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Spring, 2015 Editor: Craig Ward, 813 Peterstow Drive, Euless, Texas 76039 Phone : (817) 540-1068 Email : Aphp@Tx.Rr.Com Website CERIGNOLA CONNECTION 455th Bomb Group Association Newsletter Spring, 2015 Editor: Craig Ward, 813 Peterstow Drive, Euless, Texas 76039 phone : (817) 540-1068 email : [email protected] website : www.awardphp.com Fifteenth Air Force crossed the Alps from their Italian bases to In This Edition attack German industrial targets." Pages 1 & 2 ... Message from In reading this quote, I the President found myself wondering what that "blue southern sky" over Page 3 ... Generous Cerignola was like. As these Contributors brave crews took-off or landed from their deadly missions, what Pages 4 thru 9 ... Message from sort of weather and air-traffic did Joint Reunion of the they run into? What was the 451st and 455th Bomb the President surrounding countryside like? Groups, Septermber, 2015, By How long had San Giovanni Kansas City , MO. Norman Crum airfield been around and what was it like? Pages 10 & 11 ... I'm happy to once again I discovered through Email List offer a few words for this edition some quick Google searches of Cerignola Connection. Many that the Foggia region's climate Page 11 ... Final Flights thanks to those who have is remarkably similar to that of contributed to, and skillfully Stockton, California, where I sit Pages 12 thru 20 ... edited, this unique publication. writing this article. The Solo Sortie, In previous articles, I've summertime highs are in the by Winton S. Reynolds (742) tried to help us imagine what it low-90s with winter highs in the was like to fly on a combat high-50s. Overnight Page 20 ... Final Flights mission in a B-24. I've also temperatures are in the low-70s made some observations about in the summer and high-30s in Pages 20 thru 22 ... the B-24 aircraft itself and have winter. Annual rainfall is a dry Dear Editor reviewed the 15th Air Force's 18" and falls mostly between strategic role in the ETO. November and February. There Page 22 ... Final Flights Albert Speer, Hitler's are never more than nine rainy Minister for Armaments, once days in any month and it is clear Page 23 ... Final Flights, & declared: "I could see omens of and sunny approximately 81% Can You Help? the war's end almost every day of the time. In short: great in the blue southern sky when, flying weather. Back Page ... flying provocatively low, the The province of Foggia is Message from the bombers of the American generally flat, agricultural Executive Director lowland with its most important the Balkans, which were to agriculture. Little or no crop being durum wheat. inaccessible from England. evidence remains of their use as Because so much wheat is In addition to the wartime airfields. grown in this area, it is also relatively few established San Giovanni Airfield, commonly known as the airfields, additional temporary home of the 454th and 455th “grainery of Italy”. This would and "semi-permanent" airfields Bomb Groups, was one of these have made it relatively efficient (such as San Giovanni) were semi-permanent bases and was to build the landing strips and constructed for operations by abandoned soon after the war. taxiways needed to handle USAAF units. These airfields It was located approximately bombers and fighters, and to consisted of grass or pierced 9km west of Cerignola. Built in build their associated support steel planking runways with late 1943, and opened January facilities. support structures quickly 1944, it had pierced steel Before World War II, the constructed out of wood or planking runways with extensive Italian Royal Air Force canvas, along with a temporary taxiway and parking areas and a constructed some airfields in the steel control tower. steel control tower. Foggia area. They consisted of Six-man tents were used At the time, it was permanent, hard-surfaced for billeting, lined up in rows with considered to be a relatively runways and taxiways, concrete the orderly room and the mess large facility with capacity for parking areas, and buildings for hall at one end. There was one approximately 150 heavy the support units and barracks. dim light bulb at the center of bombers. It remained in After the armistice each tent. The tent floor was operation until the end of the between Italy and Allied armed usually dirt. Eventually plywood war, closing in October 1945. forces in September, 1943, was scavenged for flooring, Faint scarring of land is still these airfields were seized by wooden cots were used for visible, but there is little or no the German Luftwaffe. While beds, and ubiquitous 55-gallon physical evidence of the under Axis control, these drums were converted into a airfield's existence. airfields were heavily bombed stove. In this edition of the by the United States Army Air Since many of these Cerignola Connection , we Force and Royal Air Force in airfields were captured from the continue to tell the story of the 1943, before being seized by enemy, wrecked aircraft were a people who flew, fought and the British Eighth Army in common sight, with metal from serviced the 455th bombers October, 1943, during the Italian fuselages and wings, glass and over southern Europe. They Campaign. other useful parts finding their were brave, intelligent young After the area was way into the support areas. men, and we continue to be captured, these facilities were By mid-1944, about two blessed that they did their duty, repaired by the Army Corps of dozen airfields were in operation and preserved our freedom. Engineers to make them usable in the Foggia area, supporting for heavy bomber operations by strategic bombing missions, See Map, Next Page the new Fifteenth Air Force. escort missions, tactical fighter Weather in southern Italy was operations, reconnaissance and much better than in England, air defense missions. where the Eighth Air Force was With the end of the war in headquartered. Using the May, 1945, the non-permanent Foggia Airfield Complex for airfields were abandoned and strategic bombing missions the land was returned to would allow Allied heavy previous owners or the Italian bombers to attack targets in government. Today, these France, Germany, Austria and bases have long-since returned 2 The 455th Bomb Group Association, Inc. would like to thank the following Association members for their 455TH BOMB GROUP generous monetary contributions (cumulative listing) : ASSOCIATION, INC. P.O. BOX 93095 Taxi ($25-$99) AUSTIN, TX. 78709-3095 Loraine McGinnis, in memory of Joseph McGinnis Gerald W. Adams PRESIDENT John Kay McBain Norman Crum Victor E. Murray EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / Lloyd C. Kestner TREASURER W. Scott Lawing in memory of MSgt (Ret) Robert L. Denton (743) Gregory E. Riggs Joseph A. Abbondondelo Col. USAF (Ret.) William E. Fredrickson in memory of Elwood (Freddie) Fredrickson P.O. Box 93095 Takeoff ($100-$199) Austin, TX. 78709-3095 L. Harvey Hewitt SECRETARY Charles V. Vandoren Ted Tronoff Francis G. Hosimer PAST PRESIDENT Charles H. Rosenberg Roderick W. Clarke Elmo J. Henske Col. USAF (Ret.) Anonymous DIRECTORS Richard C. Skagenberg John F. Davis Helen A. Worster, in memory of Lt. Col John R. Worster Col. USAF (Ret.) Dorothy Wood Cloud, in memory of T/Sgt Robert D. Cloud Ormond H. Buffington Henry C. Paris T/Sgt. USAAF Wesley Fellowship Class in memory of MSgt (Ret) Robert L. Denton (743) Carl Loiocano Bombs away ($200-$499) T/Sgt. USAAF Francis G. Hosimer Craig Ward Karen R. Schoene, in honor of Lt Col Horst R. Schoene Son, Lt. J. T. Ward Virginia Corsello, in memory of 1 Lt Anthony (Tony) Corsello Editor, Cerignola Connection Catherine Spewock, in honor of S/Sgt Andrew Spewock REGISTERED AGENT Robert W. Rohler, in honor of 1Lt Charles William (Bill) Rohler John F. Davis Thomas E. Boyd Col. USAF (Ret.) L. Harvey Hewitt ASSOCIATION HISTORIAN Mission complete ($500 or more) John Rohrer Mary E. Jureka, in honor of Col John F. Jureka Norman Crum, in memory of George W. Crum Robert O. Foernsler, in memory of Capt Ed Soderstrom & crew 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 455th BG E-mail Roster Janet & Russell Crocker Ann Genge [email protected] Daughter of Allen Durkee (743) Harry W. Anderson (740) [email protected] San Antonio,TX. Norman Crum [email protected] President, 455th BG Assoc. Lt. Col. R. J. Haney (743) Son of Cpt. George Crum (742) [email protected] Dave Bathie (assoc. 740) [email protected] [email protected] Tech Sgt. Fred Hamilton (740) John Davis (741) [email protected] Joel Beauvais [email protected] Son, Raymond Beauvais (741) L. Harvey Hewit (743) [email protected] Jack Dekker (743) Haverford, PA. [email protected] [email protected] 1st. Lt. Thomas A. 'Tom' Bell 840 Kimberly Ct. Theodore Deppe (741) Robert Hilgendorf Lander, WY 82520 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Louise Defenbaugh Yearout Frank Hosimer (741) Jack Blum (741) George Defenbaugh’s daughter [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Joe Kiernan (741) Thomas Boyd John Devito (assoc.) 280 Middle Holland Rd, #719 [email protected] [email protected] Holland PA 18966 (215) 396-7905 Ormond Buffington (741) Curtis (Curt) Diles, Jr. (740) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Erling Kindem (742) Mario Capocefalo (Italy) Paul H. Ditchett (742) [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Viliam Klabnik Rod Clarke (743) William M. Doyle (742) [email protected] Alexandria, VA [email protected] [email protected] George L. Liddle (742) Robert Emick (741) [email protected] Howard Cooper (740) [email protected] [email protected] E.J. Ledbetter, Jr. (743) William E. Fredrickson [email protected] Robert D. (Bob) Collette (740) Son, Elwood Fredrickson (743) South Pasadena, Fl 33707 1521 Woodgate Way John L.
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