Sneezy/Sleepy/The Squaw
Hi all-
Trying to sort out some planes involved in the 1 Aug 1943 Tidal Wave.
In 98th 45 sortie reports are on history. In Col Kane's diagram published by Dugan and Stewart in Ploesti, there are 48 pilots listed.
One discrepancy is a missing sortie report to cover S/N 41-11768 "Kickapoo" piloted by Nespor. Since it turned back at take off and crashed at the field, guess no need for sortie report.
Another is a pilot listed as Haverty in Kane's diagram, showing him in Flight Five with- McGuire, Deeds, Weisler, Taylor, Colchgoff, Mc Graw, and Sulflow. When Michael Hill reproduces this same diagram from Col Kane for "Bloody Sunday" he left this pilot off the list intirely.
The third discrepancy is most confusing. There is no sortie report for pilot Don Johnson, who according to Michael Hill was flying Sneezy- S/N 41-23795, in Flight Three. There is a sortie report for this S/N, but it is for pilot Royden LeBrecht, who according to Hill should have been flying S/N 41-11761 (The Squaw, apparently formerly Sleepy). No sortie report shows up in the history for the S/N 41-11761, on 1 Aug 1943.
According to Wallace Forman's "B-24 Nose Art Name Directory" the 98th BG had two planes named The Squaw, S/N 41-11761 & 41-23795, both in the 344th BS. He also shows two Sneezys one with no serial number listed in an unidentified BS and one in 343 BS S/N 41-23795. The 98 BG also had one Sleepy, S/N 41-11761 listed by Forman as 344 BS.
I show LeBrecht in the 344th and Don Johnson in the 343rd on other sortie reports.
Did both LeBrecht and Johnson fly in the raid? Does anyone have info on which planes- serial numbers they where in?
jean
in Tucson
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