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Pitsenbarger Crew R-26 (619)
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Back row, left to right...
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Jack Bliss, navigator
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Frank Cser, bombardier
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Elmer Pitsenbarger, pilot
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James Nendel, co-pilot
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Front row, left to right...
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Joe Zwinge, radio operator
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Presley Farris, engineer
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Curtis Anderson, waist gunner
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Cyril McQuade, waist gunner
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Frank Villelli, ball turret gunner
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Hank Stec, tail gunner
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Pitsenbarger Crew R-26 Summary
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In May of '44 the Pitsenbarger Crew signed out for a B-24 J, 42-99911 to fly over to England. Perhaps they thought they were going to keep it since they named it LUCKY STRIKE. Records show that their flyover ship was transferred to the Royal Air Force.
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The Pitsenbarger Replacement Crew was assigned to North Pickenham during the tail end of June. After some in-house training they were assigned to the 856th BS on 3 Jul 44 and designated as Crew 619.
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By our count, the Pitsenbarger Crew R-26 flew 10 missions with the 492nd. We haven't confirmed exactly who was on every one of these flights, but will post any information we find.
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Sgt Stec was wounded in action from flak during their second mission. He was replaced by S/Sgt Barber. After recovery, Stec was reassigned to the McLaughlin Crew 801, which had earlier been reassigned to the 856th.
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In between the Crew's third and fourth missions, Sgt Anderson flew five other missions with other crews.
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Their fifth mission came close to being their last. They lost one engine over target to flak. By throwing everything they could out of the plane, they were able to limp home.
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According to Sgt Anderson, the Crew did not fly again until 25 July. We have other sources showing three more during this period. Anderson also stated that they flew missions on the 1st, 3rd and 4th of August. We will investigate this while we go through the mission folders. In doing this project, we extensively research and rewrite each mission page one at a time.
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Sometime between the Troarns and St Lo missions, Sgt Vellelli flew three missions with other crews. Anderson also wrote that on the August 1st mission to Anizy they flew without Vellelli. He did not say if someoe else took his place.
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Their last mission was their worst one with the Group. They got hit by flak and lost two engines, but they still managed to bring it home. Pitsenbarger had clearance from the tower to land. However, another pilot with the 492nd, Fleming, decided to come in without permission from the tower. The two planes were on a collision course. The wings of the two planes clipped each other. Pitsenbarger crashlanded his ship onto the runway. His plane was destroyed. Sgt Barber was killed. The others were injured, but only Pitsenbarger and Nendel were hospitalized for a week or two.
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The Fleming Crew wasn't so lucky. Nine of the ten men were killed as their plane crashed on the runway. The tenth man died eleven days later in the hospital.
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After recovering, the Pitsenbarger nine-man crew was transferred to the 801st/492nd BG and assigned to the 857th BS. Since they were now flying Carpetbagger missions, they only needed an eight-man crew. Sgt McQuade was cut from the crew and sent to the 466th BG.
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They flew seven Carpetbagger missions and two gas hauling missions to supply General Patton's tanks. By October, they began training for a new type of assignment.
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On 9 October, they flew a training mission called a Round Robin. The exercise called for low altitude flying, navigating by visual landmarks instead of instruments. While in a box-end valley in Northern England, a nasty rainstorm blew in bringing their visibilty to almost zero. Just as they began to abort the exericse, they ran into a mountain. The accident claimed the lives of 9 men. Only Sgt Anderson survived.
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Two of the men killed that day were from ground units. It was common practice to let some of the non-flyboys tag along on practice exercises for the thrill. This is why there were ten men on board instead of eight.
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The details are best described by Russell Ives who wrote a book about the Pitzenbarger Crew entiled, I Come From California (see our Library section). Ives also wrote an article for the HAPPY WARRIOR, the 492nd's official newsletter. We reprinted his article on this website. See "A Replacement Crew" under Stories at right.
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More Info |
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Original Roster for
Pitsenbarger Crew R-26 (619)
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| Position |
Name |
Rank |
Serial # |
Notes |
Pilot
MOS 1024 |
Pitsenberger, Elmer D |
2nd Lt |
O-699724 |
Promoted 1st Lt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-3-9 |
Co-Pilot
MOS 1024 |
Nendel, James D |
2nd Lt |
O-553334 |
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-1-80 |
Navigator
MOS 1034 |
Bliss, Jack |
F/O |
T-125474 |
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-2-22 |
Bombardier
MOS 1035 |
Cser, Frank |
1st F/O |
T-125564 |
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-0-7 |
Engineer
MOS 748 |
Farris, Presley E |
S/Sgt |
35128655 |
Promoted T/Sgt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44 |
Radio
Operator
MOS 757 |
Zwinge, Joe W Jr |
S/Sgt |
39412668 |
Promoted T/Sgt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44 |
Gunner
MOS 611 |
Anderson, Curtis Jr |
Sgt |
39138297 |
Promoted S/Sgt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
WILOD, 9 Oct 44 |
Gunner
MOS 757 |
McQuade, Cyril J
"Red" |
Sgt |
33282314 |
MOS changed to 611
Promoted S/Sgt
Transferred to 466th BG |
Gunner
MOS 612 |
Villelli, Frank A |
Sgt |
37563633 |
Promoted S/Sgt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
KILOD, 9 Oct 44 |
Gunner
MOS 757 |
Stec, Henry
"Hank" |
Sgt |
32822690 |
Promoted S/Sgt
Reassigned to McLaughlin Crew 801
Promoted T/Sgt
Transferred to 801st/492nd
WIA, Sep 44
AAD records spells his name Hinry |
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Others Who Flew with Pitsenbarger Crew R-26
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Gunner
MOS |
Barber, Bradford F |
S/Sgt |
14107943 |
KIA, 6 Aug 44 |
Aircraft
Mechanic
MOS 754 |
Lowblad, Charles T |
Cpl |
39329860 |
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Buried at Cambridge, E-2-120 |
Radio
Mechanic
MOS 747 |
Watson, Clarence S |
Cpl |
39406449 |
KILOD, 9 Oct 44
Body never recoverd
Listed at Cambridge, Wall of the Missing |
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Pitsenbarger Crew R-26
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 Jul 44 |
42-110148 |
Munich, Germany |
Target: Railroad station |
| 02 |
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12 Jul 44 |
44-40146 |
Munich, Germany |
Target: Railroad station |
| 03 |
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13 Jul 44 |
42-50313 |
Saarbrucken, Germany |
Target: Marshalling yard |
| 04 |
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18 Jul 44 |
44-40146 |
Troarns, France |
Target: Tactical |
| 05 |
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19 Jul 44 |
44-40146 |
Russelheim, Germany |
Target: Marshalling yard
Bombed Koblenz |
| 06 |
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21 Jul 44 |
44-40146 |
Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany |
Target: Aircraft factory |
| 07 |
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24 Jul 44 |
44-40067 |
St Lo area, France |
Target: Tactical |
| 08 |
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25 Jul 44 |
44-40146 |
St Lo area, France |
Target: Tactical |
| 09 |
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5 Aug 44 |
42-50518 |
Brunswick, Germany |
Target: Aircraft manufacturing |
| 10 |
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6 Aug 44 |
44-40146 |
Hamburg, Germany |
Target: Oil refinery
Lost in landing accident, 1 KIA, 2 WIA |
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