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Back row, left to right...
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Gerald Hirschman, navigator
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Raymond Sachtleben, pilot
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Wallace Krueger, bombardier
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Front row, left to right...
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Oliver Brown, gunner
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Harry Wensel, gunner
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William Laslo, radio operator
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Howard Schwegel, gunner
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Clarence Grimm, engineer
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Sachtleben Crew 607 Summary
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The Sachtleben Crew 607 was one of the original crews for the 492nd BG that trained in Alamogordo, New Mexico. They came up as Crew 1065 from the 32nd CCT at Davis-Monthan Air Field in Tucson, Arizona. Their crew remained intact with no personnel changes. They were assigned to the 856th BS, designated as Crew 607.
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Lt Raymond Sachtleben signed out for B-24J, 44-40146. In April 1944, they flew their assigned aircraft to North Pickenham, England, via the southern route. Lt Kehoe, the 856th Assistant Squadron Operations Officer, flew with them to England sitting in the co-pilot chair. Lt Mueller, the co-pilot went over on the Queen Elizabeth as commander of the other 856th crewmen taking the boat. Sgt DeBrular also took the boat to make room Lt Warner.
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Letters written home by Howard Schwegel verifies that this crew's assigned plane was named SUGAR-N-SPICE. Because this plane was used later by the Pitsenbarger Crew, its name is often confused for being LUCKY STRIKE. See footnotes.
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By our count Lt Sachtleben flew as the aircraft commander for crew 607 for a total of 9 missions. We can't be positive if there were any personnel changes on some of their missions. It is always possible that their bombardier might had missed a couple of the pathfinder-led missions.
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On 4 Jun 44, as they took off for a bombing raid to Avord, France, the plane stalled and spun out of control near Garveston, England. All 10 on board were killed in the crash.
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We found on another website a brief account of the Sachtleben crash dealing with the two firefighters who were killed when a bomb exploded while responding to the accident. We put together an edited, condensed version of their account under the Stories link to the right. Or you may go to the original source by clicking on the Camden County weblink on the right.
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According a google search, the correct pronunciation of Sachtleben is "SACK-lay-ben" (in case you were wondering).
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More Info |
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Original Roster for
Sachtleben Crew 607
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| Position |
Name |
Rank |
Serial # |
Notes |
Pilot
MOS 1024 |
Sachtleben, Raymond J |
2nd Lt |
O-811444 |
Promoted 1st Lt
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Co-Pilot
MOS 1024 |
Mueller, Vernon D |
2nd Lt |
O-814917 |
Arrived to the UK via the Queen Elizabeth
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Navigator
MOS 1034 |
Hirschman, Gerald E |
2nd Lt |
O-699931 |
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Bombardier
MOS 1035 |
Krueger, Wallace |
F/O |
T-123129 |
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Engineer
MOS 748 |
Grimm, Clarence W |
S/Sgt |
36802488 |
Promoted T/Sgt
KIA, 4 Jun 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-5-63 |
Radio
Operator
MOS 757 |
Laslo, William E |
Sgt |
34600810 |
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Gunner
MOS 611 |
Schwegel, Howard J |
Sgt |
35120394 |
Promoted S/Sgt
KIA, 4 Jun 44
Buried at Cambridge, F-1-13 |
Gunner
MOS 748 |
Wensel, Harry L |
Sgt |
12031247 |
Promoted S/Sgt
KIA, 4 Jun 44
Buried at Cambridge, F-2-38 |
Gunner
MOS 612 |
Brown, Oliver W |
Sgt |
13100808 |
Promoted S/Sgt
KIA, 4 Jun 44 |
Gunner
MOS 748 |
DeBrular, Edward P |
Sgt |
15547122 |
Arrived to the UK via the Queen Elizabeth
Promoted S/Sgt
KIA, 4 Jun 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-5-83 |
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Others Who Flew with Sachtleben Crew 607
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Co-Pilot
MOS 2161 |
Kehoe, Nicholas B |
1st Lt |
O-659380 |
856th Assistant Operations Officer
Flew to England with the crew |
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Sachtleben Crew 607
492nd BG Mission Record
856th Bomb Squadron
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Crew
Mission
Number |
Group
Mission
Number |
Group
Mission
Date |
Aircraft
Serial
Number |
Primary Target |
Mission Notes |
| 01 |
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11 May 44 |
44-40146 |
Mulhouse, France |
Target: Marshalling yard |
| 02 |
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13 May 44 |
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Tutow, Germany |
Target: Airfield |
| 03 |
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19 May 44 |
44-40146 |
Brunswick, Germany |
Target: Marshalling yard |
| 04 |
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23 May 44 |
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Avord, France |
Target: Airfield |
| 05 |
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27 May 44 |
44-40146 |
Saarbrucken,
Germany |
Target: Marshalling yard |
| 06 |
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29 May 44 |
44-40067 |
Politz, Germany |
Target: Oil refinery |
| 07 |
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31 May 44 |
42-110152 |
Brussels, Belgium |
Target: Marshalling yard |
| 08 |
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02 Jun 44 |
44-40150 |
Burck-sur-Mer, France |
Target: Target: Airfield |
| 09 |
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04 Jun 44 |
42-95160 |
Avord, France |
Target: Airfield
Lost: crashed after takeoff, 10 KIA |
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