DATE Sun. 11/15 COMBAT FLYING HOURS 13:30 (Total tour 247:55)
TARGET Tripoli, Libya HOME BASE Abu Sueir, Egypt
BRIEFING 0445 TAKE OFF 0645 LANDING 2005
CREW Lt. Medford (crew #12 HALPRO B Flight, co-pilot) PLANE #48 Skylark BOMB LOAD 6-500 lb NO. OF PLANES 9-B24's and 18-98th B-24's
TARGET TIME not listed (bombed alternate)
BOMBING ALTITUDE not listed
BOMBING RESULTS--direct hits on camp and road southwest of Benghazi.
ENEMY ACTION_-No mention of anti-aircraft fire, but 10 minutes after bombs were dropped, 1 FW 190 (Russian Campaign) and 4-ME 109's jumped our formation. Made at least 15 passes and followed us for 40 minutes. Lt. Wilcox reported difficulty and headed for Allied territory near Tobruk. We had bullet hole in our windshield(no injuries). All planes landed safely at Abu Sueir except #37 (Lt. Wilcox--crew #21 HALPRO C Flight, co-pilot).
OTHER REMARKS--My second mission as volunteer with another crew. Seems like these are rough ones! Substituted for T. A. Smith. Lt. Wilcox and crew returned to base at 1730 Mon. 11/16.
OTHER REMARKS-:"Long time buddy, Radio Operator Noel Meek filled me in on what happened. Enemy fighters damaged # engines on #37. Tail gunner Anthony Filippi was injured (5 bullet wounds). Plane hit by no less than 5-20 mm cannon shells and 80 30 cal. bullets. Lt. Wilcox made belly landing in the desert, in enemy territory. Sgt. Meek sent an S. O. S. A 98th plane located them and dropped rations. They spent the night there. Slept in their flying clothes. A Lockheed aircraft landed and rescued them the next day (Mon. 11/16). Happy ending!!!
The website 376bg.org is NOT our site nor is it our endowment fund.
At the 2017 reunion, the board approved the donation of our archives to the Briscoe Center for American History, located on the University of Texas - Austin campus.
Also, the board approved a $5,000 donation to add to Ed Clendenin's $20,000 donation in the memory of his father. Together, these funds begin an endowment for the preservation of the 376 archives.
Donate directly to the 376 Endowment
To read about other endowment donation options, click here.
DATES: Oct 26-29, 2024
CITY:Tucson, AZ
HOTEL: Double Tree Suites Airport hotel
7051 South Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85756
520-225-0800
Click here to read about the reunion details.