or have a wingman fly in my window but nothing else that I could do. The radio was quiet with only the constant humming of a thousand radar sets making any noise. It was terrifying and I'd take flak anytime to that. We were in it I guess for about three minutes and suddenly broke out into bright sunshine---there was Denmark and the Kiel Canal and the Baltic Sea, the North German Coast----------BUT-----Not a damned airplane in sight. I looked back to see some popping out of the clouds below and above so everyong had scattered but I couldn't do that. The misssion was a shambles so it was scrubbed and we reassembled let down over the North Sea to about 500 feet to get under the front and went home. Scary!!!!! Ted"



Date Crew Nbr Mission Nbr Last Name Initial Rank Position Aircraft Nbr Target

8/14/1944 89 180 HARRIS C.H. LT P 38175 LUDWIGHSAVEN (OIL)

8/15/1944 89 181 HARRIS C.H. LT P 38175 VENLO

8/18/1944 89 182 HARRIS C.H. CAPT P 37808 PACY SUR ARMANCON

8/26/1944 89 185 HARRIS C.H. CAPT P 37808 BREST

8/27/1944 89 186 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 BERLIN (RECALL)

9/1/1944 89 188 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 MAINZ (RECALL)

9/3/1944 89 189 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 BREST

9/5/1944 89 190 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 STUTTGART (AERO ENGS)

9/8/1944 89 191 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 MAINZ

9/12/1944 89 195 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 MAGDEBURG (OIL)

9/13/1944 89 196 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 SINDELFINGEN

9/18/1944 89 197 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 WARSAW (START OF SECOND RUSSIAN SHUTTLE MISSION

9/19/1944 89 198 HARRIS C.H. LT P 37808 SZOLNOK (FROM RUSSIA, LANDED IN FOGGIA ITALY)

9/22/1944 CREWS RETURNED TO THORPE ABBOTTS



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

ONE OF THE LAST AIRCRAFT TO LEAVE THORPE ABBOTTS AT THE CLOSE OF HOSTILITIES. DEPARTED 25 SEP 1945



 On the 15th of August 1945, Colonel Jack Wallace, Commanding Officer of the 100th toured the base personally announcing the 100th was scheduled to return to the U.S.A. The last six (6) aircraft to leave with passangers did so under Special Order No #1 dated 25 Sep 1945. Destination was Greinier Field at Manchester, New Hampshire.

 The lead aircraft, B-17G #44-8912 was flown by Major Johnson R. Staples. Aboard were five (5) crew members and five (5) passangers. Those aboard are listed below..



Maj Johnson R. Staples Aircraft Commander 418th Sqdn.. CO  Taps March 1988

Maj J.S. Robinson  Co-pilot   418th Sqdn.  Commander of 24 Dec 44 Bulge Relief.

Capt E.C. King  Navigator  351st Sqdn. Flew periless 24 May 1944 Berlin Mission.

T/Sgt E.W. Miller  Flight Engineer  418th Sqdn Flying at the end of hostilities.

T/Sgt F. Kocher  Radio Operator  418th Sqdn Completed Tour 05 Jan 1945 Frankfurt. 



M/Sgt J. Klingenstein  Passenger  Flight Line Chief

Maj  Horace L. Varian Passenger  Gnd Execitive Officer

Capt William A. Carleton Passenger  Group Engineering Officer

Capt A.J. Tong  Passenger  349th Sqdn. Bombardier

F/O S.E. Wood  Passenger  unk Sqdn. Co-pilot