| MISSION DATA: | |||
| DATE | 384th BG Mission # | 8th AF Mission # | 384th PRIMARY TARGET |
| 1943‑10‑14 | 32 | 115 | Target: Ball-Bearing Factory Type: Bearings Industry Location: Schweinfurt, Germany |
| "Second Schweinfurt" aka "Black Thursday": The 384th Bombardment Group (H) put up three squadrons on today's mission. However, six aircraft aborted, reducing the number that bombed the primary target. A further six aircraft were knocked out by enemy action. An all-too-familiar situation faced the returning crews - bad weather over East Anglia. Three Aircraft were lost when the crews, unable to locate a suitable place to land in England, bailed out and abandoned them, while most of the remainder landed at other airfields. | |||
| SORTIE DATA: | ||
| COMBAT CREDIT | STATUS | TARGET ATTACKED (MODE) |
| Yes |
Completed Mission Comments: Tail gunners heated suit failed after crossing coast and inside enemy territory. Individual Sortie Reports and Squadron Commander's notes on the Abortive Report submitted by the pilot indicate that combat credit was granted. |
Primary (Visual) |
| SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA: | ||||
| TYPE | SERIAL NUMBER | SQUADRON | SQ CODE | NAME |
| B-17F | 42‑29717 ⇗ | 544th | SU*H | MR. FIVE BY FIVE |
| SORTIE CREW DATA: | |||
| POSITION | CREWMEMBER | UNIT | STATUS |
| Pilot | Carpenter, Walter Richard⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Co-pilot | Kennedy, John Benton, Jr⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Navigator | Hedin, Carl Anton⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Bombardier | Altman, Murray David⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Radio Operator | Fallesen, Wayne Peter⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Engineer/Top Turret | McCracken, Dwight Howard⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Ball Turret | O'Leary, Edward Joseph⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Tail Gunner | Leibring, Clarence Paul⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Waist (Flexible) Gunner | Zyglowicz, Bernard Frank⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Waist (Flexible) Gunner | Girard, Donald Robert⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |