Emil Gerlt, Jr.

Emil Gerlt Jr. was the engineer on the James McConnaughey crew.

According to the MACR#7634  report, this was the crew when the aircraft was shot down on August 17, 1944, 4 months after the photo was taken.

Pilot James R. McConnaughey, 2nd Lt.
Co Pilot Nathan Dopp, 2nd, Lt.
Navigator Russel H. Deppe, 2nd Lt.
Bombardier George A Savage, Jr. 2nd Lt.
Eng. Gnr- Emil Gerlt Jr., S/Sgt.
Opr. Gnr- Elmer J. Shriver, S/Sgt.
Arm. Gnr- Thomas F. Harkin, Sgt.
Arm. Gnr- Fred E. Leggett, Sgt.
Arm. Gnr- Kenneth F. Kaffenberger, Sgt.
Arm. Gnr- Paul E. Nesbitt, Sgt.

Aircraft number 42-78206, DESERT FURY was on a high altitude mission from San Pancrazio, Italy and their target was the Astra Romana oil refinery at Ploesti, Romania.  The pilot was hit by flak, and an engine caught fire. The aircraft crashed near Makhalata, Bulgaria. S/Sgt. Emil Gerlt Jr. received a Silver Star for getting a wounded crewman out of the plane as it went down.

376 ARCHIVES

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.


My Trip to San Pancrazio

October 2019


Reunion

NOTE change in month !!!

DATES: Oct 26-29, 2023

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.

previous reunions


For Sale

The Other Doolittle Raid


The Broken Wings of Zlatibor


The Liberandos


Three Crawford Brothers


Liberando: Reflections of a Reluctant Warrior


376th Bomb Group Mission History


The Last Liberator


Full Circle


Shadows of Wings


Ten Men, A "Flying Boxcar," and A War


I Survived Ploesti


A Measure of Life


Shot Down In Yugoslavia


Stories of My Life


Attack


Born in Battle


Bombardier's Diary


Lost Airmen


Langdon Liberando