458th Bombardment Group (H)

2Lt Laurence S. Haynes and crew were assigned to the 458th in July 1944.  Records show that the officers and radio man arrived on July 29th, and the rest of the enlisted crew came in the next day.  This is one of only a few crews that I know of that did not ferry a Liberator to the ETO.  Walter Scheiber, the crew’s radio operator, remembered:

“We were assembled as a crew at Hammer Field, Fresno, CA, and did our crew training at Muroc Lake (now Edwards Air Force Base) in Southern California.  We shipped over on the S.S. Mauretania, a Cunard liner, in June, 1944.  There were 140 of us (enlisted men) in a "butler's pantry", stacked in hammocks, four high.  It was quite a trip.  Where the officers stayed, I have no idea. We landed at Liverpool, and were then flown to Cluntoe, Northern Ireland, where we sat around for a couple of weeks.  My main memory of that assignment is that there was no toilet paper in the latrines, and we had to make use of old copies of Life Magazine - not an easy task.”

The crew flew their first combat mission less than a week after they arrived, on August 4, 1944.  On this, the 458th’s 103 mission to bomb an HE111 factory at Rostock, Germany, the crew flew an olive drab 752nd Squadron B-24H named Final Approach.  In a mission diary kept by the pilot, he noted that the flak was, “moderate [and] accurate” and that the 7-1/2 hour mission was, “Long and pretty rough for a starter.”

They flew six more missions in August in a variety of 752nd Squadron ships.  In early September, the 458th (and several other 2BD groups) was pulled off of combat operations and assigned to fly gasoline to Patton’s army in France.  These “Truckin’ Missions” did not count towards the crew’s total of sorties needed to rotate home, although some thought that flying a Liberator overloaded with high octane gasoline presented more danger than the Luftwaffe did at this point in the air war.  Haynes is recorded as flying one of these cargo missions on September 23, 1944. 

The group was back on operations after the beginning of October, but for unknown reasons, the crew did not fly their next (7th) mission until November 8th.  They continued to fly a variety of 752nd ships until December 4th when they were assigned a NMF (Natural Metal Finish) B-24J that had been flown on about 15 missions.

Walter Scheiber recalled, “After our 13th mission, our crew was assigned B-24 42-50502, which our pilot named Larrupin' Linda for one of his girlfriends.  During our tour our plane, Larrupin' Linda and others, )among them Final Approach, Here I Go Again, Wolves' Lair, Jolly Roger, Princess Pat and You Can't Take It With You), was hit numerous times and lost various engines, and its electrical system, but I have a feeling that our tour was fairly average, except for one crash-landing in France.”  That crash landing occurred on December 31st on a mission to Koblenz when they lost an engine on the bomb run and couldn’t get it feathered.  They were able to make it to an airfield at Lille, France.  When they finally returned to Horsham they found their belongings had been packed and quarters reassigned, as they were listed as MIA!

The crew flew Larrupin’ Linda on 19 of their 35 missions, flying only three different aircraft in 1945.  On January 24th, after flying 21 missions, the entire crew was sent on Rest Home Leave. What would normally be a break of 7-10 days, apparently ended after only five, as Haynes is shown flying again on January 29th.  In February, bombardier Walter Kordeck was transferred to the 755th Squadron to be a pilotage navigator.  At this point in the war, it was feasible for bombardiers to fill this position and to toggle the bombs on the lead aircraft.  Haynes’ crew flew the remainder of their combat sorties with a nine-man crew.

Their 35th and final mission was on March 18, 1945 to hit an ordnance plant in Berlin – the crew’s first and only trip to the German capitol.  A mission to Berlin was never an easy one, and for one member of the crew, this turned out to be true.  S/Sgt Eugene Pilon was manning the tail turret and picked up a piece of flak in his foot during the bomb run.  This was, as far as records show, the only combat injury to any of the crew during their 35 trips over the Continent.  After completing their combat tour, most of the crew would have been released from flying status and shipped home for leave before reassignment.  Two exceptions were Eugene Pilon, who appears on a May 1, 1945 roster of 752nd Squadron personnel.  He was probably still recovering from his wound on March 18th.  Walter Kordeck, having been transferred to be a pilotage navigator, would not have flown as often and was still on base when hostilities ceased.  He is listed on June 7, 1945 orders as a crewman ferrying a Liberator back to the States with 1Lt Kendrick E. Ferriell and crew.

Mission 2

Date: August 5, 1944

Target: Jet Plant at Waggum A/F, Brunswick

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2700

Method: Visual

Results: Good

Flak: Intense, Accurate

Ship: “Final Approach”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Good, but pretty rough. Our ship collected minor battle damage.

Mission 3

Date: August 8, 1944

Target: Clastres A/F St. Quentin

Bombs: 52 x 100 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: Visual

Results: Very Good

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Here I Go Again”

Time: 5 hours

Remarks: Had trouble with #2 supercharger but on the whole an easy mission

Mission 4

Date: August 12,1944

Target: Mourmelon le Grand A/F, Reims

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: Visual

Results: Good

Flak: Nil at target

Aircraft: 812-V

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Dropped 30 seconds late, and blew up a barracks, went off course over Rotterdam on return and accurate Flak split up formation, sweated our gas out.

Mission 7

Date: August 25, 1944

Target: Tertre Synthetic Ammonia Plant, Brussels

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: Visual

Results: Poor

Flak: Nil at Target

Ship: “Yankee Buzz Bomb”

Time: 5 hours

Remarks: Took off at 3 pm with 18 ship formation. Target wasn’t picked up by bombardier on first run and we picked up moderate accurate flak several miles past MPI. We made a “180” and a second run on the target, proceeding to drop our bombs in a river which runs past the plant. Pity the poor taxpayer.

Mission 8

Date: November 8, 1944

Target: Rheine M/Y

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: ---------

Results: ---------

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Jolly Roger”

Time: 5 hours

Remarks: Bad cloud formation snafu'd assembly. We hooked onto the 453rd formation. However, they failed to drop on the primary, eventually jettisoning their bombs into the Zuiderzee. We didn’t have a bombsight, but we made a run on a city near the Dutch border. The monsoon proved that his middle name wasn’t “Norden” after all, as our bombs dropped several miles short, blowing up a Kraut farmhouse.

Mission 9

Date: November 10, 1944

Target: Hanau / Langendiebach A/F Frankfurt

Bombs: 40 x 100 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee it

Results: Fair

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Little Lambsy Divey”

Time: 8 hours

Remarks: We had our troubles: Morelli’s Oxygen mask froze, and he passed out. Then we lost the flight deck oxygen system after sweating out our gas. We made the base without further misadventures. Photos of the target showed that we overshot our MPI (we were supposed to post-hole the field) and hit hangars and repairs shops.

Mission 10

Date: November 16, 1944

Target: Eschweiler Ground Defenses, Aachen

Bombs: 20 x 260 Frags

Gas: 2300

Method: Gee-H (Visual Assist)

Results: Excellent

Flak: Meager, Accurate

Ship: “Princess Pat”

Time: 4-1/2 hours

Remarks: This was part of the “Softening up” process before the 19th army jump-off at Aachen. The whole 8th A. F. bombed in a 3-mile square area. Weather was bad at takeoff and we joined the 93rd bombing with them. We were diverted to Hartford Bridge R.A.F. Station on return at which base we spent a lousy two days before returning to Horsham.

Mission 11

Date: November 21, 1944

Target: Rhenania Oil Refinery, Hamburg

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: PFF

Results: 458th – Poor; 96th wing – Very good

Flak: Intense, Fairly Accurate

Ship: “You Can’t Take It With You”

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks: Photos show that we dropped 2-1/2 miles SSE of MPI, in a park. However, 466th and 467th really creamed the joint.

Mission 13

Date: December 4, 1944

Target: Bebra M/Y

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2700

Method: Gee

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 8 hours

Remarks: Long, but an easy mission

Mission 14

Date: December 11, 1944

Target: Hanan M/Y, Frankfurt

Bombs: 6 x 1000 GP’s

Gas:  2700

Method: PFF

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 8-1/2 hours

Remarks: A record number of 8th A.F. bombers made this mission, and the whole 2nd division attacked this target by instruments. However, nobody managed to hit it. We shoulda stood in bed.

Mission 15

Date: December 12, 1944

Target: Hanau M/Y, Frankfurt

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: visual

Results: Hi Hi Rite – Very good

Flak: Moderate, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Three squadron's bombs landed in the town, but the high high right, led by Sullivan hit right on the money. We had to feather #4 at one target, but had little other trouble.

Mission 16

Date: December 28, 1944

Target: St. Wendel M/Y N.Z. of Saarbruchen

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: ---------

Results: ---------

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Gee equipment went out on the bomb run, and as we had passed the secondary target by that time, we brought our bombs back.

Mission 18

Date: January 7, 1945

Target: Rastatt M/Y

Bombs: 6 x 1000 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee-H

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Meager, Accurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks: Bad weather, but an easy mission

Mission 19

Date: January 8, 1945

Target: Stadtkyll Crossroads

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: Gee-H

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Bad cloud formations, dense contrails, temperature 55 deg below, otherwise a milk run

Mission 20

Date: January 14, 1945

Target: Herman Goring Wenke, Hallendorf, Brunswick

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2700

Method: Visual

Results: Excellent

Flak: Intense, Accurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks: This was a rough one, but the bombs were right on the MPI, for a change. We lost #1, and straggled back – right over Dummer Lake, where the enemy fighters were forming. 8th A.F. fighters got a record bag in the air on this date.

Mission 21

Date: January 17, 1945

Target: Rhenania Oil Refinery, Harburg

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Visual

Results: Excellent

Flak: Intense, Accurate

Ship: “Surfboard Sue”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks: 458th only put up one makeshift squadron, but we beat up the target anyway. Hink saw 2 B-24’s go down in flames, and Hicks on our right wing took a direct hit, and took off for Sweden. Rough. [Click for diary pages on this date]

Mission 22

Date: January 29, 1945

Target: Munster M/Y

Bombs: 6 x 1000 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks: An uneventful mission

Mission 23

Date: February 14, 1945

Target: Magdeburg M/Y

Bombs: 4 x 1000 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Moderate, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: This was our secondary target and was bombed because visual conditions did not prevail at the Rothensee oil refinery. Enemy opposition was meager and it turned out to be an easy mission.

Mission 24

Date: February 16, 1945

Target: Osnabruck M/Y

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2300

Method: Gee-H

Results: Good

Flak: Moderate, Accurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks: A short, sharp mission

Mission 25

Date: February 19, 1945

Target: Jumo Jet Plant, Meschede

Bombs: 6 x 500 GP’s & 6 x M-17 Incend.

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee-H

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Nil at Target

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7 hours

Remarks: Scope photos indicate that the group dropped about 1/2 mile short of the MPI. Some flak was encountered at the front lines of withdrawal. It was an easy mission.

Mission 26

Date: February 21, 1945

Target: Nuremburg M/Y

Bombs: 10 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2700 Topped off

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Moderate, Inaccurate

Ship: “Yankee Buzz Bomb”

Time: 8 hours

Remarks: We nearly tore the roof off the pub on take off, but the rest of the mission wasn’t bad. We saw little flak at the target, some at the front lines. Recon photos showed that only 3 of the 11 groups that bombed this target dropped in town.

Mission 27

Date: February 22, 1945

Target: Peine M/Y (pictured above)

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Visual

Results: Very Good, Excellent

Flak: Meager, Accurate

Plane: 425-0 ("The Bird")

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks: This was the famous low-level mission. Our part of it was a nightmare. En route, we encountered accurate flak at Bebra, and 2 ships in the flight squadron had it before they knew what was happening. Hess nearly got it, too. That’s enough, brother.

[The two crews that were lost were 2Lt Joseph E. Szarko 752BS, and 2Lt William A. Duke 754BS.]

Mission 28

Date: February 28, 1945

Target: Bielefeld M/Y

Bombs: 6 x 1000 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Big Chief Little Beaver”

Time: 5 hours

Remarks:  We lost #3 just before reaching the German border, but continued in and dropped our bombs on a target of opportunity. We then feathered #3 and returned to base without further complications.

Mission 29

Date: March 2, 1945

Target: Krupp Tank Works, Magdeburg

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2700

Method: Gee-H (Virtual Assist)

Results: Fair

Flak: Moderate – Intense, Fairly Accurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks: Nobody hit the target, even though there was a visual assist. It was an easy but not satisfying mission.

Mission 30

Date: March 4, 1945

Target: Stuttgart

Bombs: 10 x M-17 Incendiaries

Gas: 2700 Topped off

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Moderate – Intense, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin' Linda”

Time: 8 ½ hours

Remarks: This was a target of opportunity selected, when we couldn’t get through the clouds to the primary. There was complete cloud cover at Stuttgart, and no flak burst too close to us. The MPI was the center of Stuttgart, and the consensus is that we must have beaten hell out of it.

Mission 31

Date: March 7, 1945

Target: Soest M/Y

Bombs: 24 x 250 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee-H

Results: Fair

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6-1/2 hours

Remarks:  An uneventful mission

Mission 32

Date: March 8, 1945

Target: Dillenberg M/Y

Bombs: 20 x 300 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee-H (Visual Assist)

Results: Good

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks: We led the trail element of the 467th’s 3rd squadron. The 467th dropped about 3000 feet off the MPI, but just after bombs away a concussion was felt. It’s believed to have been the explosion of the ammo dump, which must have damaged everything in the vicinity. The lead squadron of the 458th overran us on the bomb run, and couldn’t drop. The following squadron dropped 23 miles off the MPI. The 458th’s 3rd squadron didn’t drop.

Mission 33

Date: March 12, 1945

Target: Friedberg M/Y

Bombs: 44 x 100 GP’s 2 x M-17 Incendiaries

Gas: 2500

Method: Gee-H

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Nil

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks:  One large milk run

Mission 34

Date: March 17, 1945

Target: Hanomag Tank Works, Hanover

Bombs: 12 x 500 GP’s

Gas: 2500

Method: H2X

Results: Unobserved

Flak: Meager, Inaccurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 6 hours

Remarks: Some of the boys sweated this one out, but it turned out to be a milk run

Mission 35

Date: March 18, 1945

Target: Tegel Armament Works, Berlin

Bombs: 52 x 10 Indec.

Gas: 2500 Topped off

Method: Visual

Results: Excellent

Flak: Intense, Accurate

Ship: “Larrupin’ Linda”

Time: 7-1/2 hours

Remarks:  10/10 w. W/breaks entry @ 22500’ to I.P. Let down cov vis. run. Encountered moderate to intense flak on run 105 mm or exp 128 mm. very accurate. Hit sump return oil line, #1 eng on run, but eng. Maintained full power for approx. 1:00 past target #2 cyl. head temp slightly high en route out – thought we’d lose it too. Pilon hit in foot on run. R/O had close shave opening doors. Squadron leader had #3 shot out on run, took us down to 17500 over NW part of B. before relinquishing lead. Dep. lead did poor job bringing squadron out. Left sq. S.E. Dummer Lake w/feathered #1 return priority. Landing uneventful