ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 97556
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| Date: | Thursday 16 September 1943 |
| Time: | 21:30 |
| Type: |  Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress |
| Owner/operator: | 562nd BSqn /388th BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-5906 |
| MSN: | Sondra Kay |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Location: | Rhiw Gwraidd, near Llandrindod Wells, Wales -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Knettishall /AAF Sta.136 Suffolk |
Mission: Raid over Bordeaux.
Details:
80 years ago, the American effort of bombing by day was well into it’s second year and this time the target for the aircraft and crews of ‘The Mighty Eigith’ was the aircraft factory and airfield at Bordeaux. ‘Ascend Charlie’ was one of 21 aircraft of 571st Bomber Squadron that took off from their base at RAF Framlington. One of the other squadrons that took part was the 567th, one of these aircraft was ‘Sondra Kay’. This B17 was so called after the baby daughter of the tail gunner.
When the force arrived over the area, they found the target completely obscured by thick cloud. The target of opportunity for the 571st was the submarine pens at La Rochelle which they bombed. It was over this secondary target that the No.1 engine of Ascend Charlie was hit by heavy flak, Sondra Kay also received battle damage from flak.
After the bomb run, the force turned for home, it was then the whole force encountered bad weather over the English Channel which made flying in tight formation an impossible option and the chance of collision highly likely. The standard procedure was to fly individually. The weather had the effect of totally splitting the force, seeing aircraft becoming totally lost, some more so than others.
Three aircraft found themselves further west. B-17 42-30030 ‘Old Ironsides’ ended up striking Long Holcombe Hill at Simonsbath near Moulton in Devon.
42-5903 ‘Ascend Charlie’ was last seen at 20:17hrs just before reaching the British coast, an hour later, now flying blind in the weather and with the light failing, struck the high ground of Pen-Gwyllt Meirich, a mountain belonging with the Black Mountains, the Eastern end of the Brecon Beacons, this feature over looks the village of Crickhowell 2,000 feet below. Unknown to the residents of Crickhowell, ten American crewmen met their deaths on that mountainside at 21:20hrs and wouldn’t be discovered for 48 hours when a large black scar was noticed by farmworkers who raised the alarm, sadly only to recover the bodies.
Sondra Kay was last seen crossing the coast at 20:37hrs. Still in thick cloud and in similar circumstances continued further north and now running out of fuel quickly were near the market Spa town of Llandrindod Wells. The radio operator had managed to get a signal and received a diversion to RAF Shobden. The engines began cutting out causing the bomber to lose height, now in darkness they flew over the small village of Llanure when they too struck rising ground belonging to Upper Cilgee Farm Northwest of Llandrindod. This unassuming small hill of only 150-200 feet high saved the farmhouse and the family who that evening were settling down in front of the fire with the bad weather outside when at around 09:30 o’clock the ugly sound of a crashing aircraft was heard, over the other side of the hill the bomber hit the top part of a rising field after felling over fifteen trees and sending two engines over the top and ending up near the farmhouse. The family ventured outside only to be meet with thick fog and driving rain, a glow could be seen over the other side, it was here they found the bodies of eight of the crew within the wreck. It was the following morning with the arrival of the emergency crews that the two missing crew members were found only yards from the house within the kitchen garden.
Crew
‘Sondra Kay’.
1st Lt Henry Oren Cox Jr O-794117 USAAF. Pilot. Killed. 1
2nd Lt Albert Rubin O-738035 USAAF. Co-Pilot. Killed. 2
2nd Lt Robert B Leventhal O-674216 USAAF. Nav’. Killed. 3
1st Lt Frank Norman Broach Jr O-667239 USAAF. Bmdr. Killed. 4
T/Sgt Herman J Ball 36243138 USAAF. Flt/Engr (upper gnr). Killed. 5
T/Sgt Donald Paul Gromis 33188173 USAAF. Radio Op’. Killed. 6
Sgt George Roscoe Martin USAAF. Ball/Gnr. Killed. 7
T/Sgt Otto Victor Kloza 36261461 USAAF. Waist Gnr. Killed 8
T/Sgt Francis H Curry 18019453 USAAF. Waist Gnr. Killed. 9
S/Sgt Joshua Manuel Lewis 13103063 USAAF. Tail Gnr. Killed. 10
Buried:
‘Sondra Kay’.
1 Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Plot E. Row 6. Grave 70.
2 Westlawn Cemetery. Norridge, Illinois USA. Plot B-5-19-4.
3 Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Plot C. Row 4. Grave 64.
4 Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Plot B. Row 2. Grave 6.
5 Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA. Section C-25. Site 14177.
6 Eplers Church Cemetery, Leesport, Pennsylvania USA.
7 Maple Grove Cemetery, Farmer City, Illinois USA.
8 Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Plot B. Row 3. Grave 6.
9 Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial. Plot B. Row 5. Grave 23.
10 Hillcrest Burial Park, Cumberland, Maryland USA.
Wreckage:
‘Sondra Kay’.
All removed with the ground returned to agriculture. However small fragments are still to be found along the field boundary wall & fence, pieces are still appearing between the site and the farm and kitchen garden.
Additional Information:
Here is the statistics for the raid of the 16th of September 1943.
B-17 42-29699 ‘Fifi aka Old Battle Axe’ 332nd BS. Lost by Enemy Aircraft. Crew killed 0.
B-17 42-29876 ‘Battlin Bobbie’ 525th BS. Lost by Flak. Crew killed 0.
B-17 42-29893 524th BS. Lost by Flak. Crew killed 3.
B-17 42-29901 526th BS. Lost by Friendly Fire. Crew killed 6.
B-17 42-29934 526th BS. Lost by E/A. Crew Killed 10.
B-17 42-29825 511th BS. Out of fuel C/L. Crew Killed 0.
‘Meatball aka Major Ball’
B-17 42-30030 ‘Old Ironsides’ 560th BS. Out of fuel. Crew Killed 2.
B-17 42-30064 ‘Wild Cargo’ 418th BS. Lost by E/A & Flak. Crew killed 0.
B-17 42-30120 ‘Patches’ 334th BS. Collision. Crew Killed 0.
B-17 42-30276 336th BS. Lost by Flak. Crew killed 0.
‘Terry and the Pirates.
B-17 42-30601 ‘Mary Ellen II’ 336th BS. Collision. Crew killed 0.
B-17 42-3079 412th BS. Lost by Flak. Crew killed 1.
B-17 42-5849 ‘Hells Bells II’ 547th BS. Lost by E/A. Crew killed 3.
B-17 42-5903 ‘Ascend Charlie’ 571st BS. B/D, crashed. Crew killed 10.
B-17 42-5906 ‘Sondra Kay’ 562nd BS. B/D, crashed. Crew killed 10.
Total B-17 lost 15.
Killed 45.
POW 38
Home/Safe 57.
Injured 10.
Memorials:
Sondra Kay.
Memorial stone & plaque in the village of Llanure.
Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial.
Sources:
www.b17flyingfortress.de
www.uswarmemorial.org
www.americanmuseum.com
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Sep-2023 07:20 | Davies 62 | Updated |
| 21-Sep-2023 10:52 | Nepa | Updated |
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