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Crew Loading List for the Mission to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany - 04/24/44

One of the Crew Loading list pages for the April 24, 1944 mission to Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. The Clayton crew (#143) is listed as flying ship No. 775 (see below). This aircraft was B-17G-10-DL, Ser. No. 42-37785, (SU+N) "Little Barney". Togglier T/Sgt. Robert C. Corpening replaced bombardier 2nd Lt. Dick Dolf after he was wounded on the January 30, 1944 mission to Brunswick, Germany. Radio operator T/Sgt. Alan Purdy had replaced T/Sgt. Miles Lisenby after he had been grounded due to a knee injury in February, 1944. On this mission S/Sgt. Samuel V. Houston filled in for S/Sgt. Frank Cameron on the ball turret position.

The Oberpfaffenhofen mission was a terrible one. Due to in great measure to poor execution of formation flying, eight 384th B-17s were knocked down.

One of the crews lost was that in ship No. 346, B-17G-15-BO, Ser. No. 42-31346, (SU+Q) "Shack Rabbit", piloted by 1st Lt. Walter L. Harvey (see below). Lt. Harvey oriented the Clayton crew (minus Lt. Jackson) to the ETO for their first 5 combat missions. He also picked them up at a fighter base on the coast of England after they landed there short of Grafton Underwood in a badly damaged B-17.

After being shot down, Lt. Harvey evaded the Germans (with the help of the French Underground) in occupied France for several months before he made it back to England. Four of his crew were captured. The rest also evaded the Germans.

Another of the crews flying the mission and on this page was that of 1st Lt. James E. Foster (Crew #145) flying in ship No. 775, B-17G-15-BO, Ser. No. 42-31346, (SU+Q) "Shack Rabbit", (see below). This crew, along with Clayton navigator Lt. Uniszkiwieciz and bombardier, T/Sgt. Corpening, were killed on the May 8th mission to Sottevast, France.

Source: National Archives via Ben Bennett

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