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The B-17 Radio Operator/Gunner
My dad, George Edwin Farrar, was a waist/flexible gunner with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in World War II. On 28 September 1944, the Buslee crew and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the same group became forever connected when the B-17’s they were aboard on a combat mission over Germany suffered a mid-air collision.
I am currently updating the biographical information of the men of these two crews, and I thought it would be a good time to explain the duties involved in each position of the airmen aboard the aircraft, the B-17. I have recently updated the information of the three 384th Bomb Group Radio Operators/Gunners who flew with the John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron.
Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, assigned Buslee crew radio operator
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 757 – Radio Operator / Mechanic / Gunner, AAF
- Born 8 July 1924
- Died 28 September 1944, age 20
- Buried Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA, Plot J, 15423
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Sebastiano Joseph Peluso, Update
William Edson Taylor, assigned Brodie crew radio operator
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 757 – Radio Operator / Mechanic / Gunner, AAF
- Born 21 April 1923
- Died 29 January 2002, age 78
- Cremated
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- William Edson Taylor
- William Edson Taylor, Update
Donald William Dooley, Headquarters, but radio operator of the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944
- MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 867 – Radar Mechanic, Bombardment, AAF
- Born 26 July 1919
- Died 28 September 1944, age 25
- Buried Valhalla Memory Gardens, Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana, USA
- 384th BG Personnel Record
- Donald William Dooley
- Donald William Dooley, Update
For a list of all of the airmen of the Buslee and Brodie crews, see permanent page The Buslee and Brodie Crews, which is maintained with new information/posts.
Duties and Responsibilities of the B-17 Radio Operator/Gunner
According to the 303rd Bomb Group’s website,
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:
- Render position reports every 30 minutes.
- Assist the navigator in taking fixes.
- Keep the liaison and command sets properly tuned and in good operating order.
- Understand from an operational point of view Instrument landing, IFF, VHF, and other navigational aids equipment in the airplane.
- 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.
Aside from these duties noted by the 303rd, I have read that when B-17 crews were reduced from ten airmen to nine, losing one of the waist gunners, the radio operator was tasked with manning the left waist gun if needed while the lone waist gunner manned the right waist gun. That may have been true in some B-17 groups and may have been true for some crews in the 384th Bomb Group, but one of the group’s veterans once told me that was not the case.
The 384th veteran told me that the lone waist gunner would man both waist guns and the side he manned – left or right – depended on where his B-17 was in the formation, and which side of the aircraft was more vulnerable to enemy attack. He said that the radio operator, aside from his radio duties, was also tasked with distributing chaff, the aluminum strips dropped from aircraft in the formation to confuse enemy radar.
Radio communications during the war needed to be precise and understandable and the phonetic alphabet helped in the effort. The 384th Bomb Group’s website includes this chart and explanation.
Combined Phonetic Alphabet
This phonetic code was adopted for 8th AF use in 1942. The purpose of the code is to improve the accuracy of radio voice communications by providing an unambiguous key word for each letter that would improve recognition of the intended letter through static, intermittent transmissions, and jamming.
| Letter | Phonetic | Letter | Phonetic | Letter | Phonetic |
| A | Able | J | Jig | S | Sugar |
| B | Baker | K | King | T | Tare |
| C | Charlie | L | Love | U | Uncle |
| D | Dog | M | Mike | V | Victor |
| E | Easy | N | Nan | W | William |
| F | Fox | O | Oboe | X | X-ray |
| G | George | P | Peter | Y | Yoke |
| H | How | Q | Queen | Z | Zebra |
| I | Item | R | Roger |
Phonetic Alphabet Chart courtesy of 384thBombGroup.com
Location of the Radio Room in a B-17
The radio room of a B-17 sits between the bomb bay and the ball turret. Should the radio operator have to bail out of the aircraft, he would likely bail out through the bomb bay doors.
In the following diagram, Sebastiano Peluso is noted in the radio room of the aircraft along with the other Buslee crew members in their positions on September 28, 1944.
Buslee Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
Diagram courtesy of 91st Bomb Group and modified by Cindy Farrar Bryan in 2014
B-17 Radio Room Photos
I took the following photos of the Collings Foundation’s B-17 Nine-O-Nine a few years before its tragic crash.
Entry of the radio room from the bomb bay catwalk of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
Radio operator’s desk of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
Radio room of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
Radio room of the Collings Foundation’s B-17G Nine-o-Nine In Leesburg, Florida, November 4, 2017
Stories of 384th Bomb Group Radio Operators
I thought it might also be interesting to read stories, diaries, and journals written by or view video interviews of some of the 384th’s own radio operators. You’ll find a chart of several radio operators of the 384th Bomb Group below with links to their personnel records and their written and oral histories as are provided on the Stories page of 384thBombGroup.com.
| Airman Personnel Record | Stories, Diaries, Journals, and Interviews |
| Grosbier, Gordon Joseph⇗ | Grosbier, Combat Mission Diary⇓ (8.508 MB) |
| Grosbier, Gordon Joseph⇗ | Grosbier, Daily Journal⇓ (6.235 MB) |
| Levison, Jules Sidney, “Julie”⇗ | Jules Levison Diary⇓ (3.622 MB) |
| Misch, Henry Conrad⇗ | Henry C Misch WWII Diary⇓ (7.671 MB) |
| Pratt, John Butler⇗ | Diary of John Butler Pratt⇓ (7.246 MB) |
| Spearman, Eugene (NMI)⇗ | The Eighth Air Force in World War II⇓ (3.588 MB) |
| Williamson, Albert (NMI)⇗ | The Trip of a Lifetime⇓ (3.296 MB) |
| Kovach, Joseph William⇗ | Oral History Interview⇗ |
| Lustig, David Carl, “Dave”, Jr⇗ | 2003 Oral History Interview⇗ |
| Lustig, David Carl, “Dave”, Jr⇗ | Book: “Initial Point: Reminiscences of a World War II B-17 Bomber Crewman” (out of print, but occasionally available on used book sites) |
| Wininger, Dexter Gene⇗ | Oral History Interview⇗ |
Sources and Further Reading
303rd Bomb Group: Duties and Responsibilities of the Radio Operator
B-17 Flying Fortress Queen of the Skies, Crew Positions, Radio Operator
384th Bomb Group: Combined Phonetic Alphabet
303rd Bomb Group: Military Occupational Specialty
TM 12-427 Military Occupational Classification of Enlisted Personnel
The Military Yearbook Project – Army Air Force WWII Codes
The Army Air Forces in World War II: VI, Men and Planes, Edited by W.F. Craven and J.L. Cate, Chapter 19: Training of Ground Technicians and Service Personnel
Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907 – 1945 by Rebecca Hancock Cameron
Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission in 2014 to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021
Donald William Dooley, Update
A new search on Ancestry.com has provided me with some new and updated/corrected information regarding Donald William Dooley, radio operator on the 28 September 1944 mission of the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th Bomb Group of the 8th Army Air Forces in WWII. Corrected information is bolded.
To view my original post and other information about Donald William Dooley, please see the links at the end of this post.
Donald William Dooley
Indiana University 1940
Donald William Dooley was born 26 July 1919 in Wheatfield, Jasper County, Indiana. Donald’s parents were Guy Tobias Dooley (born 22 September 1893 in Marshall, Parke County, Indiana, died 16 August 1992 in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana) and Medora LaVerne McWilliams Dooley (born 15 June 1893, died 28 August 1988 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan). Donald had an older sister, Dorothy Elizabeth Dooley, (born 27 August 1916 in Wheatfield, Jasper County, Indiana, died 8 January 2007 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan).
Donald’s sister, Dorothy, married LeRoy Dugan, Jr., in 1938. Dorothy and LeRoy had three children, Ronald Lee Dugan (1943 – 2012), Maureen Kay Dugan (1948 – 2018), and one child who is still living (and therefore unidentified in Ancestry family trees).
The 1920 Federal census indicates that the Dooley family lived in Walker, Jasper County Indiana and Mrs. Dooley was known as Dora.
The 1930 Federal census indicates that the Dooley family lived in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana and Mrs. Dooley was known as LaVerne.
I cannot find a 1940 Federal census record for the family, but Donald’s WWII draft card, which he filled out on 16 October 1940, indicates he lived in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana where he attended Indiana University at that time, and his father lived in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.
Donald’s WWII draft card also notes he was 21 years old when he registered for the draft, and worked for Sears, Roebuck & Company at Alabama & Vermont Streets, Indianapolis, Indiana. He was 5’11” tall, weighed 135 pounds, had blue eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion. He listed his father as the person who would always know his address.
On September 10, 1941, Donald enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. He resided in Marion County, Indiana (Indianapolis area) at the time of enlistment.
Donald’s 384th Bomb Group Sortie record notes that his rank was T/Sgt. (Technical Sergeant), his duty was Radio Operator, and his pay was $205.20 per month.
His sortie record also notes his home address as Mrs. LaVerne Wysong, Roosevelt Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana. This indicates that in 1944 his mother and father were no longer married to each other, his mother had remarried, and that Donald considered his mother’s residence – rather than his father’s – as his home address. Other records at Ancestry.com note that Donald’s mother was also known as Laverne Tenbrook at some point in her life, indicating an additional marriage.
Although his Sortie record indicates his mother’s residence as his home address in 1944, Donald’s next of kin listed in the Missing Air Crew Report for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 was, however, his father with a Bloomington, Indiana address.
Page 2 of Donald’s sortie record lists only one mission, Date 9-28-44, Target Magdeburg, Wounds M/A (missing in action).
Morning Reports of the 384th Bombardment Group indicate the following for Donald William Dooley:
- On 25 JULY 1944, Donald William Dooley was assigned to the 384th Bombardment Group Headquarters Detachment, per AAF Station 106 Special Orders #147 dated 25 July 1944 as a radar mechanic/bombardment.
- On 8 SEPTEMBER 1944, Tech Sergeant Donald Dooley was reclassified from MOS 867 (radar mechanic/bombardment) to MOS 757 (radio operator/gunner) and transferred from Headquarters Detachment 384th BG to 545th BS on SO #179, AAF Station 106, SPO 557, dated 8 September 1944.
- On 28 SEPTEMBER 1944, on Mission 201 to Magdeburg, Germany (Target was Industry, Steelworks), Donald William Dooley, flying with the James Joseph Brodie crew, went from duty to MIA (Missing in Action). He was subsequently declared KIA (Killed in Action).
Donald lost his life at the young age of twenty-five. He is buried at the Valhalla Memory Gardens in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.
Notes/Links
- Previous post, Donald William Dooley
- Previous post, Timeline for Brodie Crewmembers and Substitutes, 545th Bomb Squadron
- Donald William Dooley’s Personnel Record courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- Missing Air Crew Report 9366 for the Brodie crew on 28 September 1944 courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- Missing Air Crew Report 9753 provides more information about the 28 September 1944 mid-air collision in which Donald was killed, courtesy of the 384th Bomb Group
- Donald William Dooley was with the 482nd Bombardment Group Pathfinders before being transferred to the 384th Bomb Group. For information on the 482nd Bombardment Group, please see http://www.482nd.org/.
- Donald William Dooley on Find a Grave
- MOS means Military Occupational Specialty
If any family or friends of Donald William Dooley has information about him or photos of him to share, please contact me. I would like to learn more about his family life before the war and his service in the 482nd Bombardment Group (Pathfinders).
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021
Donald William Dooley
Donald William Dooley was born July 26, 1919 in Indiana. Donald’s parents were Guy T. (1893 to 1992) and Dora Laverne McWilliams (1893 to 1988) Dooley. Donald had an older sister, Dorothy, who was about 2 1/2 years older than Donald.
In 1920, the Dooley family lived in Walker, Jasper County, Indiana where Donald’s father, Guy, was a farmer. By 1930, the family had moved to Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana where Guy Dooley worked as a foreman at a furniture factory. Between 1938 and 1940, Donald attended Indiana University in Bloomington.
Donald William Dooley
Indiana University 1940
On September 10, 1941, at the age of 22, Donald enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. His enlistment record notes that he resided in Marion County, Indiana at the time of enlistment. Marion County encompasses the greater Indianapolis area. His enlistment record also notes that he was working as a salesperson at the time and was single.
In WWII, Donald served with the 482nd Bombardment Group (P). The “P” stood for Pathfinder. The 482nd was activated on August 20, 1943 at AAF Station 102 in Alconbury, Huntingdonshire, England for the purpose of providing pathfinder (PFF) lead aircraft for other bomb groups, specifically through the winter of 1943 to 1944. The 482nd had the distinction of being the only 8th Air Force bomb group to be formed outside of the United States during WWII.
Before the Pathfinders, in 1942 and 1943, the Norden bombsight was used for visual precision bombing in the ETO (European Theater of Operations). However, poor weather conditions often caused problems when the target could not be clearly seen. The 482nd worked to prove a new radar bombing technique to resolve the issue. These new top secret radar platforms were called BTO – Bomb Through Overcast and were used against Nazi Germany.
The 482nd Bomb Group’s last radar-led combat mission was March 22, 1944 to Berlin. On March 23, the 482nd ceased combat operations and became a radar training center and research and development operation. It did, however, undertake special operations, particulary on D-Day when eighteen 482nd crews were provided to lead bomb groups. With the change, 482nd personnel were dispersed to other bomb groups.
Donald William Dooley was transferred to the 384th Bomb Group. He was assigned to the 384th BG Hq Det on AAF Station 106 Special Orders #147 dated July 25,1944. He was then reclassified from MOS 867 (radar mechanic, bombardment) to MOS 757 (radio operator/gunner) and transferred from Hq Det to the 545th Bomb Squadron of the 384th on SO #179 dated September 8, 1944.
Donald’s first, and only, mission with the 384th Bomb Group was with the James Joseph Brodie crew on September 28, 1944. He replaced William Edson Taylor on that mission as the crew’s radio operator/gunner. The change put him on Lazy Daisy that day, where he was killed in the mid-air collision with the John Oliver Buslee crew aboard Lead Banana coming off the target at Magdeburg.
Donald lost his life at the young age of twenty-five. He is buried at the Valhalla Memory Gardens in Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana.
Notes
- Information on the 482nd Bombardment Group was obtained from http://www.482nd.org/.
- MOS means Military Occupational Specialty.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2015
Next of Kin List Released
The day after Christmas 1944, at ninety days missing in action, the US Army Air Forces wrote to the Buslee crew’s next of kin and enclosed a list of the names of the crew members on the Lead Banana on September 28 and also included the names and addresses of next of kin in case the families wanted to communicate with each other.
December 26, 1944
Headquarters, Army Air Forces
WashingtonAttention: AFPPA-8
(9753) Farrar, George E.
14119873Mrs. Raleigh Mae Farrar,
79 EastLake Terrace Northeast,
Atlanta, Georgia.Dear Mrs. Farrar:
For reasons of military security it has been necessary to withhold the names of the air crew members who were serving with your son at the time he was reported missing.
Since it is now permissible to release this information, we are inclosing a complete list of names of the crew members.
The names and addresses of the next of kin of the men are also given in the belief that you may desire to correspond with them.
Sincerely,
Clyde V. Finter
Colonel, Air Corps
Chief, Personal Affairs Division
Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Personnel1 Incl
List of crew members & names
& addresses of next of kin
5-2032, AF
1st. Lt. John O. Buslee
Mr. John Buslee, (Father)
411 North Wisner Avenue,
Park Ridge, Illinois.
1st. Lt. William A. Henson, II
Mrs. Harriet W. Henson, (Wife)
Summerville, Georgia.
1st. Lt. Robert S. Stearns
Mr. Carey S. Stearns, (Father)
Post Office Box 113,
Lapine, Oregon.
2nd. Lt. David F. Albrecht
Reverand Louis M. Albrecht, (Father)
Scribner, Nebraska.
S/Sgt. Sebastiano J. Peluso
Mrs. Antonetta Peluso, (Mother)
2963 West 24th Street,
Brooklyn, New York.
S/Sgt. Lenard L. Bryant
Mrs. Ruby M. Bryant, (Wife)
Route Number Two,
Littlefield, Texas.
S/Sgt. Gerald L. Andersen
Mrs. Esther E. Coolen Andersen, (Wife)
Box Number 282,
Stromburg, Nebraska.
S/Sgt. George E. Farrar
Mrs. Raleigh Mae Farrar, (Mother)
79 East Lake Terrace Northeast,
Atlanta, Georgia.
Sgt. George F. McMann
Mr. George F. McMann, (Father)
354 West Avenue,
Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The above list is also a part of MACR (Missing Air Crew Report) 9753. For a diagram and list of each man’s position on the Lead Banana on September 28, 1944, click here.
The Brodie crew’s next of kin must have gotten the same letter and a list of those on the Lazy Daisy. The following list is attached to MACR9366. For a diagram and list of each man’s position on the Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944, click here.
1st Lt. James J. Brodie
Mrs. Mary E. Brodie, (Wife)
4436 North Kostner Avenue
Chicago, Illinois.
2nd Lt. Lloyd O. Vevle
Mr. Oliver E. Vevle, (Father)
240 Sixth Avenue, North
Fort Dodge, Iowa.
2nd Lt. George M. Hawkins, Jr.
Mr. George M. Hawkins, Sr., (Father)
52 Marchard Street
Fords, New Jersey
T/Sgt. Donald W. Dooley
Mr. Guy T. Dooley, (Father)
711 South Rogers Street
Bloomington, Indiana.
S/Sgt. Byron L. Atkins
Mr. Verne Atkins, (Father)
Route Number Two
Lebanon, Indiana.
Sgt. Robert D. Crumpton
Mrs. Stella M. Parks, (Mother)
Route Number One
Ennis, Texas
Sgt. Gordon E. Hetu
Mr. Raymond J. Hetu, (Father)
3821 Webb Street
Detroit, Michigan.
S/Sgt. Wilfred F. Miller
Mrs. Mary Miller, (Mother)
Rural Free Delivery Number One
Newton, Wisconsin.
S/Sgt. Harry A. Liniger
Mrs. Estelle P. Liniger, (Mother)
Box Number 251
Gatesville, North Carolina
If the US Army Air Forces had told the families of the two crews what actually happened to their sons’ aircraft and provided the lists of both crews to the families, the families of the two pilots, Buslee and Brodie, would have discovered that they lived only seven and a half miles apart in Chicago, Illinois. These families would most likely have been very interested in communicating if they had been made aware of each other.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
Three days after the mid-air collision between the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana, a Telegram Form dated October 1, 1944 reported the fate of six more of the crew from the two planes. It reported five men dead. Only three of the five men were identified:
- Donald Dooley (incorrectly identified on the report as Donald Dodlei)
- Gerald Andersen (incorrectly identified on the report as Gerald Ladersen)
- George McMann (incorrectly identified on the report as George Macman)
Dooley was from the Brodie crew aboard Lazy Daisy. Andersen and McMann were from the Buslee crew aboard Lead Banana. The other two dead were unidentified because, as the report states, they were “completely burnt.”
George Farrar was listed on the report as a P.O.W. There is an indication on the report that there were other P.O.W.s from the two planes, but no number is indicated and “The names of the other P.O.W. are still unknown.”
In determination of the fate of the two crews, eighteen total men, this report updates the count to thirteen (13) recovered dead, with only seven (7) identified, and one (1) P.O.W.
Buslee Crew List:
- Pilot – John Oliver Buslee
- Co-Pilot – David Franklin Albrecht
- Navigator – William Alvin Henson II Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
- Bombardier – Robert Sumner Stearns Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Sebastiano Joseph Peluso
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Lenard Leroy Bryant
- Ball Turret Gunner – George Francis McMann, Jr. Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad) Reported P.O.W. on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
Brodie Crew List:
- Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
- Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
- Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.
- Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley Reported dead on October 1, 1944 Telegram Form
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Robert Doyle Crumpton Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
- Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu Reported dead on September 30, 1944 Telegram Form
- Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
- Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger
An October 6, 1944 Captured Aircraft Report conveys the same information.
The October 1 Telegram Form notes also:
- Time: 1350
- From: L S E B
- Through: Paul?
- Remarks: SSD L B K M 321 29 Sept.44 -2130-
- The aircraft was identified as P 231222 D, the Lazy Daisy
This information can be found on pages 14 and 16 of MACR9753. MACR stands for Missing Air Crew Report.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2014
Brodie Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
Brodie Crew in Position on September 28, 1944
The diagram shows the combat position of each Brodie crewmember on Mission 201 on September 28, 1944. Only one crewmember manned both waist gunner positions on this mission. If they were all still in position after coming off the target at Magdeburg, the diagram shows where each man would have been at the time of the mid-air collision with the Lead Banana.
Brodie Crew List:
- Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
- Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
- Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.
- Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Robert Doyle Crumpton
- Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
- Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger
The only survivors of the mid-air collision this day with the Lead Banana were the waist gunner, Harry Allen Liniger, the navigator, George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., and the tail gunner, Wilfred Frank Miller.
Thank you to the 91st Bomb Group for granting me permission to use and modify their B-17 diagram for use on The Arrowhead Club site.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
Map of September 28, 1944 Collision and Crash Sites
Maps of the area show the location of the mid-air collision and subsequent crash sites of the Lead Banana and Lazy Daisy on September 28, 1944. Two maps are included below.
The first map shows the collision site and crash sites of the Lazy Daisy and Lead Banana. The mid-air collision occurred after coming off the target at Magdeburg, at 12:11 pm on September 28, 1944 at 52°06’N 11°39’E (X on the first map, just past the second “g” in “Magdeburg”). Both planes crashed approximately 20 miles northwest of the mid-air collision. Lazy Daisy crashed near Erxleben (E on the first map) and Lead Banana crashed approximately one and one-quarter miles north of Ostingersleben (O on the first map).
X = Collision Site, 52°06’N 11°39’E
O = Ostingersleben
E = Erxleben
The second map is a map of Germany with the area of detail outlined.
Royalty free map of Germany obtained from http://www.tourvideos.com/maps-Germany.html.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201
Lazy Daisy, Aircraft 42-31222
Lead Banana, Aircraft 43-37822
September 28, 1944 – 384th BG Mission 201.
The 384th Bomb Group Mission 201 was also known as Eighth Air Force Mission 652.
The Buslee crew flew this mission aboard aircraft 43-37822, Lead Banana. The Brodie crew was aboard 42-31222, Lazy Daisy.
The primary target was the steelworks industry in Magdeburg, Germany.
Buslee 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 – George Francis McMann, Jr.
- Tail Gunner – Gerald Lee Andersen
- Waist Gunner – George Edwin Farrar (my dad)
Chester A. Rybarczyk flew this mission with the William J. Blankenmeyer crew. William Alvin Henson II replaced Rybarczyk as Navigator on the Buslee crew. This was Henson’s third flight with the Buslee crew.
James B. Davis flew this mission with the Raymond J. Gabel crew. Robert Sumner Stearns replaced Davis as Bombardier on the Buslee crew. This was Stearns second flight with the Buslee crew.
George Francis McMann, Jr. flew this mission as Ball Turret Gunner on the Buslee crew. This was McMann’s first flight with the Buslee crew. Irving L. Miller, who had replaced Erwin V. Foster as Ball Turret Gunner five times on the Buslee crew, also flew with Davis on the Gabel crew this mission.
Gerald Lee Andersen replaced Eugene D. Lucynski for the third time as Tail Gunner on the Buslee crew.
Brodie Crew List:
- Pilot – James Joseph Brodie
- Co-Pilot – Lloyd Oliver Vevle
- Navigator – George Marshall Hawkins, Jr.
- Togglier – Byron Laverne Atkins
- Radio Operator/Gunner – Donald William Dooley
- Engineer/Top Turret Gunner – Robert Doyle Crumpton
- Ball Turret Gunner – Gordon Eugene Hetu
- Tail Gunner – Wilfred Frank Miller
- Waist Gunner – Harry Allen Liniger
James Joseph Brodie (Pilot), Lloyd Oliver Vevle (Co-Pilot), George Marshall Hawkins, Jr. (Navigator), Robert Doyle Crumpton (Engineer/Top Turret Gunner), Gordon Eugene Hetu (Ball Turret Gunner), Wilfred Frank Miller (Tail Gunner), and Harry Allen Liniger (Waist Gunner) were all original Brodie crew members aboard the Lazy Daisy. The only non-original crew members were Byron Laverne Atkins (Bombardier/Togglier) and Donald William Dooley (Radio Operator/Gunner).
Original Brodie crew Bombardier, William D. Barnes, Jr., last flew with the Brodie crew on September 13, 1944. Barnes did not fly again until October 17, 1944. He returned to flight as a Navigator, completed his tour after 35 missions, and returned to the US.
Byron Laverne Atkins flew only six missions, three of them as a Ball Turret Gunner, and one as a Flexible Gunner. He served as Togglier for the Brodie crew on two occasions – once on September 21 and again on September 28, 1944.
William Edson Taylor, the original Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew did not fly on the September 28 mission. On October 5, he flew as Radio Operator/Gunner with the Robert Bruce Birckhead crew. His aircraft was damaged by flak and crashed near Munchen-Gladbach, Germany (MACR 9754). Of the crew, four were killed, and five were taken prisoner of war, including Taylor.
Donald William Dooley’s first mission would be his last. He flew as Radio Operator/Gunner for the Brodie crew on this mission.
Sortie Report Description:
Two Bomb Runs – Primary Target Attacked: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the 41st CBW “C” Wing on today’s mission. Near the target, another formation of bombers flew below this wing, forcing them to hold their bombs. The wing made a second bomb run and released their bombs on the primary target.
Lazy Daisy Sortie Report Status and Comments:
Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 43-37822 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes observed; crashed near Erxleben, Germany; MACR 9366.
Lead Banana Sortie Report Status and Comments:
Failed to Return
MIA; collided with 42-31222 over target; both ships went down on fire and out of control; no chutes; crashed near Osteringersleben, Germany; MACR 9753.
Source: Sortie Report – Buslee Crew, Sortie Report – Brodie Crew
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
Lazy Daisy
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Lazy Daisy
The B17-G aircraft with serial number 42-31222 was assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 546th Squadron. Known as Lazy Daisy, it completed 45 missions, returning safely to base on 44 of those missions. Its first mission, on December 5, 1943, was to a German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Fighter Airfield in St. Jean D’ Angely, France. 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.
James Joseph Brodie, Lloyd Oliver Vevle, Byron Laverne Atkins, Donald William Dooley, Robert Doyle Crumpton, and Gordon Eugene Hetu, all aboard the Lazy Daisy, did not survive the crash.
George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., Wilfred Frank Miller, and Harry Allen Liniger, became POWs.
Wilfred Frank Miller and Harry Allen Liniger were confined at Stalag Luft IV.
George Marshall Hawkins, Jr., was confined at Obermassfeld Hospital #1249 (Serves Stalag 9-C), Obermassfeld Thuringia, Germany 50-10.
Donald William Dooley was not part of the 545th Bomb Squadron. He was assigned to the 384th Bombardment Group Headquarters Complement. September 28, 1944 was his only flight.
The crew chief for Lazy Daisy was James F. Flynn.
© Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2013
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