Hi all,
 
Need someone to help unravel th 94th BG losses on 21st May 1943 in respect of the following -
Vincent Lerg, Marvin McCown and Carl Rendler - are these men connected to the loss of
42-29834 and if not who was ?   Was Martin Wieand flying 42-3127 ? 
 
Thanks in advance
 
Bob

Bob,
 
Project Bits and Pieces shows Lerg , McCown and Rendler all KIA on 21 May 1943 with the 94th BG but no plane mentioned.
Crew list for 42-29834 (all KIA)
Lt Martin Wieand (P)
2Lt William A. Moore Jr (CP)
2Lt Frederick R. McGuidivin (N)
Lt William D. Braden (B)
S/Sgt Phillip H. Auld (TT)
S/Sgt Edward L. Lutkehaus (TT)
Sgt Edward F. Via (RO)
S/Sgt Russell R. Hutchins (BT)
T/Sgt Willard H. Hoff (LW)
S/Sgt Lee V. Gossett (RW)
S/Sgt Raymond C. Raddatz (TG)  
 
Vic
 

Vic Walzel, brother of 1st Lt Leland H. Walzel, bombardier with the 93rd Bomb Group, 330th Squadron. KIA 6 March 1944 on his 25th mission.
www.lelandwalzel.150m.com

Hi Bob,
 
You sure picked a good one.  Searched footnote.com and finally found something under Martin Wieand.  They had nothing under either a/c serial number or under any of the other three names.  Will attach two documents, one telling what happened and the other a "blank" MACR form.  I say blank because it has no MACR number, no a/c serial number, no signature of whoever prepared it and no date.  It also bears a 'revision' date in the upper left corner of 10 April 1946 so it was prepared well after the war ended.  There is also a third document correcting the misspelling of his first name and warning preparers to be more careful.  Freeman's book lists both serial numbers but shows no crew info for 42-3127.  Perhaps member CA will pick up on this thread and shed more light on it.  I will continue to check other sources.
 
Hal


[image]local://12384/3F839C3BE5314953AD24CED7A33B85C0.jpg[/image]

Attached Image(s)

Second document.

[image]local://12384/C8B4C41D77EB44AB8470D58192288988.jpg[/image]

Attached Image(s)

Bob and Vic,
 
For what it's worth, Freeman's 'B-17 Flying Fortress Story' states
42-29834 shot down May 21, 1943 with the Ecklund crew.  5 KIA, 5 POW.
Was named BOOMERANG.  For 42-3127 Freeman says MIA May 21, 1943 (with 94BG crew?).  Parenthesis and question mark are Freeman's.
 
Hal

Bob -
Bits and Pieces lists
B - 17 # 42 - 3127 GY M
306th BG , 367th Sq.
FTR 5/21/43
Roger Freemans Book also Lists Same way
with Remark - With 94th BG Crew?
Along with S/Sgt. Carl Rendler jr. and Lt. Vincent Lerg
S/Sgt. Louis Poznar and Sgt. Marsile Lambert are also listed
with them as a ( Partial)94th BG Crew - Just the 4 Listed in Bits and Pieces
Mike

Hi Bob

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the 94th BG losses on May 21st 1943. Why this confusion i cannot say but the following three crew lists are believed to be the correct ones:


May 21st 1943.  B-17F -65- BO 42-29682.  10xKIA.  MACR: None.


Wieand, Martin 1st Lt. O-791359 (P). KIA.
Moore, William A. Jr. 2nd Lt. O-425886 (CP). KIA.
McGuidivin, Frederick R. 2nd Lt. O-792490 (N). KIA.
Braden, William D. 1st Lt. O-729705 (B). KIA.
Lutkehaus, Edward L. S/Sgt. 15327001 (TTG). KIA.
Via, Edward F. Sgt. 34211810 (RO). KIA.
Hutchins, Russell R. S/Sgt. 19074693 (BTG). KIA.
Hoff, Willard H. T/Sgt. 39304675 (LWG). KIA.
Gossett, Lee V. S/Sgt. 38225343 (RWG). KIA.
Raddatz, Raymond C. S/Sgt. 16094336 (TG). KIA.




May 21st 1943.  B-17F -65- BO 42-29727.  7xKIA & 3xPOW.  MACR: None.


Wetzel, Lowell L. 1st Lt. O-792189 (P). KIA.
Sutton, Earl E. FO T-000239 (CP). KIA.
Hopewell, Clifford H. 2nd Lt. O-795249 (N). POW.
Pearson, Carl R. 2nd Lt. O-732965 (B). KIA.
Kurn, Henry C. Sgt. 39021839 (TTG). POW.
Hendrix, Stacy L. T/Sgt. 38127379 (RO). POW. * Became a POW but died on June 4th from injuries sustained on May 21st 1943.
Rendler, Carl Jr. S/Sgt. 39532169 (BTG). KIA.
Loftus, Bryant M. S/Sgt. 33120326 (LWG). KIA.
Crisp, Russell E. T/Sgt. 15086532 (RWG). KIA.
Harding, Glenn E. S/Sgt. 14053367 (TG). KIA.




May 21st 1943.  B-17F -75- BO 42-29834.  5xKIA & 5xPOW.  MACR: None.


Eklund, Olaf W. 1st Lt. O-727975 (P). POW.
Port, Harold G. 1st Lt. O-376610 (CP). POW.
Liebig, Theodore H. 1st Lt. O-663391 (N). POW.
Schoedel, Henry W. 1st Lt. O-731105 (B). POW.
Conley, Joseph E. T/Sgt. 13046502 (TTG). KIA.
Lambert, Marsile J. Sgt. 35113837 (RO). KIA.
Poznar, Louis J. S/Sgt. 35047527 (BTG). KIA.
Burns, Byron J. S/Sgt. 37351749 (LWG). POW.
Watts, Frank W. S/Sgt. 37254329 (RWG). KIA.
Tiday, William H. S/Sgt. 33246923 (TG). KIA.



1st Lt's Lerg and McCown were KIA on two other 94th BG aircraft which returned to bases at Thurleigh and Basingbourn.


May 21st 1943.

Lerg, Vincent P. 1st Lt. O-790155 (N). KIA.

McCown, Marvin M. 1st Lt. O-790860 (P). KIA.

Sadly the 94th BG microfilm records for 1943 have many gaps.

Hope this is of help to you.

Regards

Chris.

Bob , CA,
Quote from Book First Over Germany by Russell Strong:
Three Planes from the 94th BG , still stationed at Thurleigh ,
went on a Mission to Emden and the Crew of Lt. Wieand was
Lost In Action.
Mike

Hi Mike
 
Thanks for that.
 
Is interesting to see the quote from Russell Strong's book 'three aircraft from the 94th BG'. This would lead you to believe that B-17F 42-3127 from the 306th BG was not one of the three aircraft lost.
 
Another possibility is that perhaps another 94th BG crew were flying 42-3127 on the May 21st 1943 mission, but it suffered major damage and was scrapped?
 
I have also been told that 1st Lt. Marvin M. McCown was killed while flying B-17F 42-3031, which was a 91st BG aircraft.
 
Regards
 
Chris.

     Thanks to all,
     Lt. V. Paul Lerg was killed by a 20 MM which "entered his left buttocks and exited his right chest and abdomen. Death due to shock and hemorrhage". He was the Navigator on the Leon R. Kvedar crew. My dad David S. Benson the C/P on the Kvedar crew (and Lerg's best friend )broke away when he could to render assistance, but by the time he was able to break away Paul Lerg died in his arms. It was a "touchy" subject with my dad and the Bombardier, H. Richard Guerin, and I can not say with any factual certainty which A/C they were flying on the mission.
     Sadly, the 94th formation chart has yet to be found which would fill in many unknowns. The 94th's 333rd and 410th Squadrons were attached to the 306th BG flying out of Thurleigh at the time. The 331st and 332nd Squadrons were flying out of Bassingbourn and attached to the 91st BG. The 91st records include some info concerning the 94th attached Squadrons, but I have been unable to attain any info from the 306th Bomb Group concerning the attached 94th Squadrons.
     I have the 8th AAF mission report covering the 21 May 1943 mission by the 8th AAF if you are interested. Email me and I will send it to you. (The report is courtesy of Helynn of the 95th BG). I have to give credit where it is due, regards, Marc
      

Hi Marc
 
Thanks for the details on Lt. Lerg.
 
Hopefully somebody connected to the 306th BG will see this and will be able to help with information regarding the 333rd and 410th BS's time at Thurleigh. Although their time with the 306th BG was short, about one month, there must be information in their records?
 
Regards
 
Chris.

Chris,
 
Just to close the loop regarding 42-3031 here is the entry from Bits & Pieces regarding that aircraft.  Unfortunately there is no mention of Lt McCown.  Went down July 26, 1943.  91st BG.
 
     42-3031  MACR 201       P      Lt James W. Randall             POW       East Rockaway, NY
                                            CP    2Lt Vernon O. Brack              POW       Otis, KS
                                            N      2Lt George M. Guy                KIA         Signal Mountain, TN
                                            B      2Lt Robert G. Cadilek             KIA         New York, NY
                                           TT     T/Sgt George A. Johnson       POW       Chicago, IL
                                           RO   T/Sgt John E. Monahan           KIA         Mt Pleasant, PA
                                           BT    S/Sgt Robert L. Oyler               KIA         Deyoung, PA
                                           LW   S/Sgt David V. Ramsey            POW       Burgettstown, PA
                                           RW   S/Sgt Byron L. Brunty               POW       Carbondale, IL
                                           TG    S/Sgt Charles F. Murray           POW        Utica, NY
 
Hal

Hi Hal
 
Thanks for the details on B-17F 42-3031 and the Lt. Randall crew.
 
Lt. McCown's crew were one of the original 94th BG crews deployed to England in April 1943. Although Lt. McCown was flying a 91st BG aircraft on May 21st 1943 the whole crew were from the 94th BG.
 
Regards
 
Chris.