Mission Number 3 for the Captain Charles E. Cook crew of the 493 Bomb Group. An aircraft is reported missing.
493d Bomb Group Mission 22 June 1944 – Etampes, France
8th Air Force Mission 432: During the afternoon 797 bombers are dispatched to attack 22 targets in France and Belgium; 9 bombers are lost:
Of 216 B-17s, 70 hit Nucourt V-weapon site, 38 hit Brie-Comte-Robert Sug, 33 hit Etampes Airfield, 11 hit Lieusant railroad, 11 hit Melun bridge and 11 hit Melun marshaling yard; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 187 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 30 MIA. Of 113 B-24s, 101 hit an oil dump at Paris and 1 hits Dreux Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 37 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 23 MIA. Escort is provided by 78 of 86 P-51s; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).
Maps and mission strike photos can be found here:
493d Bomb Group Mission 11: The 493d Bomb Group supplied 33 aircraft for this mission, an attack on a railyard in France. Once again the Cook crew was the lead crew for the “B” Group, flying in a B-24J aircraft, serial number 44-40480. The command pilot on this mission was Lieutenant Colonel Henry Orban, one of the group’s squadron commanders. The normal tail gunner, SSG Walter H. Miller flew in the nose turret with the co-pilot back in the tail. Captain Donald B. Schulman from Group Headquarters was the extra navigator.
Take off from Debach was at 1445 and the group assembled at 19,000 feet. Assembly was accomplished visually after homing on a designated radio beacon, today this was one called Buncher 27. They crossed the French coast at 1750 reporting a normal run to the IP. The group made a run on the railway yard that was the primary target but spotted no rolling stock. A second run was made that confirmed no rolling stock, so the group was diverted to the secondary target, Mondesir Airfield in Etampes, France, southwest of Paris. “A” Group had shifted to the secondary target after one run on the railway yard leaving “B” Group several minutes behind on their run to Etampes. All 12 aircraft attacked and then assembled with the other groups of the wing for the return to England. The first aircraft landed back at Debach at 2122.
As the lead bombardier for “B” Group, First Lieutenant David Morris submitted a report on bombing upon his return. He noted that 404 bombs, all 100 lb general purpose were dropped on the the target. Several aircraft experienced rack malfunctions and were unable to release all of their bombs with one aircraft unable to drop any. These hung bombs were jettisoned over the channel on the return. Morris reported that the MPI was the center of the airfield with good results observed.
One aircraft failed to return from this mission, B24J 42-52759, piloted by Lieutenant William Kaplan was hit by flak, dropped out of the formation and were reported missing. They were on their fourth mission. Losing altitude and unable to make it back to England ordered the crew to parachute while he and the co-pilot, Lieutenant Kenneth Klemstine, remained with the aircraft until the last possible moment. They both jumped just before the aircraft crashed near the Chateau Chambord. A monument at the Chateau commemorates this event:
“On June 22, 1944, during World War II, an American heavy bomber, a B-24 “Liberator” from the U.S. Army 8th Air Force based in England, crashed here after bombing an airport southwest of Paris and being crippled by antiaircraft fire and German fighter planes. The aircraft’s pilot, Lt. William Kalan, had directed his crew to parachute earlier although he and co-pilot Lt. Kenneth Klemstine remained abord until shortly before the crash. At the time, priceless masterpieces from the Louvre Museum were hidden in the Château Chambord.”
“The two pilots were hidden separately by residents of the nearby villages of Huisseau-sur-Cosson and Montlivault for several months – during which time Lt. Kalan took part in Allied arms drops and other Resistance engagements – before both pilots crossed the Loire to join approaching U.S. troops.”
http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/7758/Information-Panel-Crashed-B-24-at-Ch%E2teau-Chambord.htm