USAAF WORLD WAR II
Gunner S/Sgt. Allen P. Schneider POW
Hometown: Evansville, Indiana
Squadron: 506th 44th Bomb Group
Service# 35720564
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James A. Wilson POW
MACR #7805
Target: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Mission Date: 21-JUL-44
Serial Number: #42-110034
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: Bar-R,
Aircraft Name: SOUTHERN COMFORT III
Note: Although this aircraft was the third one named SOUTHERN COMFORT, and therefore is SOUTHERN COMFORT III, it only had “II” painted on the aircraft.
Location: 7 km southeast of Halberstadt
Cause: Fighters
The mission was a long one to an armaments center near Munich. Flak was moderate and accurate and the enemy aircraft gave fierce challenge, causing the loss of four aircraft over the continent and one plane crash-landed at Warningford, England. Happily, two of the lost planes managed to land in Switzerland.
MACR #7805 states that this aircraft, at 1036 hours in the Munich area, is believed to have been attacked by twin engined aircraft. It went into a steep dive, under control. The tail gunner (Frank Pacylowsky) was seen to be firing at pursuing enemy aircraft, which in turn, were being attacked by our P-51s. One chute was sighted and one chute did not open.
Lt. Dan Healy, navigator, states, “SOUTHERN COMFORT was shot down by an anti-aircraft battery despite strong evasive action taken by pilots Allen and Jacobs. One engine failed – I believe #4 – and we stalled, but then righted ourselves when #1 & #2 were adjusted, etc. We had not bombed Munich because of cloud cover, but bombed a target of opportunity not far from Munich. SOUTHERN COMFORT had two new engines on one side and two old one on the other. We could not keep up with the formation then and set off for England alone. When the battery hit the other engine, the bells went off. I got Lt. Flora out of the nose turret and followed him out the nose wheel hatch. Kempowicz, radio operator, I was told, did not pop his chute after the crewmen had put him out through the bomb bay.
“I never saw fighters on us – but then, I couldn’t from my position. We were collected in a small village (Leonbronn), transported to the Stuttgart area. We were interrogated at Oberusal (near the Leica Works outside of Frankfurt), then sent by train to Stalag I.
“To the best of my knowledge, all survived except the radio operator who had been at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and had also survived a mid-air collision in B-17 training.”
Lt. Orville Flora then added, “Stalag I was located on a peninsula jutting out into the Baltic Sea, 90 miles north of Berlin and just 60 miles from Sweden. Some 10,000 officers including 8,000 Americans were confined in barracks there behind barbed wire.
“For me the war was a short one. I was on my fourth mission when enemy flak struck a wing and touched off an oil-fed fire. Because of our heavy concentration of 110+ octane gasoline in the wing tanks, we were under orders to jump anytime we had a fire. So an open field near a small Austrian village just across the border from Munich provided a convenient landing place and an opportunity for the village home guard to capture its first American. One member of the bombing crew, a radio operator, had to be pushed out of the plane and never was heard from again alive. The others were scattered over 60 miles of German and Austrian countryside before being taken prisoner.”
Neither of these crewmembers make mention of enemy aircraft, so again it is possible that the MACR may not be completely accurate.
Note: Lts. Allen, Jacob, Flora, and Healy were were all at Stalag Luft I until liberated by the Russians in May 1945.
SOUTHERN COMFORT III Crew
2nd/Lt. John W. Allen Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. john R. Jacobs Co Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. Daniel J. Healy Navigator POW
2nd/Lt. Orville E. Flora Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Alexo Patelli Engineer POW
S/Sgt. John J. Kempowicz Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. William E. Shay Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Steve J. Petz Gunner POW
S/Sgt. George C. Priday Gunner POW
Gunner S/Sgt. Allen P. Schneider POW
Hometown: Evansville, Indiana
Squadron: 506th 44th Bomb Group
Service# 35720564
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James A. Wilson POW
MACR #7805
Target: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Mission Date: 21-JUL-44
Serial Number: #42-110034
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: Bar-R,
Aircraft Name: SOUTHERN COMFORT III
Note: Although this aircraft was the third one named SOUTHERN COMFORT, and therefore is SOUTHERN COMFORT III, it only had “II” painted on the aircraft.
Location: 7 km southeast of Halberstadt
Cause: Fighters
The mission was a long one to an armaments center near Munich. Flak was moderate and accurate and the enemy aircraft gave fierce challenge, causing the loss of four aircraft over the continent and one plane crash-landed at Warningford, England. Happily, two of the lost planes managed to land in Switzerland.
MACR #7805 states that this aircraft, at 1036 hours in the Munich area, is believed to have been attacked by twin engined aircraft. It went into a steep dive, under control. The tail gunner (Frank Pacylowsky) was seen to be firing at pursuing enemy aircraft, which in turn, were being attacked by our P-51s. One chute was sighted and one chute did not open.
Lt. Dan Healy, navigator, states, “SOUTHERN COMFORT was shot down by an anti-aircraft battery despite strong evasive action taken by pilots Allen and Jacobs. One engine failed – I believe #4 – and we stalled, but then righted ourselves when #1 & #2 were adjusted, etc. We had not bombed Munich because of cloud cover, but bombed a target of opportunity not far from Munich. SOUTHERN COMFORT had two new engines on one side and two old one on the other. We could not keep up with the formation then and set off for England alone. When the battery hit the other engine, the bells went off. I got Lt. Flora out of the nose turret and followed him out the nose wheel hatch. Kempowicz, radio operator, I was told, did not pop his chute after the crewmen had put him out through the bomb bay.
“I never saw fighters on us – but then, I couldn’t from my position. We were collected in a small village (Leonbronn), transported to the Stuttgart area. We were interrogated at Oberusal (near the Leica Works outside of Frankfurt), then sent by train to Stalag I.
“To the best of my knowledge, all survived except the radio operator who had been at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and had also survived a mid-air collision in B-17 training.”
Lt. Orville Flora then added, “Stalag I was located on a peninsula jutting out into the Baltic Sea, 90 miles north of Berlin and just 60 miles from Sweden. Some 10,000 officers including 8,000 Americans were confined in barracks there behind barbed wire.
“For me the war was a short one. I was on my fourth mission when enemy flak struck a wing and touched off an oil-fed fire. Because of our heavy concentration of 110+ octane gasoline in the wing tanks, we were under orders to jump anytime we had a fire. So an open field near a small Austrian village just across the border from Munich provided a convenient landing place and an opportunity for the village home guard to capture its first American. One member of the bombing crew, a radio operator, had to be pushed out of the plane and never was heard from again alive. The others were scattered over 60 miles of German and Austrian countryside before being taken prisoner.”
Neither of these crewmembers make mention of enemy aircraft, so again it is possible that the MACR may not be completely accurate.
Note: Lts. Allen, Jacob, Flora, and Healy were were all at Stalag Luft I until liberated by the Russians in May 1945.
SOUTHERN COMFORT III Crew
2nd/Lt. John W. Allen Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. john R. Jacobs Co Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. Daniel J. Healy Navigator POW
2nd/Lt. Orville E. Flora Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Alexo Patelli Engineer POW
S/Sgt. John J. Kempowicz Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. William E. Shay Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Steve J. Petz Gunner POW
S/Sgt. George C. Priday Gunner POW
USAAF WORLD WAR II
Gunner S/Sgt. Allen P. Schneider POW
Hometown: Evansville, Indiana
Squadron: 506th 44th Bomb Group
Service# 35720564
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James A. Wilson POW
MACR #7805
Target: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Mission Date: 21-JUL-44
Serial Number: #42-110034
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: Bar-R,
Aircraft Name: SOUTHERN COMFORT III
Note: Although this aircraft was the third one named SOUTHERN COMFORT, and therefore is SOUTHERN COMFORT III, it only had “II” painted on the aircraft.
Location: 7 km southeast of Halberstadt
Cause: Fighters
The mission was a long one to an armaments center near Munich. Flak was moderate and accurate and the enemy aircraft gave fierce challenge, causing the loss of four aircraft over the continent and one plane crash-landed at Warningford, England. Happily, two of the lost planes managed to land in Switzerland.
MACR #7805 states that this aircraft, at 1036 hours in the Munich area, is believed to have been attacked by twin engined aircraft. It went into a steep dive, under control. The tail gunner (Frank Pacylowsky) was seen to be firing at pursuing enemy aircraft, which in turn, were being attacked by our P-51s. One chute was sighted and one chute did not open.
Lt. Dan Healy, navigator, states, “SOUTHERN COMFORT was shot down by an anti-aircraft battery despite strong evasive action taken by pilots Allen and Jacobs. One engine failed – I believe #4 – and we stalled, but then righted ourselves when #1 & #2 were adjusted, etc. We had not bombed Munich because of cloud cover, but bombed a target of opportunity not far from Munich. SOUTHERN COMFORT had two new engines on one side and two old one on the other. We could not keep up with the formation then and set off for England alone. When the battery hit the other engine, the bells went off. I got Lt. Flora out of the nose turret and followed him out the nose wheel hatch. Kempowicz, radio operator, I was told, did not pop his chute after the crewmen had put him out through the bomb bay.
“I never saw fighters on us – but then, I couldn’t from my position. We were collected in a small village (Leonbronn), transported to the Stuttgart area. We were interrogated at Oberusal (near the Leica Works outside of Frankfurt), then sent by train to Stalag I.
“To the best of my knowledge, all survived except the radio operator who had been at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and had also survived a mid-air collision in B-17 training.”
Lt. Orville Flora then added, “Stalag I was located on a peninsula jutting out into the Baltic Sea, 90 miles north of Berlin and just 60 miles from Sweden. Some 10,000 officers including 8,000 Americans were confined in barracks there behind barbed wire.
“For me the war was a short one. I was on my fourth mission when enemy flak struck a wing and touched off an oil-fed fire. Because of our heavy concentration of 110+ octane gasoline in the wing tanks, we were under orders to jump anytime we had a fire. So an open field near a small Austrian village just across the border from Munich provided a convenient landing place and an opportunity for the village home guard to capture its first American. One member of the bombing crew, a radio operator, had to be pushed out of the plane and never was heard from again alive. The others were scattered over 60 miles of German and Austrian countryside before being taken prisoner.”
Neither of these crewmembers make mention of enemy aircraft, so again it is possible that the MACR may not be completely accurate.
Note: Lts. Allen, Jacob, Flora, and Healy were were all at Stalag Luft I until liberated by the Russians in May 1945.
SOUTHERN COMFORT III Crew
2nd/Lt. John W. Allen Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. john R. Jacobs Co Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. Daniel J. Healy Navigator POW
2nd/Lt. Orville E. Flora Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Alexo Patelli Engineer POW
S/Sgt. John J. Kempowicz Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. William E. Shay Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Steve J. Petz Gunner POW
S/Sgt. George C. Priday Gunner POW
Gunner S/Sgt. Allen P. Schneider POW
Hometown: Evansville, Indiana
Squadron: 506th 44th Bomb Group
Service# 35720564
Awards:
Pilot 1st/Lt. James A. Wilson POW
MACR #7805
Target: Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Mission Date: 21-JUL-44
Serial Number: #42-110034
Aircraft Model B-24
Aircraft Letter: Bar-R,
Aircraft Name: SOUTHERN COMFORT III
Note: Although this aircraft was the third one named SOUTHERN COMFORT, and therefore is SOUTHERN COMFORT III, it only had “II” painted on the aircraft.
Location: 7 km southeast of Halberstadt
Cause: Fighters
The mission was a long one to an armaments center near Munich. Flak was moderate and accurate and the enemy aircraft gave fierce challenge, causing the loss of four aircraft over the continent and one plane crash-landed at Warningford, England. Happily, two of the lost planes managed to land in Switzerland.
MACR #7805 states that this aircraft, at 1036 hours in the Munich area, is believed to have been attacked by twin engined aircraft. It went into a steep dive, under control. The tail gunner (Frank Pacylowsky) was seen to be firing at pursuing enemy aircraft, which in turn, were being attacked by our P-51s. One chute was sighted and one chute did not open.
Lt. Dan Healy, navigator, states, “SOUTHERN COMFORT was shot down by an anti-aircraft battery despite strong evasive action taken by pilots Allen and Jacobs. One engine failed – I believe #4 – and we stalled, but then righted ourselves when #1 & #2 were adjusted, etc. We had not bombed Munich because of cloud cover, but bombed a target of opportunity not far from Munich. SOUTHERN COMFORT had two new engines on one side and two old one on the other. We could not keep up with the formation then and set off for England alone. When the battery hit the other engine, the bells went off. I got Lt. Flora out of the nose turret and followed him out the nose wheel hatch. Kempowicz, radio operator, I was told, did not pop his chute after the crewmen had put him out through the bomb bay.
“I never saw fighters on us – but then, I couldn’t from my position. We were collected in a small village (Leonbronn), transported to the Stuttgart area. We were interrogated at Oberusal (near the Leica Works outside of Frankfurt), then sent by train to Stalag I.
“To the best of my knowledge, all survived except the radio operator who had been at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and had also survived a mid-air collision in B-17 training.”
Lt. Orville Flora then added, “Stalag I was located on a peninsula jutting out into the Baltic Sea, 90 miles north of Berlin and just 60 miles from Sweden. Some 10,000 officers including 8,000 Americans were confined in barracks there behind barbed wire.
“For me the war was a short one. I was on my fourth mission when enemy flak struck a wing and touched off an oil-fed fire. Because of our heavy concentration of 110+ octane gasoline in the wing tanks, we were under orders to jump anytime we had a fire. So an open field near a small Austrian village just across the border from Munich provided a convenient landing place and an opportunity for the village home guard to capture its first American. One member of the bombing crew, a radio operator, had to be pushed out of the plane and never was heard from again alive. The others were scattered over 60 miles of German and Austrian countryside before being taken prisoner.”
Neither of these crewmembers make mention of enemy aircraft, so again it is possible that the MACR may not be completely accurate.
Note: Lts. Allen, Jacob, Flora, and Healy were were all at Stalag Luft I until liberated by the Russians in May 1945.
SOUTHERN COMFORT III Crew
2nd/Lt. John W. Allen Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. john R. Jacobs Co Pilot POW
2nd/Lt. Daniel J. Healy Navigator POW
2nd/Lt. Orville E. Flora Bombardier POW
T/Sgt. Alexo Patelli Engineer POW
S/Sgt. John J. Kempowicz Radio Op. POW
S/Sgt. William E. Shay Gunner POW
S/Sgt. Steve J. Petz Gunner POW
S/Sgt. George C. Priday Gunner POW
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