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September 27, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 200
Hale’s Angels, Aircraft 42-102449
September 27, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 200.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 200 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 650.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 42-102449, Hale’s Angels.
The primary target was the railroad marshaling yards in Cologne, Germany.
Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – William Alvin Henson II
- Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – Robert M. Mitchell
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
On this mission, the Buslee crew was the High Group Deputy and Hot Camera Ship.
Chester A. Rybarczyk did not fly this mission. William Alvin Henson II replaced him as Navigator on this flight.
James B. Davis also did not fly this mission. Robert Sumner Stearns replaced him as Bombardier.
Henson had flown with the Buslee crew once before, on September 3, 1944. This was the first flight with the Buslee crew for Stearns.
Robert M. Mitchell replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner on this mission. This was the first time Mitchell flew with the Buslee crew, although he had flown with Farrar on September 19 as part of the William M. Reed crew.
Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Eugene D. Lucynski for the second time as Tail Gunner.
Source: Sortie Report, Aircraft Photo
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
September 25, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 198
Hot Nuts, Aircraft 42-39888
September 25, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 198.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 198 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 644.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 42-39888, Hot Nuts.
The primary target was the railroad marshaling yards in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany.
Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – Chester A. Rybarczyk
- Bombardier – James B. Davis
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – Irving L. Miller
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
Irving L. Miller replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner for the fifth time. This was the last time Miller would fly with the Buslee crew. On March 19, 1945, Miller completed his tour and returned to the US.
Eugene D. Lucynski had bailed out of The Tremblin’ Gremlin on September 19 when it was struck by flak and had not returned to the Buslee crew. Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Lucynski on this and the next two missions as Tail Gunner.
Source: Sortie Report, Aircraft Photo
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
The Lead Banana
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Lead Banana
The B17-G aircraft with serial number 43-37822 was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 544th Squadron. Known as The Lead Banana, it completed 27 missions, returning safely to base on 26 of those missions. Its first mission, on July 20, 1944, was to an aircraft plant in Dessau, Germany. Its last mission, on September 28, 1944, was to a steelworks plant in Magdeburg, Germany. The crew was able to complete its assignment and drop its bombs over Magdeburg, but was involved in a mid-air collision coming off the target.
John Oliver Buslee, David Franklin Albrecht, William Alvin Henson, II, Robert Sumner Stearns, Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, Lenard Leroy Bryant, George Francis McMann, Jr., and Gerald Lee Andersen, all aboard the Lead Banana, did not survive the crash.
The only survivor, George Edwin Farrar (my dad), became a POW confined at Stalag Luft IV.
Most of these men had flown on The Lead Banana on previous missions, but for George Francis McMann, Jr., and Gerald Lee Andersen, September 28 was the first and last time they set foot on this plane.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
The Arrowhead Club 