On 12th August 1944 the 384th were in operation again, with 43 aircraft assigned to bomb a Luftwaffe landing ground at La Perthe France. With 1 flying spare that returned as briefed, 3 ubused ground spares and 3 that scrubbed/aborted the mission, 36 aircraft made their way towards the target, leaving Grafton Underwood from 05.02am. Wing group lead was an unnamed B-17G 42-97960 piloted by Frank Lavon Allred with Commander Alfred Nuttall and 2 navigators on board (pictured).

Over the Primary target, the High Group Lead aircraft had a malfunction of the bomb release - a second run over the target was requested and authorised, but by now the smoke from the initial strike prevented a clear view of the target. The dedcision was made for the High Group to proceed and bomb the secondary target, an airfield  between Etamps and Mondesir, about 30 miles south of Paris. They completed the attack sucessfully, with bombs away around 11.57am. 

With a flight time of just over 8 hours, the first aircraft returned to base at just after 2pm.Three aircraft from the high group had been forced to divert into allied airfields in France to refuel, the additinal run over target and subsequent diversion to the secondary target having eaten into fuel reserves. Bomg type on this mission were 500lb. RDX.

High group lead was “Marion” 42-97941 being piloted by James Wesley Hines with Commander Stone and 2 navigators on board (crew pictured). Also on board was flight engineer/gunner James Holland, waist gunner Verlin Clinton Gale on the final mission of his tour. Hines had joined the 384th in December 1943, hr was on his 32nd mission and could have completed his tour by now - but he went on to fly 43 missions. Low group lead was “Queenie” 42-102933 piloted by Kenneth Delay Myrick with Commander Kenneth Armistead Ungerman on board (crew and also plane pictured).

Co-pilot Howard Raymond Morton in “Kathleen Lady of Victory” (pictured by wall, second from right) and Bombadier Gavin Watson radio operator Marvin Alfred Guettel and tail gunner Andrew Kobulik onboard “Sneakin Deacon” all completed their tours today. 

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group website (384thbombgroup.com) for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of the Group’s activities during World War 2.

Research courtesy of Helen Childs & Keith Andrews on behalf of 384^th Bombardment Group Museum.