Vaughn Steele, Mission June 24, 1944

Ploesti Romania

One I remember real well.

On leaving base, we climbed to 17,000 ft to get above the overcast.  We were on oxygen for 6 hours.  Flak was heavy and accurate over target.  Did 360 deg turn between Ploesti and Bucharest to wait for other section to drop bombs.  9 enemy fighters attacked us there but all passes were low and I didn’t get a shot.  On the way back we flew around a bit trying to find plane #27. (He was low on fuel.)

We were low on gas when we reached the Adriatic.  We threw out all loose equipment.  Just barely made it back to the base.  7hr 55 min

My note on this.  That was one mission I think about the most.  My flight engineer when transferring fuel from the wing tanks does it by minutes.  Not realizing by transferring at a higher altitude, you will be transferring less fuel – final result we had 150 gallons of gas in the wing tanks when we landed.

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