2nd Lt. Edward T. Mueller - Crew 118

CREW2USE.jpg (27841 bytes)

Dalhart, Texas

Osborn Group, Taken September, 1943

Front - Left to Right                                                                                                                                                                                                                Original Status                                 Final Status
Pilot 2nd Lt. Edward T. Mueller Brentwood MD MIA - POW                   MIA     
Co-Pilot F/O Pascall C. Lynott Rossville, GA MIA                   MIA
Bombardier 2nd Lt. Turley E. Bird,  Jr. Mars Hill, NC MIA                   MIA
Navigator 2nd Lt. Carl  Helton,  Jr.  (NMI)  St. Louis, MO  MIA - POW                   MIA
Back Row
    Unidentified Gentleman                    
Left Waist Gunner Sgt. Ransom S. Jacobs Arlton, AL MIA                   MIA
Radio Operator/Gunner S/ Sgt. Jesse A. Hembree Viaa Rica, GA MIA                   MIA
Assistant Radio Sgt. Harmon Pictured with crew in Texas, but not with crew on final mission.
Tail Gunner S/Sgt. Robert P.  Blankenship Greenville, SC MIA                   MIA
Right Waist Gunner S/Sgt. Herman C. Thomas Climax, GA MIA                   MIA
Flight Eng/ TT Gunner S/Sgt George G. Emery,  Jr.   -  Not Pictured Savannah, GA MIA                   MIA
Ball Turret Gunner Sgt.  Joseph W. Kampf   -  Not Pictured Novelty, OH MIA                   MIA

THEIR UNIT                                 524th Bombardment Squadron (H) - 379th Bombardment Group (H)

                                                                      41st Combat Wing - First Bombardment Division


THEIR AIRCRAFT                                 "Little Minnie" - B-17F, SN: 42-29724, Marked -   WA   H
 

THE MISSION                  Number 51, Target - Osnabruck, Germany, Date: Wednesday,  December 22, 1943

                                                                                             -----------------------------

    The crew is believed to have arrived at the 379th Bombardment Group (H), Kimbolton Station (AAF Station 117), Huntingdonshire, England,  on the 16th or 17th of November, 1943, as part of an unusually large contingent of 30 replacement crews.

    On arrival, Lt. Mueller’s crew was assigned to the 524th Bombardment Squadron (H) and were housed at Site No. 4, located on the eastern side of the airfield. Before their first mission the new crews received a period of ground and air training to familiarize themselves with the complexities of flying combat in the crowded and dangerous skies over Europe.

    Lt. Mueller and his crew flew their first and only mission on Wednesday, December 22nd, 1943. The 379th BG dispatched 21 aircraft to attack the marshalling yards at Osnabruck, Germany. These aircraft joined with 20 aircraft from the 384BG and 20 aircraft of 303BG to form the 41st Combat Wing over the Fens. In turn this combat wing joined up at Cromer, on the Norfolk coast, with three other Wings to complete the leading Air Task Force which departed England at 1246 hours. By this time there were some 248 B-17s airborne from units of the First Bombardment Division. When units from the Second and Third Bombardment Divisions and the fighter escort were taken into account, over 1000 planes were involved in the day's mission.

    The weather conditions were poor that day, with thick cloud cover reducing visibility.  Each Combat Wing was accompanied by a radar equipped Pathfinder aircraft, which would enable the lead plane to pick out the target through the cloud cover over Germany.  At some point during the mission, the Pathfinder B-17 leading the 41st Wing aborted and none of the Groups in the Wing bombed Osnabruck marshalling yards because the solid under-cast obscured their primary target.  So the 379th, along with the 384th and 303rd turned for home and bombed a target of opportunity in Germany when a hole in the clouds permitted.

    For this mission Lt. Mueller and his crew had been assigned to fly B-17F, SN: 42-29724, named  "Little Minnie," carrying the fuselage codes WA-H. The WA denoted membership of the 524th Bombardment Squadron (H) and the letter H was its radio call sign letter. This aircraft was normally parked on Hardstand No. 3, on one of the two cloverleaf dispersal areas near the railway line on the north side of the airfield.

    Mission reports describe enemy opposition, as "not severe".  During the return flight over the North Sea, when the 379BG was almost halfway between Ijmuiden (Holland) and Great Yarmouth (England), Lt. Mueller’s aircraft was seen to go into a dive, level off  and then pull up in a steep climb before finally going down in a spin.  The plane disappeared into the dense clouds at 1800 feet.  Returning crews reported seeing 3 parachutes and an Air Sea Rescue operation was set in motion, covering the general area of the North Sea where 724 was thought to have gone down.  Sadly, none of the crew were ever found.

    Most of the Missing In Action crew are commemorated on the Wall of the Missing located in the American WWII Cemetery, at Cambridge, England, with Lt. Mueller listed on the Wall of the Missing, Margraten American Military Cemetery, Netherlands.

    The final Mission Reports list the cause of their loss, as being downed by FLAK.  They were the only 379BG crew lost on the Group’s 51st mission. The total loss on that day to the Eighth Air Force was 22 heavy bombers.
 

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