Painted 447th BG A-2 Group (Goldfish Club Member)

[JDK]

This smaller group came from a B-17 Navigator with the 709th Bomb Squadron. He was also a member of the Gold Fish Club when their crew had to ditch at sea after receiving damage on a bomb run.

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Carl was a original member of the 447th BG that trained in the US and flew their B-17's over to England. He was flying bombing missions very early in the war before fighter escort flew cover the whole mission. Their losses were terrible.

This set also is very special to me since it is the first A-2 jacket I had ever bought. It started my passion to collect WW2 flight jackets. Carl was from a town not far from me. I spoke with him on many occasions. He was a fun guy to talk to.

A-2 Jacket

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[JDK]

Artwork

The B-17 he flew on was named Mack

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[JDK]

Story of the Ditching

 

 

Just before we hit the Initial Point (IP), our formation was hit by considerable and accurate anti-aircraft fire (flak).

Just after leaving the Initial Point, we encountered a head-on attack by a mass of enemy fighters. We were only one of two ships in the high squadron. Fighters made a pass at us, hitting our #2 engine with a 20 mm shell; however, the engine continued to run okay. We left the high squadron and filled in the lead. Our #4 engine was also hit and started leaking oil, which caused the prop to run away. We attempted to feather the prop but were unable to do so. We fell behind the formation but continued to trail them.

Somehow, we safely got away from the fighters and, it was only then, that we decided to jettison the ball turret. I had the tail; one waist gunner transferred to the nose to get some semblance of stability. We managed to maintain altitude at 20,000 feet, until reaching the Dutch coast.

About 100 miles from the coast of Holland, our radio operator obtained an accurate MF/DF fix. Another fix was obtained at the Zuider Zee. It, too, was accurate.

While crossing the coast of Holland, we lost our #3 engine; it was shooting oil and gas. We transferred gas to #1 and #2 tanks evenly. The radio operator sent "C" signal into MF/DF section, turned on emergency IFF, and the co-pilot contacted "Colgate" on VHF. We gave them position, speed, rate of descent, etc. At this time, we were in doubt as to whether we should ditch or not. I thought it best to, at least, notify the crew to "prepare to ditch". We were losing 200-300 feet per minute with an air speed of only 105 MPH. We managed to fly for another 45 minutes; all that time, the radio operator was sending out an SOS. "Colgate" told us they could direct us over an air/sea rescue boat.

A few minutes later, they told us we were now over one of their boats. The radio key was screwed down, and the pilot and co-pilot windows were closed, as we prepared to "ditch". At 500 feet, the throttles were cut and full flaps were lowered. Ditching was made into the wind, and there was about a 5-foot swell, but this was difficult to tell from the air. The first contact was with the tail, as it was slightly low.

On second impact, the ship remained level. Pilot and co-pilot went out their windows, using the top turret guns to pull themselves out. First Lieutenant Carl McCuen, the navigator, found his leg to be broken, and the left waist gunner had a badly injured head. The rest of the crew went out through the radio hatch and released the rubber dinghies, once they were outside.

After paddling away from the stricken ship, the British air/sea rescue boat pulled along side and picked us up. McCuen was placed on a stretcher and made warm with blankets, and the injured waist gunner was given first aid, before he was taken to the hospital. The aircraft continued to float for about 35 minutes. Our crew now qualified to become members of the Goldfish Club, because they knew their job and were able to successfully carry it out.

[JDK]

Original photo of the crew taken after getting back to base. Carl is the one on crutches.

[JDK]

List of Missions the crew flew on:

 

Date Target Aircraft William McKay as pilot: 12/30/1943 LUDWIGSHAFEN 42-31108 1/5/1944 MERIGNAC 42-31124 1/11/1944 BRUNSWICK 42-31125 1/21/1944 NOBALL NO. 107 42-37864 "Marty" 2/3/1944 WILHELMSHAVEN 42-37864 2/5/1944 ROMILLY 42-31165 Dean Flemming as Pilot: 2/28/1944 NOBALL NO. 74 42-31777 2/29/1944 BRUNSWICK 42-31092 "Butch II" 3/9/1944 BERLIN 42-39886 (see story below) 3/13/1944 NOBALL NO. 74 42-37864 "Marty" 3/18/1944 MUNICH 42-37864 "Marty" 3/23/1944 BRUNSWICK 42-39886 3/27/1944 MARIGNAC CHARTRES 42-37864 "Marty" 4/1/1944 LUDWIGSHAFEN 42-37864 "Marty" 4/8/1944 RHEINE 42-37864 "Marty" 4/10/1944 DIEST SCHAFFEN 42-31724 4/11/1944 ARNIMSWALDE 42-37864 "Marty" 4/13/1944 AUGSBURG 42-37864 "Marty" 4/18/1944 ORANIENBURG RATHNOW 42-31477 4/19/1944 LIPSTADT WERL 42-31217 4/20/1944 NOBALL 42-37864 "Marty" 4/22/1944 HAMM 42-37864 "Marty" 4/27/1944 NOBALL NO. 78 42-39874 4/27/1944 LE CULOT 42-31188 4/29/1944 BERLIN 42-31519 (ditched) 5/13/1944 OSNABRUCK 42-37864 "Marty" 5/20/1944 LIEGE 42-97801

[JDK]

I also have his wings and a post war card with his service info on it. He was very proud.

[Patriot12]

A great A2 grouping. Beautiful A2.

[AAF_Collection]

Superb!

[History Man]

An outstanding group, very nice items!

 

Philip

[JDK]

Thanks guys. I took a closeup shot of the photo since you can see the chenille 709th patch on his jacket.

[Tseuh]

Hello Jeff,

 

Another new killer grouping !

The jacket is fantastic, how lucky you are to have met the owner.

 

Thank you for sharing once again your amazing collection.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[manayunkman]

Very nice painted jacket. Impressive grouping.

 

I have a small grouping from a man who was a ball turret gunner in this Sqd.

[JDK]

Thanks Tim and M!

 

It was great to get to know the guy behind the jacket so to speak. Sadly it doesn't happen very often these days.

 

JD

[plick27]

Fantastic grouping all around with that bullion goldfish patch being the cherry on top.

[Johnny Signor]

Just totally AWESOME , they don't get no better than that , knowing the vet and it all from the vet , very nice save !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[38Driver]

Wonderful jacket and a great story. I was lucky enough to get time to know some survivors of another one of those original 447th crews. This crew went down to flak in April 44. One of the things that turned up was this pledge signed by the original crews of the 447th. I'd imagine your guy signed one too.

[Waltz41]

Very cool. Love the jacket....and everything else with it!

[JDK]

Thanks again for the nice comments guys!

 

38 Driver, thanks for posting that. I'm sure he did sign one of those being a original group member. I've never seen anything like that before. Thanks again for posting it!

 

JD

[JGC]

Love the artwork Jeff. Thanks for shareing another wonderful grouping. Thanks Jon

[JDK]

Thanks again Jon!

 

Here's interesting mission that the crew encountered after a bomb run to Berlin.....

 

Second Lieutenant Dean S. Flemming, 23, of Skowhegan, Me., has done what very few Eighth Air Force Flying Fortress pilots have ever done. He brought his ship, "Hi Mack," in to a landing with a dead stick. To an airman, a "dead stick landing" is one made with no power from the engines of the ship.

Berlin is a long way from this Flying Fortress base in England and Lt. Flemming, after he had dropped his bombs on the target, wondered if he would have enough gas to make it back to England. The steady headwind encountered over Germany added to his anxiety. Over the English Channel it became apparent that there would not be enough gas to make it back to his home base, perhaps not enough to make it across the channel that lies cold and grey below.

Lt. Flemming and his co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Edward J. Stull, 25, of Waterloo and Chester Streets, Devon, Pa., decided to cut two of the four engines in an effort to cross the channel. Continuing on two engines they crossed the English coastline and headed for the first airport they saw. The gas indicator when they were over the airfield registered zero but the two engines were still running. The control tower told the anxious members of Hi Mack's crew that it would be impossible to land immediately since a ship was taking off a that moment. While receiving this disheartening news, the two remaining engines quit. At this time Hi Mack was very low over the runway. He banked his ship in an effort to turn and come back on another runway but he was too low. The only alternative was to land in the freshly plowed field. With wheels down Hi Mack, under the skillful hand of Lt. Flemming, settled into the soft earth, skidded across typical English hedgerow ditches, and jolted to a stop.

Lt. Flemming had been under great mental and physical strain while landing the big ship. He collapsed under the strain and was given first aid treatment by the waiting ambulance attendants. As the tail gunner, Staff Sergeant Leslie E. Orr, 24, of 1828 G Street, Bedford, Ind. said, "Lt. Flemming's skill really saved our lives. We hadn't had time to get into crash positions."

Hi Mack had come through with hardly any damage whatsoever. The tail guns were sprung a little and that was about all.

[fstop61]

It can't get much better than that grouping-what a beautiful jacket-Thanks for sharing.

[Jumpin Jack]

Sure do like the chenille squadron patch! Jack

[Sabrejet]

Outstanding!

[JDK]

Finished with photos on this one. Thanks, JD

[BEAST]

Finished with photos on this one. Thanks, JD

Thanks for reposting the photos! Even though it is a lot of work, it gives us an opportunity to revisit these threads (or see some that we missed the first time around!).