The final flight of B-17 tail # 42-6133 and her ten crewmembers on April 8th and 9th, 1945

====================================================================

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 – Piercing the night sky, a sudden fireball erupts in the Cherokee National Forest just east of the town of Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

Chapter 2 – Sunday afternoon, April 8th, 1945 at Keesler Army Air Field, about 500 miles south of Tellico Plains, Tennnessee

Chapter 3 – The Keesler AAF Emergency Rescue School

Chapter 4 – The “Henkel” flight crew

Chapter 5 – The Airplane, a TB-17 F, Tail Number 43-6133

Chapter 6 – The Mission Begins

Chapter 7 – Enroute November 8, 1945

Chapter 8 – The Crash

Chapter 9 – Aftermath and present day

Chapter 10 – References, sources, and credits

====================================================================

Chapter 1 – Piercing the night sky, a sudden fireball erupts in the Cherokee National Forest just east of the town of Tellico Plains, Tennessee.

But this tranquil scene was soon disturbed by a low, vibrating rumble emanating from the skies to the south. The steady drone of powerful military aircraft engines arose from the darkness and upset the stillness and silence. The reverberation and echo of the engines were foreign to the natural sounds found there. Mesmerizing, the engine sounds grew louder and signaled the arrival of a mechanical flying beast in the area.

The trespassing, foreign sound slowly grew in intensity and echoed loudly in the valleys below. Suddenly, a catastrophic explosion and a bright flash of light signaled the end of this interloper in the Tellico wilderness. A large ball of fire burned brightly for a few moments then slowly turned into a quivering burning mass on a lonely desolate mountain top. The only noise now was the sound of the flickering flames consuming the mechanical bird and its surroundings. Over 500 gallons of high-octane aviation gas fed the fire, igniting the trees and brush on the forest floor.

As the fire raged on, it was not long before someone noticed it. Despite being in a remote area, the fire lookout tower on Waucheesi mountain, located ten miles west of the blaze, had an experienced lookout man, R.O. Radford, who was vigilant in his duties. He quickly spotted the fire and tried to understand what was happening while staring at the light for a moment. The sky was clear and no thunderstorms and the accompanying lightning were present. Lightening was the primary cause of fires in the area, along with human sources. Still wondering what had caused the fire, his extensive training kicked in and he immediately took action. Using his alidade, a round, flat table with movable sights, he swung it in the direction of the light and was able to locate the fire’s exact location: zero seven six (076) degrees. To verify the fire’s position, he contacted the Hemlock Knob fire tower, which was about 10 miles northeast of his tower, to report the fire and help coordinate the necessary actions to combat it.

The lookout at Hemlock Knob had also probably noted the explosion and was watching the fire burn on the mountain four mile south east of him. Using his alidade, he established a bearing of 142 degrees to burning mass from Hemlock Knob. Quickly plotting the two bearings on their charts, they noted the intersection of the lines that marked the location of the fire – Whigg Ridge.

Following protocol, their headquarters at the Tellico Ranger Station was notified. Located at the old Chickasaw CCC camp on the Tellico River, the ranger station was about 5 miles east of the town of Tellico on the Tellico River road. The station dispatcher awoke the standby fire crew and filled them in on the details. Whigg Ridge was only 10 miles away from the station as the crow flies, but the mountain roads and darkness would make it about an hour’s drive.

Gravel fire roads had been built 10 years earlier for such a contingency. The fire crew was quickly dispatched in their trucks under the leadership of Ranger Bryce Ledford and headed north on the River Road along the Tellico River.

John Lovin, a Cherokee National Forest Conservation Officer was the first to arrive, arriving on the scene in the early hours of Monday morning, about an hour after they left the Tellico Ranger Station. According to newspaper reports, he found about a whole acre of woods on fire.

“We’d been at work fighting the blaze and raking fire-break lines for quite a spell before we began coming on metal pieces of the airship. That’s the first inkling we had of a plane crash”.

Ranger Bryce Ledford arrived shortly afterwards with more fire fighters. He stated the the plane was “burning fiercely, that it was impossible to approach it closely.” “Finally, we worked our way to the bodies. We played water around them with the pack-pumps on our backs, and were able to keep them from burning further. Before long we had the fire out”.

====================================================================

Chapter 2 – Sunday afternoon, April 8th, 1945 at Keesler Army Air Field, about 500 miles south of Tellico Plains, Tennnessee

Sunday April 8, 1945

500 miles to the south . . . .

Keesler Army Air Field

3704th AAF Base Unit, Emergency Rescue School, Sunday, April 8, 1945. 1930 hours (7:30 pm CWT) Night Celestial Training Mission Briefing

It was a cool 65-degree, muggy Sunday night on the coastal Mississippi training base of Keesler Army Air Field. The weather was still mild, with the muggy summer weather a few months away. The new B-17 Air-Sea Rescue crews had been there since January 1945, undergoing intense ground and flight training to become combat-qualified Army Air Force Air Sea Rescue crews. Even with the war coming to a close in the European theater, there was no reduction in the intensity of training. Okinawa had just been invaded by the United States on April 1, 1945, and heavy fighting was ongoing. Several Air Sea Rescue squadrons were being stood up in the Philippines and on Iwo Jima to support the B29 bombers striking Japan. And the squadrons needed replacements.

Large B19 Superfortress bombers were flying long overwater bombing missions from the Guam area to mainland Japan. Iwo Jima, invaded in February 1945, was still being prepared as a base of operation for escort fighters and emergency B29 landings. And the B29s were still ditching in the open sea after sustaining battle damage or mechanical difficulties.

The invasion of mainland Japan, Operation Downfall, was in the planning stage for November of 1945. Massive amounts of men and material had to be prepared. So, it was at the stateside base of Keesler AAF, Biloxi, Mississippi, one of many, where the men who would play a big part in the mainland Japan invasion, were being trained to provide an Air-Sea Rescue service.

On Sunday afternoon of 8 April 1945, four new SB-17 crews in training to fly the new lifeboat carrying B17, report to duty for a Night Celestial Training flight. Ten new, nine-man crews started the Emergency Rescue School course on February 26, 1945 as Class 45-3. Four of these crews would be flying tonight to provide their new navigators more experience in navigating by the stars, known as celestial navigation. They were all scheduled to deploy overseas in late April to join the Emergency Rescue Squadrons already in place in the Pacific. Celestial navigation was an important skill that the four newly trained navigators had to be competent in, for they alone would be guiding their aircraft across the expansive Pacific ocean. Normally, night celestial training missions were over the Gulf of Mexico. This route would allow them more freedom as to where to go and less conflict with other aircraft. Also, terrain clearance was not a factor over the Gulf as there was none. However, that night the route over the Gulf of Mexico was abandoned after talking to the weather officer. Excessive cloudiness would prevent the navigators from seeing the stars. With a high pressure system centered over Virginia, the best route was determined to be to the northeast, in the direction of Atlanta. Thus the decision was made to fly the mission in that direction.

====================================================================

Chapter 3 – The Keesler AAF Emergency Rescue School

The first organized air rescue training was at Hamilton Field, California. It later moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where the First Emergency Rescue Squadron was trained. Air-sea rescue training was organized into two separate courses, Flight training (OA-10 aircraft) and Marine training (Rescue Boats). Each would be composed of two phases, Ground instruction and Flying/boat training.

On March 16, 1944, the Provisional Army Air Forces Rescue Training School was established at Gulfport Field under the 1063rd Basic Flying Training squadron and the 1007th Quartermaster Rescue Boat, OTU (Avn). On April 1, 1944, they were transferred to Keesler AAF. A week later, on April 7, 1944, they both became part of the new 2121st Army Air Forces Base Unit (Provisional Emergency Rescue School)

The Provisional Rescue Training School under the 2121 AAFBU established its headquarters in Hangar 1 on Keesler AAF where it managed both the air and marine training. While the air training was conducted from Keesler, the marine training continued to be conducted at Gulfport Field and the East Pier, Gulfport, Mississippi.

On Jun 9, 1944, the Provisional designation was removed when it was confirmed that the Emergency Rescue School would remain at Keesler.

As of 1 July, the 2121 AAFBU had 1654 men assigned while Keesler AFB, including the 2121, had a total of 23,671 men assigned., mainly in the Basic Training Center and the Technical School where aircraft mechanics were trained. Effective 31 July 1944, the 2121 AAFBU was disbanded and the 3704th AAF Base Unit, under the Western Training Command took over its men and equipment. The Emergency Rescue School was placed on the same status as the Technical School and the Basic Training Center in the 3704 AAF Base Unit. It would report to the 3704 AAFBU Deputy for Training and Operations, but its daily operation and training mission would be accomplished by its own officers.

Colonel John F. Guillett, the former Commanding Officer of the 2121st AAF Base Unit was briefly reassigned as the Director of the Emergency Rescue School on August 1, 1944. However, Col Guillett was placed on unassigned status and Major Robert L. Rizon was officially assigned as Director, Air-Sea Rescue Training on August 3, 1944. By August 30, 1944, the Emergency Rescue School had 422 men assigned to the Air section and 513 assigned to the Marine section, with a total Keesler population of 20,862.

MARINE TRAINING

 Prior to WWII training rescue boat crews was left to the appropriate theater commands and often base commanders. In 1941 a rescue boat school was operated on Lake Ponchatrain at the old New Orleans Yacht Club, organized under the 1007th Quartermaster Rescue Boat Overseas Training Unit under the Air Quartermaster. Early on instruction was very informal and was dependent on the skipper.  Later the Quartermaster Corps contracted with the Higgins Industries to operate a training school at Army Air Base – New Orleans. It was a small base and was not able to support the housing and feeding of the students, nor did it have any classrooms. The school was established in the spring of 1943 and was known as the Higgins Eureka Motor Boat Operators and Marine Engine Maintenance School. Andrew Higgins built tens of thousands of wooden boats, mostly landing craft during the war, and soon had the school operational.

 Students there were assigned to the 1007^th QM Boat Company as a training unit. Later, the 1001^st QM Boat Co. was activated, also at New Orleans Army Air Base. The courses included basic and advanced marine engines, celestial navigation, and advanced piloting, and small boat handling. The first class graduated July 27, 1943 and was deployed wherever needed to fill vacancies in crash boat units in all theaters. Late in 1943 all Quartermaster Corps rescue-boat activities were reassigned to the AAF, and the Training Command assumed responsibility for individual training for Emergency Rescue Boat operations.

 The Army Air Force moved the New Orleans training school to the rescue boat facility located at Keesler Field at Ocean Springs, MS in early 1944, which also based the Aircrew Training Branch, forming the AAF Emergency Rescue School.  In addition, the mission of the small local boat base was to rescue downed aviators, tow targets, and patrol bombing ranges in the Mississippi Sound and Gulf of Mexico. 

The school was manned by personnel of the Gulfport Army Air Field at Gulfport, Mississippi.  The aircrews were trained at Keesler Field while the air sea rescue boat crews were trained at Gulfport, MS. The change in responsibility, though not at the instance of AAF Headquarters, was in keeping with its doctrine that airmen should have full control of resources used in emergency rescue. Each boat crew member was given training specific to his duties in addition to a 144 hour  core curriculum in seamanship, ship and aircraft recognition, rescue procedures, decontamination, and sanitation. The availability of serviceable boats for training was a problem throughout the war. In August of 1944 small boat training, less than 63 ft. was discontinued but training of 63 and 85 crews continued. All  training of boat crews was discontinued late in October, 1944 but in its short life the school graduated 95 boat crews. Training for SB-17 crew in the use of droppable lifeboats commenced in December 1944, the first eight crews graduated at the end of February, 1945. This reflected the thinking that the droppable boats would largely replace the crash rescue boats in the future.

The Crash Boat Base at Ocean Springs was under the Supply and Maintenance Sector of Gulfport Army Air Field (Gulfport AAF).  This Army Air Corps facility was erected on a 1200-acre lease near the Gulfport airfield, commencing in May 1942.  By September 1942, potential airplane mechanics began classes in tent schools.  The 3rd Air Force then took command of the facility and  made it a  training  center for heavy bombers, B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses.  Toward the end of WW II, B-29 Super Fortress combat crews trained there.

The US Army Air Corps Crash Boat Base at Ocean Springs was called Main Base and the other air-sea rescue boat sites under the authority of Gulfport AAF, called Sub-Bases, were situated at Municipal Field, New Orleans; Brookley Field, Mobile, Alabama; and the Old Gulfport Yacht Club Pier, Gulfport, Mississippi.  In September of 1944, there were a total of 60 boats of all types available for crew training but about 20 were out of commission.  In December 1944, there were five boats assigned to the Ocean Springs base.  They were as follows: 

P-236, a 104-foot  Rescue Boat; 

P-70, an 83-foot Rescue Boat; 

P-726, a 63-foot Rescue Boat; P-246, an 83-foot Rescue Boat (not operational); and 

P-54, a 42-foot Army Crash Boat (not operational).

Main Base at Ocean Springs was assigned the Mississippi Sound and served as an operations site for crash boats responsible for covering 3rd Bomber Command bombing and gunnery ranges at Freemason Island and Burrwood, Louisiana.  By late 1944, high command at Gulfport AAF desired to consolidate the four crash boat bases to one operational unit at the Old Gulfport Yacht Club Pier.  It was believed that this action would promote maximum efficiency, convenience, and amply protect the Gulfport AAF. Official reports and other information on the Ocean Springs Crash Boat Base are available at the archives of the Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB Alabama. 

At the start of the war, finding officers with any marine experience was especially challenging for the AAF. Most of them went into the Navy, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine. The Army had officers in their other boat operations but they needed those men to grow those other operations. The Army Air Force’s navy was the “red headed stepchild” and desperate for officers with any marine experience. I think they latched on to my father because he was already an officer in the Army reserve, had owned a couple of small race boats and, at the start of the war, had been a member of the Capital Yacht Club.  That was enough marine experience for them at the time.  He went active in 1942 as a 2nd Lieutenant  due to his ROTC experience at Staunton Military Academy and being a University of Virginia graduate. He and was promoted to captain by early 1943 and remained a captain until early 1945 when he was promoted to major, shortly before his temporary duty in the Pacific. Air sea rescue boats were not the career path for advancement for officers either. ( https://www.uscrashboats.org/cpage.php?pt=6 )

On October 27, 1944 all Marine training was cancelled, effective immediately. This had a dramatic affect on the Emergency Rescue School as it affected two thirds of their personnel. At the same time, it became evident that the initiation of training for crews flying aircraft which carried life boats which had been under discussion since August 1944.

AIR TRAINING

Air training was initiated at Keesler Field, Mississippi with the first OA-10 crews in March 1944. Each crew spent from five to six weeks in training, during which flight training was given concurrently with ground instruction. Such factors as weather and aircraft availability affected their training. All ground training was conducted in Hangar 1.

The first tactical group of air crews in operation consisted of three PBYs. Pilots were trained by the US Navy at Pensacola and Jacksonville NAS between March and May of 1943. This group saw 8 months of action in the Mediterranean between June 1943 and February 1944. A total of 56 rescues were performed by them.

Four PBY crews comprised the second tactical group in operations. Pilots received a total of four hours of training under Consolidated Aircraft test pilots in February 1943 and first saw action in the southwest Pacific in August of 1943.

By August 6, 1944, 50 OA-10A aircrews had graduated. Twenty four crews had already been transferred overseas while twenty six were still waiting on orders and processing. Twenty nine OA-10A aircrews were in training while there were 52 crews waiting for training. By August 30, 1944 there were 36 OA-10A crews in training and 24 crews waiting on assignment. There was one OA-10A aircrew class of 16 crews scheduled for completion on average every five weeks between Sept 9, 1944 and Dec 9, 1944.

However, problems were arising from a lack of serviceable OA-10A aircraft.

OA-10 aircraft serial numbers assigned to Keesler as of March 5, 1945:

43-43842, 43-43845, 43-43846, 43-43847, 43-43848, 43-43851, 43-43854, 43-43863,

44-33868, 43-33869, 43-33870, 44-33871, 44-33872, 44-33898, 44-33900, 44-33919,

44-33921, 44-33968, 44-33970, 44-33971, 44-33972, 44-33973, 44-33978, 44-33979,

44-33980, 44-33992,44-33996, 44-34002, 44-34025

On July 31, 1944, the units of the 2121st Army Air Forces Base Unit were transferred from the Army Air Forces Eastern Flying Training Command to the 3704th Army Air Forces Base Unit, Western Technical Training Commands.

AIR TRAINING – SB17F

I

On October 1944, the first of 30 specially built lifeboats manufactured by Higgins of New Orleans were received and a tentative syllabi for training aircraft equipped with lifeboats had been written, although the program had not proceeded beyond the preliminary planning stage.

To prepare for the B-17H airborne lifeboat training, the course outline was initially completed on 23 December 1944. It was changed several times, with a new version approved on 25 January 1945 and then a newer one on February 23, 1945. It would consist of eight weeks of training: 48 academic days with 250 hours of ground instruction and 115 hours of flight instruction.

On April 10, 1945, it was shortened to five weeks, with 119 hours of ground instruction and 57 hours of flight instructions. This was a result of feedback from the combat area plus deletion of training that was duplicated elsewhere in the training pipeline.

Aircraft began to be assigned to Keesler for the school and by March 5, 1945, there were 29 OA-10A aircraft available and 15 B-17s assigned to the Emergency Rescue School. Fourteen were used in the training of ERS crews and one B17 was used for pilot proficiency.

B-17 aircraft serial numbers assigned to Keesler AAF as of March 5, 1945:

B-17F: 41-34408, 42-3465, 42-6004

B-17FQ: 42-29755, 42-30108

B-17GQ: 42-39765

TB-17F: 42-5708, 42-5799, 42-6083, 42-6133, 42-29503, 42-30883

TB-17FQ: 41-24440

TB-17G: 41-38147, 42-97598

There was also one C-47 (serial # 41-7745) assigned to the Emergency Rescue School. It was used to check out ERS students in it as the deployed Emergency Rescue Squadrons were also equipped with C-47s.

In April, there were 31 OA-10A aircraft assigned and only 12 B17s

The training syllabus changed rapidly, and the third syllabus came out just 3 days prior to their start. It would consist of approximately 250 hours of ground instructions covering —–

The flying training would consist of approximately 115 flying hours. The pilot and copilot would receive a few additional hours of training. Graduation was scheduled for April 21, 1945. At that time the crew would then proceed to Hunter AAF, GA on April 26, 1945 to pickup the airplane they would fly overseas.

Up until May 2, only one radar equipped B-17 was available. On May 2, 1945 seven B-17Gs equipped with the SCR-717B ground surveillance radar were diverted to Keesler AAF from Hunter AAF, GA to help with this training shortage. (They were diverted from the staging process of moving them to the Pacific.) It was expected that four more B17Gs with the SCR-717B radar would be delivered from Miami by May 30, 1945.

After some discussion, it was decided that all Air-Sea Rescue B-17s and OA-10A aircraft would be equipped with the AN-5851 sextant. This was the name for the Army-Navy A-14 sextant (For more information, go to http://jimsoldtoys.blogspot.com/2011/04/pby-sextant.html)

Chapter 4 – The HENKEL flight crew of TB-17F 42-6133

The crew came from all over the United States. They would consist of a lawyer, a merchant marine, cowboy, college graduate and 18 year old kids just out of high school. They had all come in the Army for a purpose, to help their country in its fight against Germany and Japan. They were all volunteers to join the military also volunteers to become part of an aircrew. They all went through a different set of training rigors and challenges at bases located throughout the United States. And they would go where the Army told them to go, there wasn’t much choice in the matter. “Needs of the service” was a common thread in World War 2 assignments.

And it was their fate that the Army Air Forces needed aircrews to man the new SB-17H. This version of the B-17 bomber would carry an air droppable life boat and would be assigned to one of the Air Sea Rescue Squadrons supporting the 5th, 13th, and 20th Air Forces bomber units in the Pacific region.

So it was at Keesler Army Air Field that they gathered in the first months of 1945 to meet the other members of their new crew. This particular crew, probably part of Emergency Rescue School Class 45-3, formed at Keesler AAF in February 1945 and began formal training on Monday, February 26, 1945. They would begin flying together under the command of their aircraft commander, 2Lt Richard C Henkel, and would be known as “Henkel’s crew”. It was the military’s way to teach teamwork and form the individual’s into a single fighting force. The crew would stay and train together as a crew throughout the 8 weeks of their training at Keesler AAF. After training was completed, they would deploy to the Pacific together to become a combat crew with one of the Emergency Rescue Squadrons already in the Pacific.

---

THE PILOTS

The B-17 is normally assigned two pilots: the Aircraft Commander who would occupy the left seat, and the Copilot, who would occupy the right seat. The aircraft commander was, like the name implies, the commander of the aircraft, much like a ship’s captain. He is ultimately responsible for its operation and the performance of the crew. The copilot would assist the aircraft commander in flying the aircraft. His distinction as a copilot was likely the random result of the Army needing copilots more than aircraft commanders at the time. He would later move over to the left seat and command a crew of his own.

Most pilots in WW2 went through a seven month long Aviation Cadet Program that consisted of four programs: Preflight, Primary, Basic, and Advanced.

(During the first years of the war, the Army Air Force would initially assign their new flying candidates to a college under what was know as the Air Crew Training Program (1943-1944) . Under the guise of improving a cadet’s academic knowledge, it’s main purpose was to hold the candidates in a pool to keep them from being drafted into other branches.)

Preflight Training: Preflight was generally 10 weeks, with one half the time involving coursework such as military customs, law, theory of flight, navigation, Morse code, aircraft and naval recognition, math, physics, and chart interpretation, and the other half of the time involving outdoor military training, such as shooting .45 caliber pistols, .30 caliber carbines and Thompson submachine guns.

Primary Pilot Training: This was the first time the trainees would get into an airplane (unless they had gone through the college program). There were 62 civilian owned flying schools in the United States that taught 1.4 million Army Air Force pilots to fly. It would consist of 60 to 65 hours in a Stearman, Ryan, or Fairchild aircraft and would normally run 9 weeks.

Basic Pilot Training: This was normally done at a different airfield and also lasted about 9 weeks. The cadets would get around 60-70 flight hours in BT-9 or BT-13 aircraft. Skills learned would be formation flying, instrument flying, navigation, cross-country flying, and night flying. It was here where they would be classified as either single-engine pilots (fighters) or multi-engine aircraft pilots. (Bomber, Transports)

Advanced Pilot Training: Again the cadets were transferred to a new base where they would undergo 75 to 80 more hours of flying. Fighter pilots would fly the AT-6 and the multi-engine pilots would learn to fly an AT9, AT-10, AT-11, or AT-17. It was here that they would get their pilot wings and become officers (Second Lieutenants)

Transition Pilot Training: Here the newly minted pilots would receive their aircraft specific training, in this case, the B-17.

Aircraft Commander

2Lt Richard Charles Henkel

2Lt Richard Charles Henkel, 27, Service #0-1633270 {Enlisted # 32048674}, was from the Albany, New York area. 2Lt Richard Charles Henkel would be in command of the crew and occupy the crew position of Aircraft Commander, sitting in the left seat.

Born on 22 October 1918 in New York to Walter F. Henkel and Minnie W. Henkel. His grandfather, ________, was born in Germany. His Grandmother, __________ , was born in Ireland. The 1930 US census listed him living with his parents at 107 Adams Place, Bethlehem, Albany, New York. His father worked for the telephone company as an engineer. A younger brother, Robert L. Henkel, 6 years old in 1930, lived with him.

He joined the US Army on May 16, 1941 in Albany, New York as a single enlisted man under the Clerks, General Office classification.

At some time after his enlistment, he would marry Elizabeth Ann ___.

He was accepted into Officer Candidate School and became a 2Lt in the US Army Signal Corp, in which he worked for less than 2 years. He applied for pilot training and was accepted.

Between September 1943 through November 1943, he attended Primary Pilot Training at Santa Maria, California.

Lt Henkel attended his Basic Pilot Training in Chico, California during November and December of 1944.

January through February 1944 saw him attending Advanced Pilot training at Ft Sumner, New Mexico as a member of Class 44-C. It was here that he was awarded his pilot wings on March 12, 1944.

It was not until October, 1944 that he would begin his Transition training at Hobbs AAF, New Mexico, in the B-17. He completed the training sometime in early 1945 and would go directly to Keesler AAF to begin training in the Emergency Air Rescue course. He had a total of 189 flying hours as pilot in command, with 42.10 hours in the B-17, with 10 hours of night time in the last six months.

On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable.

---

Copilot

2Lt Carl Edward Lehnhardt

2Lt Carl Edward Lehnhardt, 27, Service # 0-2092152. The copilot, sitting in the right pilot seat, was 2Lt Carl Edward Lehnhardt from Santa Ana, California. Married, he had left a new wife and child in California. He would assist 1Lt Henkel in controlling the aircraft and communications with the ground controllers.

He attended Santa Ana High School and Santa Ana Junior College. He was married to Pearl Elva (Worthy) on Aug 30, 1940. He registered for the draft on Oct 16, 1940 and was employed at the Southern Counties Gas Co.

I have not found any information on his training up until his arrival at Keesler, but it was probably very similar to Lt Henkel’s.

---

Navigator

2Lt Walter Warren Foley, Jr.

The Henkel crew’s navigator was 28 year old and was from Massachusetts.

2Lt Walter Warrren Foley, Jr, 27, Service # O-2065144, was from Boston, Massachusetts. He was born July 6, 1916 in Jamaica Plain (Boston). His father was the assistant Boston city treasurer. He graduated from Public Latin School in Boston in June of 1933.

Lt Foley was a graduate of Holy Cross in June 1937. He then attended Georgetown University Law School and was admitted to the New York bara June 18, 1941. He began working as a lawyer with the Boston law office of Bernard J. Killion, and then worked with the FBI for two years. He joined the Army Air Force in 1944. He had two brothers who were in the military in the Pacific theater. The additional celestial navigation training was necessary as the new navigators did not receive that much celestial navigation training in basic navigation school. It would be needed flying over the vast ocean of the Pacific. His crew position had him sitting in the nose of the aircraft.

---

Flight Engineer

SSgt Edwin R. Bill

The flight engineer’s crew position is directly behind the pilot and copilot. He must work closely with the copilot, checking engine operation, fuel consumption, and the operation of all equipment. Once airborne, he will monitor the engine instruments for operation, adjust mixture, manifold pressure, etc, in coordination with the pilot to maintain the desired engine output. He monitors the fuel and oil gauges and transfers fuel as needed. He also mans the top gun turret.

SSgt Edwin R. Bill, 29, Service # 32021101, was born on August 13, 1915 in Sag Harbor, New York and was a descendant of whaling captains. He was the oldest and the most experienced crewmember on board that night. He graduated from the Pierson High School in 1931. He worked at the Sag Harbor Screw Company, then the Civilian Conservations Corps in Bridgehampton, NY,. He later joined the Merchant Marines as a crewmember on the SS El Alquin, sailing between New York, Miami, and Galveston., On October 16, 1940 he registered for the draft and then went on active duty with the Army on 2 September 1941, about three months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

He volunteered for the Air Corps and on 17 May 1943, he was sent to aerial gunnery school at Luke AAF in Arizona, where he joined 312 other trainees in Gunnery class 43-26, B-1. Here he learned how to operate, maintain, and shoot the .50 caliber machine gun. He completed the five week course on Monday, June 28, 1943. A total of around 45,000 men were trained to be aerial gunners in World War 2.

He arrived in England a few months after than and found himself assigned to the 327th Bomber Squadron of the 92nd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force at Poddington Airfield, England.

He flew some of the most dangerous missions over Germany: Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, and Leipzig. He had several “close call”, including surviving a crash landing in his damaged B17 in which four other crewmembers were killed. he also made multiple flights ove the English channel to drop D-Day supplies during the Normandy invasion. In total, he spent 18 months in England and flew a total of 38 missions.

Normally, the B-17 crewmembers would be sent home after flying 25 missions. But, SSgt Bill had met a Scottish nurse, Frances, who he married on September 1, 1944, and volunteered to fly an additional 13 missions.

The plan was that he would take the assignment to go to the Pacific to rescue downed airmen and his pregnant wife would follow and live with his parents in Sag Harbor until he returned. His decorations include the Distinguised Flying Cross, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, and two Bronze Stars.

In January 1945, he was assigned to Squadron K, 3704th AAF Base Unit, Western Tactical Training Command, at Keesler AAF where he became a Flight Engineer.

---

Radio Operator

Corporal Raymond S. Contino

Cpl Raymond S. Contino, 19, Service # 16187384, was from Chicago, Illinois. He was born on Nov 18, 1925. On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable)

Radar Operator

Corporal John Frederick Stair

Corporal John Frederick Stair, 19, Service # 19132008, was from Los Angeles, California. He was born on August 3, 1924

The Air-Sea Rescue B-17s were equipped with the AN/AD-13 Search radar.

Training for Search Radar Observer were started in October 1943 at Boca Raton AAF. Students were selected from graduates of the standard radio-operator mechanic courses. The radar training for these men consisted of five weeks of practice in operation and first echelon maintenance of the radar.

(On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable)

Gunners/Searchers

Corporal Wesley J. Eaton

Corporal Wesley J. Eaton, 20, Left Gunner/Searcher, Service # 36867276, was from Illinois. He was born on March 12, 1924

He was sent to Jefferson Barracks, MO, for basic training and then to Center college, Danville, KY, for cadet training, graduating March 4, 1944.

He transferred to air mechanics and was sent for training to San Antonio, TX. Further training was given him at Eagle Pass, TX where he graduated October 22, 1944.

From there he went to Kingman Field, Arizona for aerial gunnery training, where he graduated January 1, 1945, with a corporal’s rating.

(On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable)

Corporal John J. Fortune, Jr.

Corporal John J. Fortune, Jr, 21, Right Searcher, Service # 38553330, was from Sequin, Texas, a small town just east of San Antonio. TX. He was born March 7, 1924. He registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, shortly after he turned 18 and got a job on Randolph Field in San Antonio as a carpenter helper. He enlisted at Fort Sam Houston, Tx on June 24, 1943 at the age of 19.

(On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable)

Corporal Fred Hoff, Jr

Corporal Fred Hoff, Jr, 19, Tail Gunner, Service # 16197107, was from Chicago, Illinois. He was born on February 25, 1926

(On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St Louis, Missouri destroyed most of the Army’s WW2 personnel records. His records were unavailable)

---

INSTRUCTOR NAVIGATOR: 1Lt David K. Croker

1Lt David K. Croker, 28, Service # O-673784 (Enlisted # 12053993), was from New Jersey. He was born on November 4, 1916. He graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ in 1934 and went to work as a claim clerk with the Public Service Company of Newark NJ in May of 1934. In June of 1940, he was promoted and became a Claims Investigator and Adjuster for them. With the advent of the United States entering World War 2 in December, 1941, Lt Croker applied on January 20, 1942 for an appointment as a Flying Cadet with the US Army. The Aviation Cadet Examining Board met in Newark, NJ, on February 2, 1942 and recommended he be appointed as an Aviation Cadet in the US Army. Shortly afterwards, he received his orders to report to Kelly Field Texas not later than April 23, 1942.

He spent 1 1/2 months at Kelly Field attending Preflight training and graduated in June 1942.

He was then moved to the to the 305th AAF Flying Training Detachment at Garner Field in the town of Uvalde, Texas, about 65 miles west of San Antonio. Here, he began the first step in becoming a pilot, flying the basic trainer PT-19A with civilian contract instructors. However, after about 10 hours of flying instruction, he was unable to meet their requirements for solo and was eliminated from pilot training on July 25, 1942. He was offered training to be either Navigator or Bombardier training, and he accepted transfer to Ellington Field, Texas for Preflight training as a Navigator.

He was then transferred to Ellington Field, Texas to begin the Preflight training as a navigator and was assigned to Class 43-2 N. He reported on August 2, 1942 and completed it on October 5, 1942. At that time, the AAFs needed bombardiers and then transferred him to Webb AAF in Big Spring, Texas in January, 1943 for training as a bombardier. He joined his class of other men there in Class No 43-4. He flew 80 3/4 hours in training there and completed a total of 124 bomb releases for a final circular error score of 267. On March 11, 1943, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, US Army Air Forces, and was designated as a rated Aircraft Observer, (Bombardier). Then, the AAF needed more navigators and it was decided to sent him back to navigation school to complete his training as navigator.

He was subsequently transferred to AAF Navigation School, San Marcos, Tx, reporting not later than March 13, 1943 for Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation training in Class 43-10. During this training he was married to Mary M. MacIachlen. He flew a total of 110.8 hours in training and graduated on July 15, 1943 and was awarded the additional rating of Aircraft Observer (Navigator). He initially received order to then proceed to the 396th Bomb Group at Moses lake, Washington. It was a training unit for B-17 crews going overseas. But, the orders were cancelled.

He remained at San Marcos as a Navigator instructor with the 1152nd Navigator Training Squadron. On July 8, 1943, he injured his left eye in boating accident while visiting a friend in San Antonio, TX and was grounded for 10 days.

On April 29, 1944, he was reassigned to the Emergency Rescue School, Marine Section B-1 of the 2121 AAF Base Unit, Keesler AAF, MS. While there, he instructed crewmembers of the rescue boat section in navigation. In November of 1944, the marine section of the Emergency Rescue School was eliminated and he awaited further assignment with no duty assigned.

As a matter of interest, he received his semi-annual Efficiency Report on December 31, 1994 from his commander, Major Charles W. Eliason, Director of Marine Training. Major Eliason described him as follows: “This officer is conscientious, intelligent, and energetic. He has a youthful tendency toward being somewhat officious and pedantic, but his thorough skill in his technique (air and marine navigation) and his vigorous performance of duty make him a valuable subordinate and instructor”.

He was briefly assigned as a Mess Officer for a week in January before being assigned as a Navigation Instructor on January 22, 1945 with the new B-17 section of the Emergency Rescue School. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on March 7, 1945.

---

Chapter 5 – The aircraft, a TB-17F FLYING FORTRESS

Duties and responsibilities of each B-17 crew position per the 1943 B-17 Pilot Training Manual

1) Pilot/Airplane Commander: Your assignment to the B-17 airplane means that you are no longer just a pilot. You are now an airplane commander, charged with all the duties and responsibilities of a command post.

You are now flying a 10-man weapon. It is your airplane, and your crew. You are responsible for the safety and efficiency of the crew at all times–not just when you are flying and fighting, but for the full 24 hours of every day while you are in command.

Your crew is made up of specialists. Each man — whether he is the navigator, bombardier, engineer, radio operator, or one of the gunners — is an expert in his line. But how well he does his job, and how efficiently he plays his part as a member of your combat team, will depend to a great extent on how well you play your own part as the airplane commander.

Get to know each member of your crew as an individual. Know his personal idiosyncrasies, his capabilities, his shortcomings. Take a personal interest in his problems, his ambitions, his need for specific training.

See that your men are properly quartered, clothed, and fed. There will be many times, when your airplane and crew are away from the home base, when you may even have to carry your interest to the extent of financing them yourself. Remember always that you are the commanding officer of a miniature army — a specialized army; and that morale is one of the biggest problems for the commander of any army, large or small.

Crew Discipline

Your success as the airplane commander will depend in a large measure on the respect, confidence, and trust which the crew feels for you. It will depend also on how well you maintain crew discipline.

Your position commands obedience and respect. This does not mean that you have to be stiff-necked, overbearing, or aloof. Such characteristics most certainly will defeat your purpose. Be friendly, understanding, but firm. Know your job; and, by the way you perform your duties daily, impress upon the crew that you do know your job. Keep close to your men, and let them realize that their interests are uppermost in your mind. Make fair decisions, after due consideration of all the facts involved; but make them in such a way as to impress upon your crew that your decisions are to stick. Crew discipline is vitally important, but it need not be as difficult a problem as it sounds. Good discipline in an air crew breeds comradeship and high morale, and the combination is unbeatable.

You can be a good CO, and still be a regular guy. You can command respect from your men, and still be one of them.

“To associate discipline with informality, comradeship, a leveling of rank, and at times a shift in actual command away from the leader, may seem paradoxical,” says a brigadier general, formerly a Group commander in the VIII Bomber Command. “Certainly, it isn’t down the military groove. But it is discipline just the same — and the kind of discipline that brings success in the air.”

Crew Training

Train your crew as a team. Keep abreast of their training. It won’t be possible for you to follow each man’s courses of instruction, but you can keep a close check on his record and progress.

Get to know each man’s duties and problems. Know his job, and try to devise ways and means of helping him to perform it more efficiently.

Each crew member naturally feels great pride in the importance of his particular specialty. You can help him to develop his pride to include the manner in which he performs that duty. To do that you must possess and maintain a thorough knowledge of each man’s job and the problems he has to deal with in the performance of his duties.

2) Copilot: The copilot is the executive officer — your chief assistant, understudy, and strong right arm. He must be familiar enough with every one of your duties — both as pilot and as airplane commander — to be able to take over and act in your place at any time.

• He must he able to fly the airplane under all conditions as well as you would fly it yourself.
• He must he extremely proficient in engine operation, and know instinctively what to do to keep the airplane flying smoothly even though he is not handling the controls.
• He must have a thorough knowledge of cruising control data, and know how to apply it at the proper time.
• He is also the engineering officer aboard the airplane, and maintains a complete log of performance data.
• He must be a qualified instrument pilot.
• He must he able to fly good formation in any assigned position, day or night.
• He must he qualified to navigate by day or at night by pilotage, dead reckoning, and by use of radio aids.
• He must be proficient in the operation of all radio equipment located in the pilot’s compartment.
• In formation flying, he must be able to make engine adjustments almost automatically.
• He must be prepared to take over on instruments when the formation is climbing through an overcast, thus enabling you to watch the rest of the formation.

Always remember that the copilot is a fully trained, rated pilot just like yourself. He is subordinate to you only by virtue of your position as the airplane commander. The B-17 is a lot of airplane; more airplane than any one pilot can handle alone over a long period of time. Therefore, you have been provided with a second pilot who will share the duties of flight operation.

Treat your copilot as a brother pilot. Remember that the more proficient he is as a pilot, the more efficiently he will be able to perform the duties of the vital post he holds as your second in command.

Be sure that he is allowed to do his share of the flying, in the pilot’s seat, on takeoffs, landings, and on instruments.

The importance of the copilot is eloquently testified to by airplane commanders overseas. There have been many cases in which the pilot has been disabled or killed in flight and the copilot has taken full command of both airplane and crew, completed the mission, and returned safely to the home base. Usually, the copilots who have distinguished themselves under such conditions have been copilots who have been respected and trained by the airplane commander as pilots.

Bear in mind that the pilot in the right-hand seat of your airplane is preparing himself for an airplane commander’s post too. Allow him every chance to develop his ability and to profit by your experience.

3) Navigator: The navigator’s job is to direct your flight from departure to destination and return. He must know the exact position of the airplane at all times.

Navigation is the art of determining geographic positions by means of (a) pilotage, (b) dead reckoning, (c) radio, or (d) celestial navigation, or any combination of these 4 methods. By any one or combination of methods the navigator determines the position of the airplane in relation to the earth.

Pilotage: Pilotage is the method of determining the airplane’s position by visual reference to the ground. The importance of accurate pilotage cannot over-emphasized. In combat navigation, all bombing targets are approached by pilotage, and in many theaters the route is maintained by pilotage. This requires not merely the vicinity type, but pin-point pilotage. The exact position of the airplane must be known not within 5 miles but within ¼ of a mile.

The navigator does this by constant reference to groundspeeds and ETA’s established for points ahead, the ground, and to his maps and charts. During the mission, so long as he can maintain visual contact with the ground, the navigator can establish these pin-point positions so that the exact track of the airplane will be known when the mission is completed.

Dead Reckoning: Dead reckoning is the basis of all other types of navigation. For instance, if the navigator is doing pilotage and computes ETA’s for points ahead, he is using dead reckoning.

Dead reckoning determines the position of the airplane at any given time by keeping an account of the track and distance flown over the earth’s surface from the point of departure or last known posi tion.

Dead reckoning can be subdivided into two classes:

1. Dead reckoning as a result of a series of known positions obtained by some other means of navigation.For example, you, as pilot, start on a mission from London to Berlin at 25,000 feet. For the first hour your navigator keeps track by pilotage; at the same time recording the heading and airspeed which you are holding. According to plan, at the end of the first hour the airplane goes above the clouds, thus losing contact with the ground. By means of dead reckoning from his last pilotage point, the navigator is able to tell the position of the aircraft at any time. The first hour’s travel has given him the wind prevalent at altitude, and the track and groundspeed being made. By computing track and distance from the last pilotage point, he can always tell the position of the airplane. When your airplane comes out of the clouds near Berlin, the navigator will have a very close approximation of his exact position, and will be able to pick up pilotage points quickly.
2. Dead reckoning as a result of visual references other than pilotage.When flying over water, desert, or barren land, where no reliable pilotage points are available, accurate DR navigation still can be performed. By means of the drift meter the navigator is able to determine drift, the angle between the heading of the airplane and its track over the ground. The true heading of the airplane is obtained by application of compass error to the compass reading. The true heading plus or minus the drift (as read on the drift meter) gives the track of the airplane. At a constant airspeed, drift on 2 or more headings will give the navigator information necessary to obtain the wind by use of his computer. Groundspeed is computed easily once the wind, heading, and airspeed are known. So, by constant recording of true heading, true airspeed, drift, and groundspeed, the navigator is able to determine accurately the position of the airplane at any given time. For greatest accuracy, the pilot must maintain constant courses and airspeeds. If course or airspeed is changed, notify the navigator so he can record these changes.

Radio

Radio navigation makes use of various radio aids to determine position. The development of many new radio devices has increased the use of radio in combat zones. However, the ease with which radio aids can be jammed, or bent, limits the use of radio to that of a check on DR and pilotage. The navigator, in conjunction with the radio man, is responsible for all radio procedures, approaches, etc., that are in effect in the theater.

Celestial

Celestial navigation is the science of determining position by reference to 2 or more celestial bodies. The navigator uses a sextant, accurate time, and many tables to obtain what he calls a line of position. Actually this line is part of a circle on which the altitude of the particular body is constant for that instant of time. An intersection of 2 or more of these lines gives the navigator a fix. These fixes can be relied on as being accurate within approximately 10 miles. One reason for inaccuracy is the instability of the airplane as it moves through space, causing acceleration of the sextant bubble (a level denoting the horizontal). Because of this acceleration, the navigator takes observations over a period of time so that the acceleration error will cancel out to some extent. If the navigator tells the pilot when he wishes to take an observation, extremely careful flying on the part of the pilot during the few minutes it takes to make the observation will result in much greater accuracy. Generally speaking, the only celestial navigation used by a combat crew is during the delivering flight to the theater. But in all cases celestial navigation is used as a check on dead reckoning and pilotage except where celestial is the only method available, such as on long over-water flights, etc.

Instrument Calibration

Instrument calibration is an important duty of the navigator. All navigation depends directly on the accuracy of his instruments. Correct calibration requires close cooperation and extremely careful flying by the pilot. Instruments to be calibrated include the altimeter, all compasses, airspeed indicators, alignment of the astrocompass, astrograph, and drift meter, and check on the navigator’s sextant and watch.

Pilot-Navigator Preflight Planning

1. Pilot and navigator must study flight plan of the route to be flown and select alternate air fields.
2. Study the weather with the navigator. Know what weather you are likely to encounter. Decide what action is to be taken. Know the weather conditions at the alternate airfields.
3. Inform your navigator at what airspeed and altitude you wish to fly so that he can prepare his flight plan.
4. Learn what type of navigation the navigator intends to use: pilotage, dead reckoning, radio, celestial, or a combination of all methods.
5. Determine check points; plan to make radio fixes.
6. Work out an effective communication method with your navigator to be used in flight.
7. Synchronize your watch with your navigator’s.

Pilot-Navigator in Flight

1. Constant course – For accurate navigation, the pilot — you — must fly a constant course. The navigator has many computations and entries to make in his log. Constantly changing course makes his job more difficult. A good navigator is supposed to be able to follow the pilot, but he cannot be taking compass readings all the time.
2. Constant airspeed must be held as nearly as possible. This is as important to the navigator as is a constant course in determining position.
3. Precision flying by the pilot greatly affects the accuracy of the navigator’s instrument readings, particularly celestial readings. A slight error in celestial reading can cause considerable error in determining positions. You can help the navigator by providing as steady a platform as possible from which he can take readings. The navigator should notify you when he intends to take readings so that the airplane can be leveled off and flown as smoothly as possible, preferably by using the automatic pilot. Do not allow your navigator to be disturbed while he is taking celestial readings.
4. Notify the navigator of any change in flight, such as change in altitude, course, or airspeed. If change in flight plan is to be made, consult the navigator. Talk over the proposed change so that he can plan the flight and advise you about it.
5. If there is doubt about the position of the airplane, pilot and navigator should get together, refer to the navigator’s flight log, talk the problem over and decide together the best course of action to take.
6. Check your compasses at intervals with those of the navigator, noting any deviation.
7. Require your navigator to give position reports at intervals.
8. You are ultimately responsible for getting the airplane to its destination. Therefore, it is your duty to know your position at all times.
9. Encourage your navigator to use as many navigation methods as possible as a means of double-checking.

Post-flight Critique

After every flight get together with the navigator and discuss the flight and compare notes. Go over the navigator’s log. If there have been serious navigational errors, discuss them with the navigator and determine their cause. If the navigator has been at fault, caution him that it is his job to see that the same mistake does not occur again. If the error has been caused by faulty instruments, see that they are corrected before another navigation mission is attempted. If your flying has contributed to inaccuracy in navigation, try to fly a better course next time.

Miscellaneous Duties

The navigator’s primary duty is navigating your airplane with a high degree of accuracy. But as a member of the team, he must also have a general knowledge of the entire operation of the airplane.

He has a .50-cal. machine gun at his station, and he must be able to use it skillfully and to service it in emergencies.

He must be familiar with the oxygen system, know how to operate the turrets, radio equipment, and fuel transfer system.

He must know the location of all fuses and spare fuses, lights and spare lights, affecting navigation.

He must be familiar with emergency procedures, such as the manual operation of landing gear, bomb bay doors, and flaps, and the proper procedures for crash landings, ditching, bailout, etc.

4) Flight Engineer: Size up the man who is to be your engineer. This man is supposed to know more about the airplane you are to fly than any other member of the crew.

He has been trained in the Air Forces’ highly specialized technical schools. Probably he has served some time as a crew chief. Nevertheless, there may be some inevitable blank spots in his training which you, as a pilot and airplane commander, may be able to fill in.

Think back on your own training. In many courses of instruction, you had a lot of things thrown at you from right and left. You had to concentrate on how to fly; and where your equipment was concerned you learned to rely more and more on the enlisted personnel, particularly the crew chief and the engineer, to advise you about things that were not taught to you because of lack of time and the arrangement of the training program.

Both pilot and engineer have a responsibility to work closely together to supplement and fill in the blank spots in each other’s education. To be a qualified combat engineer a man must know his airplane, his engines, and his armament equipment thoroughly. This is a big responsibility: the lives of the entire crew, the safety of the equipment, the success of the mission depend upon it squarely.

He must work closely with the copilot, checking engine operation, fuel consumption, and the operation of all equipment. He must be able to work with the bombardier, and know how to cock, lock, and load the bomb racks. It is up to you, the airplane commander, to see that he is familiar with these duties, and, if he is hazy concerning them, to have the bombardier give him special help and instruction.

He must be thoroughly familiar with the armament equipment, and know how to strip, clean, and re-assemble the guns.

He should have a general knowledge of radio equipment, and be able to assist in tuning transmitters and receivers.

Your engineer should be your chief source of information concerning the airplane. He should know more about the equipment than any other crew member — yourself included.

You, in turn, are his source of information concerning flying. Bear this in mind in all your discussions with the engineer. The more complete you can make his knowledge of the reasons behind every function of the equipment, the more valuable he will be as a member of the crew. Who knows? Someday that little bit of extra knowledge in the engineer’s mind may save the day in some emergency.

Generally, in emergencies, the engineer will be the man to whom you turn first. Build up his pride, his confidence, his knowledge. Know him personally; check on the extent of his knowledge. Make him a man upon whom you can rely.

5) Radio Operator: There is a lot of radio equipment in today’s B-17’s. There is one man in particular who is supposed to know all there is to know about this equipment. Sometimes he does, but often he doesn’t. And when the radio operator’s deficiencies do not become apparent until the crew is in the combat zone, it is then too late. Too often the lives of pilots and crew are lost because the radio operator has accepted his responsibility indifferently.

Radio is a subject that cannot be learned in a day. It cannot be mastered in 6 weeks, but sufficient knowledge can be imparted to the radio man during his period of training in the United States if he is willing to study. It is imperative that you check your radio operator’s ability to handle his job before taking him overseas as part of your crew. To do this you may have to check the various departments to find any weakness in the radio operator’s training and proficiency and to aid the instructors in overcoming such weaknesses.

Training in the various phases of the heavy bomber program is designed to fit each member of the crew for the handling of his jobs. The radio operator will be required to:

1. Render position reports every 30 minutes.
2. Assist the navigator in taking fixes.
3. Keep the liaison and command sets properly tuned and in good operating order.
4. Understand from an operational point of view:
   1. Instrument landing
   2. IFF
   3. VHF
   and other navigational aids equipment in the airplane.
5. Maintain a log.

In addition to being a radio operator, the radio man is also a gunner. During periods of combat he will be required to leave his watch at the radio and take up his guns. He is often required to learn photography. Some of the best pictures taken in the Southwest Pacific were taken by radio operators. The radio operator who cannot perform his job properly may be the weakest member of your crew — and the crew is no stronger than its weakest member.

6) Radar Operator:

7) Left side Scanner/Gunner: The B-17 is a most effective gun platform, but its effectiveness can be either applied or defeated by the way the gunners in your crew perform their duties in action.

Your gunners belong to one of two distinct categories: turret gunners and flexible gunners.

The power turret gunners require many mental and physical qualities similar to what we know as inherent flying ability, since the operation of the power turret and gunsight are much like that of airplane flight operation.

While the flexible gunners do not require the same delicate touch as the turret gunner, they must have a fine sense of timing and he familiar with the rudiments of exterior ballistics.

All gunners should be familiar with the coverage area of all gun positions, and be prepared to bring the proper gun to bear as the conditions may warrant.

They should be experts in aircraft identification. Where the Sperry turret is used, failure to set the target dimension dial properly on the K-type sight will result in miscalculation of range.

They must be thoroughly familiar with the Browning aircraft machine gun. They should know how to maintain the guns, how to clear jams and stoppages, and how to harmonize the sights with the guns. While participating in training flights, the gunners should be operating their turrets constantly, tracking with the flexible guns even when actual firing is not practical. Other airplanes flying in the vicinity offer excellent tracking targets, as do automobiles, houses, and other ground objects during low altitude flights.

The importance of teamwork cannot he overemphasized. One poorly trained gunner, or one man not on the alert, can be the weak link as a result of which the entire crew may be lost.

Keep the interest of your gunners alive at all times. Any form of competition among the gunners themselves should stimulate interest to a high degree.

Finally, each gunner should fire the guns at each station to familiarize himself with the other man’s position and to insure knowledge of operation in the event of an emergency.

8) Right side Scanner/Gunner:

9) Tail Scanner/Gunner:

While not part of the regular HENKEL crew, an instructor navigator would fly on this mission.

Chapter 6 – The mission begins

At 1930 Central War Time (8:30 pm eastern time), the mission briefing was called to order and Captain A. D. Hines, Squadron # 2 Operations Officer, began it with a roll call of the crews. (Hines was an 8th Air Force B-17 veteran of the early air war over Europe, having flown 25 missions with the 412th Bomb Squadron of the 95th Bomb Group.) There would be four B17 crews flying that night, each for celestial navigation training of their navigator. An instructor navigator from the Keesler Emergency Rescue School, 1Lt Croker, would fly with 2Lt Henkel’s crew and their navigator, 2Lt Walter W. Foley, Jr. The other crews would be on their own. The crews and particularly the radio operators were instructed to keep radio contact with the Keesler Field ground station, known as Keesler Radio, using 3760khz for as long as possible.

Keesler Radio, part of the Army Airways Communication Service (AACS), was located on Keesler AAF and flight followed military aircraft taking off or landing at Keesler AAF. There was no such thing as the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) then, nor was there a national radar sytem as we have today. At the time, the national airway system consisted of low frequency radio beacons/ranges emitting audible directional morse code signals, either an A (dot dash), or N (dash dot), over radios. The pilots would have to listen on their headsets for the A or N signal, which told them what side of the course line they were on. Although these civil airways were of great aid to the Air Corps during weather conditions (IMC), they had been developed primarily for the assistance of commercial aviation. They served chiefly to link the main cities, whereas many of the Army’s airfields were scattered, for strategic and other reasons, at points somewhat remote from the heavier concentrations of population. For that reason, the Army developed its own communication system, separate from their normal military radio correspondence channels, to follow its aircraft. Radios at the time were big and heavy, and long range communications were over High Frequency (HF) frequencies that required the use of Morse Code (CW).

Thus the larger transport and bomber aircraft would require a crew position on the aircraft to handle the radios and convert the morse code into a normal message. The airborne radio operator would receive their position and time at a certain point from the navigator and then transmit this position report in morse code to the controlling Radio, in this case, Keesler Radio. In this way, commanders could know where their aircraft are, updated weather could be passed to the crews, and messages to the home base could be transmitted.

The mission would be flown using Contact Flight Rules. Thus the crews would be responsible for maintaining their own separation from other aircraft and terrain. They were required to stay out of any clouds they may encounter enroute. At that time, there was no radar control of aircraft flight following by a civilian Us government agency unless they operated under IFR rules.

2Lt J.L. Shak, a Keesler Field meteorology officer, then began his formal weather briefing using the 1430 EWT sequence. Again, he recommended that a general northerly to northeasterly course be flown to avoid cloud cover obscuring the stars. The forecast would be no low clouds and there would be thin and scattered to broken clouds above 20,000 feet. Any turbulence existing would decrease after 2200 EWT and that the ceiling and visibility would remain good until 0300 EWT, 9 April 1945. The winds would be from the east to northeast at 11 to 18 miles per hour at the altitudes of 4-8000 feet. He closed his briefing by stating that the weather would be fine and that very good weather conditions existed for a night celestial mission in the northeasterly direction.

Lt Croker then took the stage and briefed the four crews on the route to be flown. Each of the aircraft would each fly their own route of approximately 045 degrees for approximately two and one-fourth hours, then turn around and return to Keesler AAF on reciprocal course. He stated there would be no fixed destination and the total flight time would be five hours. Each navigator would determine their own altitude to fly the mission at and that all aircraft were to remain above any cloud formations. It was shown the flight would take them about 350 miles just to the west of Montgomery Alabama, to the east of Birmingham, Alabama, to the Atlanta area and then to the Tennessee/North Carolina border area. Cpt Hines then asked the crews if there were any questions, a time hack (ensuring they each had the same, correct time on their watches) given, and aircraft assigned. Takeoff would be around 2030CWT (9:30 EWT). The loading list and flight plans were filed and the crews dismissed to go to their individual aircraft.

PREPARATION FOR TAKEOFF . . . SUNDAY EVENING, APRIL 8, 1945: 7:30 CENTRAL WAR TIME

The four crews rode the short distance from their briefing to the ramp where their B-17s were parked. Keesler had about 20 B17s at the time, F and G models, brought here from other bases to support the new Emergency Rescue School. The Flight Engineer, SSgt Edwin R. Bill, the flight engineer checked with the crew chief on the condition of the plane and made his quick walk around inspection of the aircraft.

After one last crew briefing, the crewmembers took their positions in the aircraft. 1Lt Croker and 2Lt Foley took their position in the nose, the two pilots and flight engineer at the pilots station, and the radio and radar operator in the radio compartment behind the bomb bay. The three gunners/searchers took their positions behind the radio compartment.

Biloxi wx. Temp 71, low 55, 64miles vis, wind 6-13mph;

ENGINE START, TAXI, TAKEOFF AND DEPARTURE . . . SUNDAY EVENING, APRIL 8, 1945; 8:30PM CENTRAL WAR TIME.

Each aircraft contacted the Keesler Tower individually and began to taxi to the runway shortly after 8:00 pm local time. It was already dark and the taxi lights were on.

The first aircraft to take off, a/c 42-5708 took off at 2126 EWT (8:26pm local Central War Time)

The second aircdraft, a/c 42-39765, took off sixminutes late at 21:32 EWT (8:32pm local Central War Time)

The third aircraft, 42-5799, rolled down the runway and lifted off at 8:45local Central War Time.

Lt Henkel notified the crew that they were ready to go, checklists complete, and instructed the copilot to call Keesler tower for takeoff clearance.

“Keesler Tower, Army 426133 is ready for takeoff”

“Army 426133, cleared for takeoff runway 03, winds 020 at 5”

“Roger, Army 426133, cleared for takeoff. “

Lt Henkel taxied the plane slowly into position on the runway and held the brakes as they came to a stop.

“Before takeoff checklist”

“Tailwheel – Locked”

“Gyro – Set””Generators – On”

“Checklist complete”

Two minutes after the third aircraft lifted off the Keesler runway, Lt Henkel slowly advanced all four throttles and the aircraft started rolling. Power to 46 inches of manifold pressure and 2,500 rpm. The roar of the four engines was very loud and the pilot “walked” the throttles with his wrist to apply differential power to keep the nose of the aircraft pointed straight down the runway. The copilot kept his left hand in position on the throttles below the pilot’s hands and adjusted for variations in manifold pressure. As he monitored the engine instruments, he also kept an eye outside to monitor the takeoff run. Passing 50 mph the rudders begin to bite the air and Lt Henkel used them to keep aligned with the runway. As the airspeed indicated 110 mph, Lt Henkel applied back pressure to the control column and the Flying Fortress lifted off the runway. Airborne!

The navigator quickly wrote down the takeoff time of 20:47 CWT (8:47PM) and began to prepare himself for the five hour flight. The plane climbed steadily away from the earth on runway heading and the pilot signaled the copilot to raise the landing gear. The copilot quickly took his left hand from the throttles and flicked the electric landing gear toggle switch on the center console to the UP position. The plane quickly accelerated and Lt Henkel maintained 150 mph IAS by raising the nose. As they passed 3000′, Lt Foley called the pilot on the intercom and directed him to turn right to a heading of 040 degrees to fly to their first checkpoint, the road/railroad intersection at the small Alabama town of Wilmer. The lights of the Mississippi town of Pascagoula passed about 12 miles to their right as they leveled off at 5,500′ and reduced power to maintain their cruise speed for the night, 160mph. To their 1:00 o’clock position off their nose they could see the Alabama town of Mobile.

SSgt Bill checked his engine instruments and adjusted the throttles and other controls to set cruise power.

RPM Max: 2300

Manifold Pressure 38″Hg

Mixture: Auto-Rich

Chapter 7 – Enroute from Keesler AAF, Sunday night, April 8, 1945

Over eastern Alabama, north western Georgia, and east Tennessee.

(While we do not have the full details of the flight, the following is a recreation with the facts available. )

The crew probably leveled off at 5,500’MSL and lowered the nose to reach their cruise speed of 160 IAS. (The rules for flying contact flight at the time were that an aircraft would maintain an odd altitude plus 500′ to maintain separation from other aircraft)

After reaching their first reporting point, the navigator, Lt Foley, probably passed the information back to the radio operator, who then would report it back to Keesler Army Radio. A part of the US Army Air Force’s Army Airways Communications Service, Keesler Army Radion would maintain a listening watch on the designated frequencies and monitor the progress of the flight for all the aircraft from their base.

If the plane was flying under Instrument Rules, they would be following the Radio Range Green 6 airway (a Low Frequency Radio Range) noted just to the right of their course on this chart. No modern radar control or Atlanta Center to talk to! Instead, low frequency transmitters were located at points along the route and would transmit over a radio frequency the letter A in Morse Code (· —). Or the letter N in Morse Code (— ·) in four quadrants. The pilots would have to listen over their headphones to the sound being transmitted and verify that they were tuned to the correct range station frequency by comparing its Morse code identifier against the one published on their navigation charts. They would also verify they were flying towards or away from the station, by determining if the signal level (i.e. the audible tone volume) was getting stronger or weaker.

This would be the last time that anyone heard from them. They were about 280 miles north west of Keesler, and had been airborne for about an hour and a half. They were probably were unable to maintain radio contact as the HF radio frequencies are notoriously unreliable, depending on atmospheric conditions. By this time the crew would have settled down to the routine of the flight. Most of the gunner/searchers were probably asleep in the back as there were no duties for them to perform. The outside air temperature was below freezing and everyone was trying to stay warm. About 25 minutes later, they passed about 10 miles east of the town of Anniston and Fort McClellan. The army base was an infantry replacement training center at the time and also housed about 3,000 German and Italian prisoner of war there. Also at this time, they would have passed over the still operational Transcontinental Airway.

Transcontinental Airway – Begun in the 1920s and completed in 1933, the Transcontinental Airway was an early system to help the pilots flying the airmail at night to navigate by visual references. Spaced about every 6-12 miles was a tower with a light beacon that flashed in Morse Code. A total of 1,550 lights were built with the last one operational until 1972. This particular one guided pilots between Atlanta and Birmingham.

Around 11:00 PM CWT the aircraft passed just to the right of the town of Copperhill with its large copper mine. A few minutes later, the TVA Hiawassee Dam passed underneath the B-17. It had only become operational five years before. Ahead of them was the dark landscape of the Cherokee National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1940, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was mountainous and mostly uninhabited. Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet elevation, was the highest mountain in the park. The first B17 of their group, 42-5708, was about 20 minutes ahead of them at 6,500′, somewhere over the Smokey Mountains. The other two aircraft, 42-39765 and 42-5799, had chosen to fly east of their course and were preparing to turn around to return to Keesler.

As they passed the lights of Hiawassee Dam, they entered an area known in aviation as a “Black Hole”. The closest lights were probably Tellico Plain, about 10miles left of course. The horizon, from which the pilots would use as a visual reference to maintain level flight was nonexistent. They probably had their eyes inside the airplane, referring to the instruments to maintain level flight. To monitor the instruments, they would have to turn up their cockpit lights, further limiting their night vision. It would have been very hard to see any of the terrain below.

At some point they had descended to approximately 4,500′ MSL, which was the even altitude the rules stated an aircraft flying Contact Rules should fly at when flying in a westerly (180-359 degree) heading. Big Haw Knob, a 5,472′ mountain, and Huckleberry Mountain, 5,558′ MSL, lay a few miles to the right of course.

This is the chart the navigator was probably using, a 1:1,000,000 scale chart. Less detail is provided than the 1:500,000 Sectional Aeronautical Charts.

Chapter 8 – The crash

The initial crash and subsequent fuel explosion sent bits of wreckage raining over about an acre. The plane had clipped the top of trees before it struck the mountain. The plane hit with such force that it sheared trees up to two feet thick. The lookout men are the only ones known to have seen it crash. “No motor trouble was heard before the crash”. “The fire was burning fiercely when the fire fighters arrived but they could tell it was a four engine military airplane. The fire fighters stated that if it had been 150 feet higher, it could have cleared the ridgeline and would have had a long wide valley in which to gain altitude

After the fire was put out, a preliminary search of the wreckage revealed only seven bodies, all close to the plane. After daylight, a second search was made and the remaining three bodies were found, bringing the toll to ten crewmembers, all badly burned. None of the plane’s occupants were alive when the fire-fighters arrived according to Ledford. The wreckage located about 300 yards from a forest service road, was placed under guard and nothing was disturbed until a team from the US Army could arrive to take over the investigation. Debris from the crash was spread over an acre, and one engine and landing gear were thrown over the ridge top to the other side of the mountain about a quarter mile. The largest piece left was about 10 foot of the tail. All of the engines were torn off.

The Army was notified by telephone around 3:00 AM Monday morning. That Monday afternoon, a four engine bomber from Keesler AAF arrived overhead. It had been searching along the Tennessee-North Carolina line until Ranger Ledford was able to make radio contact with them and direct it to the crash scene. Mr Ledford returned to the Tellico Ranger station and met a team of Army officers from Ft McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. He led the team, along with a medical detachment ambulance and a Military Police unit to the crash site. The Army was able to remove the bodies to the waiting ambulances by nightfall on Monday. They were taken back to Ft McPherson, GA for an autopsy and then prepared for the train ride back to their families.

On Tuesday, April 11, 1945, an Army salvage crew began removing the largest pieces of the plane from the mountain top. The remains of the aircraft were taken to Robins AAF near Macon, GA. for salvage.

Chapter 9 – Aftermath

2Lt Walter W. Foley, Jr. – A funeral was held from the home of his parents, Mr and Mrs Walter W. Foley, 40Prince St, Jamaica Plain, NY. He had two brothers, Cpl. Eugene O. Foley, US Army and Lt (jg) Donald R. Foley, US Navy, both of whom were serving in the pacific. A solemn mass was celebrated Saturday, April 14, 1945, at St Thomas Aquinas Church, South St. Boston, MA. Soldiers from Fort Banks were the bearers and honorary bearers were members of the Holy Cross Alumni Association. Burial was in New Calvary Cemetery, Mass.

Corporal John Joe Fortune, Jr – He was buried April 14, 1945, in his home town of Seguin, TX at the St James cemetery. His father and mother attended the funeral.

No one knows why they were flying at such a low altitude in the mountains. 4,500 feet would be considered a safe altitude if they were flying over the ocean as originally planned. In fact, during searches, 1500′ above the ground was the normal search altitude. The change in course to the northeast due to clouds was obviously a major factor and there was probably a rush to change the planning material to that direction.

The pilots and navigator were inexperienced, with less than 200 flying hours each. Inexperience led to many accidents in WW2. In fact, almost 15,000 young men died in aircrew training in the continental United States during World War 2. But the war took precedence over safety. In 1944, there were 20,883 aircraft accidents with 5,616 fatalities. During WW2,the US suffered 52,173 aircrew combat losses. But another 25,844 died in accidents worldwide.

False visual reference: False visual reference illusions may cause the pilot to orient the aircraft in relation to a false horizon; these illusions can be caused by flying over a banked cloud, night flying over featureless terrain with ground lights that are indistinguishable from a dark sky with stars, or night flying over a featureless terrain with a clearly defined pattern of ground lights and a dark, starless sky. False Visual Reference Illusions may cause you to orient your aircraft in relation to a false horizon; these illusions are caused by flying over a banked cloud, night flying over featureless terrain with ground lights that are indistinguishable from a dark sky with stars, or night flying over a featureless terrain with a clearly defined pattern of ground lights and a dark, starless sky.

Blending of earth and sky can cause confusion of ground lights with stars, visual auto-kinesis makes objects appear moving when stared at and black hole conditions can cause poorly lit ground to appear farther away than it is. These illusions can often be overcome with navigational instruments and training. During night flight, pilots sometimes confuse ground lights with stars, and unlighted areas of the earth as an overcast night sky. Kuiper et al. previously reported about night-specific SD, such as star/ground-light conflicts and black hole approaches.

NOTES . . . .A little confusion on the time of crash

WAR TIME: Daylight savings time is the same thing as War time. The clock was advanced 1 hour from Feb 9, 1942 to Sep 30, 1945. Keesler AAF used Central War Time as their local time. The crash site was located in the Eastern War Time Zone, 1 hour later than Keesler AAF. Thus there is some confusion as to the date of the crash. It occurred at approximately 00:27 AM EWT on April 9, 1945, or 11:27 PM on April 8, 1945 Central War Time (Keesler time). During World War II, Congress enacted the War Time Act (56 Stat. 9) on January 20, 1942. Year-round DST was reinstated in the United States on February 9, 1942, again as a wartime measure to conserve energy resources.^[10] This remained in effect until after the end of the war. The Amendment to the War Time Act (59 Stat. 537), enacted September 25, 1945, ended DST as of September 30, 1945. During this period, the official designation War Time was used for year-round DST. For example, Eastern War Time (EWT) would be the equivalent of Eastern Daylight Time during this period. At first, Americans didn’t worry too much about war’s end when “War Time,” as it was dubbed, went into effect, except for the short time frame before clocks had to be turned ahead on February 9, which was a Monday, meaning, that unlike today, Sunday wasn’t a cushion day to get ready for the change. Sure, a few Americans were so enthusiastic that they called it “victory time.” But in the formal language of the day for the three time zones, there was an Eastern War Time, a Central War Time and a Pacific War Time.

10 – References, sources & credits

Hemlock Knob fire tower, Elevation 4109′, has been dismantled and removed . Its former location, ( N35° 21′ 34.9 W84° 6′ 10.8″) is just a 100 yards north of the Cherohala Skyway, about 0.4 miles east of the Eagle Gap parking lot.

Waucheesi Fire Tower (N35.27591° W84.21825° ) ten miles west of Whigg Ridge, has also been dismantled.

Flying Fortress, Edward Jablonski, Doubleday, 1965.

Sag Harbor Express, Peter Boody, May 22, 2019 “SSgt Edwin R. Bill: Tennessee Mountain Proved More Deadly Than 38 B-17 Missions”

https://tellico-plains.com/history.html

Baugher, Joe. USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present. USAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present

Tennessee State Library & Archives