# B17 North Sea ditching and Air Sea Rescue



## WATU (Jul 31, 2020)

Hi The deceased father of a friend was involved as ASR boat crew said to be involved in rescuing a full B17 crew off the UK coast in the North Sea. He is trying to find out more about the story but so far is thin on detail. It ties in with one rescue in June 1943 but we have not been able to confirm that. A ditching and a full rescue cannot have been that common. Anyone here able to pinpoint the aircraft or point us to sources that might help please? Thanks

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## fubar57 (Jul 31, 2020)

Might be something in here to get you started...Search


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## WATU (Jul 31, 2020)

Thanks. Great database. Will have a trawl.


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## fubar57 (Jul 31, 2020)

Weird. The link was supposed to take you to all the June entries. Type "June" into the box in the upper right corner and it brings up a whack of entries


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## fubar57 (Jul 31, 2020)

An example of what you will find...http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/044.pdf

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## WATU (Jul 31, 2020)

Thanks. It is easy to search despite its apparent size. Much appreciated. I used ditched as first search term to get me started.

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## Hornchurch (Aug 5, 2020)

WATU said:


> Hi The deceased father of a friend was involved as ASR boat crew said to be involved in rescuing a full B17 crew off the UK coast in the North Sea. He is trying to find out more about the story but so far is thin on detail. It ties in with one rescue in June 1943 but we have not been able to confirm that. A ditching and a full rescue cannot have been that common. Anyone here able to pinpoint the aircraft or point us to sources that might help please? Thanks


'


WATU = May I make the seriously strong suggestion/advice that you nab, buy, or obtain a copy of THIS book, below...











Trust me, this book is SUPERB and to be fair, it's highly-likely that you'll find the example or instance you're looking for.

Norman Franks IS a highly-respected WW>II aviation journalist/author - His books ARE often "heavy-going", but they DO NOT lack detail.

I've been reading/using/studying his books since 1982 & continually using them as a decent reference-source.

(He's done a/c books on 'Dieppe', 'Bodenplatte', 'Falaise' amongst others - ALL carry a huge wealth of serials/times/detail)

When I say/said "heavy-going", it's because they read more like a catalogue of events, factual minutiae, etc.


However, when I bought this SUPERB book (soon after it's first-release, with this, above, the better-1st-issue-cover), it seemed different.

More readable, more palatable than his usual 'dry' style - that, quite frankly (no pun intended), made it an enjoyable/engaging read.

It's not just some lame/generic-swipe, but it DOES cover individual rescues, times/dates/events in the kind of detail you'd want.


Units like No.276 Sqdn usually worked in conjunction with ASR-Launches (when available), as they & Walrus a/c made a great pairing.

I do/did have a rather SUPERB pair of photographs (elsewhere, on a USB), of a 1943 North-Sea ditching (I'll post "if" I find 'em)

Much of the Supermarine Walrus (& ASR), "trade" by 1943-1944, would be 8th AF B.24 & B.17 crewmen

But getting back to THIS 1994 book 'Another Kind Of Courage' - Go out of your way to find a copy, you won't regret it.

.


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## Hornchurch (Aug 5, 2020)

WATU said:


> Hi The deceased father of a friend was involved as ASR boat crew said to be involved in rescuing a full B17 crew off the UK coast in the North Sea.
> He is trying to find out more about the story but so far is thin on detail.
> 
> *It ties in with one rescue in June 1943 * but we have not been able to confirm that.
> ...


'


Further to my 'wonderful' book suggestion (post above), here's the photographs that I'd also mentioned of.....

By sheer co-incidence, they DO relate to one incident in particular, in JULY 1943 - very, very close 'infield' to what you've related !

The Air Sea Rescue 'base' (quoted/captioned), is by chance, an airfield/aerodrome VERY near to where I currently live. (Hence my interest).

Anyways, here's the rather MAGNIFICENT set of photographs, relating to just ONE rescue, by Supermarine Walrus, of a B.17-crew from the North Sea

What the photographs WON'T tell you, is that the Lindholme lifeboat (being dropped), is from a Coastal Command ASR Lockheed Hudson...... 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Crew of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, being rescued by Walrus after ditching in the North Sea in July 1943,

Rescue effected by several aircraft from Coastal Command, RAF Bircham Newton.*


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A truly SUPERB sequence of shots, that tie-in rather nicely with WATU's initial request & interest.


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## WATU (Aug 6, 2020)

Some great stuff there with terrific photos. I have several books by Franks but not the Walrus one. Thanks for the tip.


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## liberatorf7 (Oct 5, 2020)

For clarification. You say, "It ties in with one rescue in June 1943." Do you mean you are only looking for a particular ditching (rescuing a full B17 crew off the UK coast in the North Sea) that occurred in June 1943 and only June of '43? Is there any more information, however slight, that you may have concerning this flight?


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## WATU (Oct 5, 2020)

liberatorf7 said:


> For clarification. You say, "It ties in with one rescue in June 1943." Do you mean you are only looking for a particular ditching (rescuing a full B17 crew off the UK coast in the North Sea) that occurred in June 1943 and only June of '43? Is there any more information, however slight, that you may have concerning this flight?


The guy who asked me is thin on detail. What he did know tied in with the June 43 case but his one could well be a different aircraft on another date. The date is one of the unknowns.


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## liberatorf7 (Oct 5, 2020)

WATU, When I saw your post I automatically thought of my family's best friend, Merle Hungerford. He and his family lived across the street from me and my family for decades. Merle served as the Operations Officer for the 303 BG "Hell's Angels" in Molesworth. One of the things he did as Operations Office was to go with a new crew on their first combat mission. Capt. Hungerford would fly as the command pilot with the crew's pilot flying the mission from the copilot's seat. On Dec. 20, 1943, he was flying B-17F #42-29664 Jersey Bounce, Jr. with the crew of 2Lt John F. Henderson, on the third mission to Bremen by the 303rd within the week. 




Merle R. Hungerford Crew 
This is 2Lt John F. Henderson's crew with Capt. Hungerford. The photo caption says Henderson is in the back row, in the middle. The caption says Capt. Hungerford is the first individual in the back row on the left but he isn't. He's the second, right to the left of Henderson.





This is Hungerford / Henderson's plane, Jersey Bounce, Jr. #42-29664, they used on the Dec. 20, 1943 mission to Bremen John V. Lemmon Crew

All of the narrative below within quotes was taken from the wonderful website "303rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) The "Hell's Angels" of the Mighty Eighth Air Force", as were the above photos. 303rd Bomb Group (H) - Molesworth, England 
http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/090.pdf

"Twenty-two year old Sgt. George W. Buske, a tailgunner from Rochester, NY, had perhaps more reason to be apprehensive than the others. Just five months earlier, a 20mm exploding shell fired by an attacking German fighter plane had caused deep wounds to his left hip. For that mission he had been awarded his first Purple Heart, another Oak Leaf Cluster for his Air Medal, and the Silver Star for conspicuous bravery. After 45 days in the hospital, he had finally returned to full duty. 

Now, after a breakfast of fresh eggs at the mess hut - a treat compared to the powdered variety served on non-mission days - he and his crewmates, including radio operator T/Sgt. Forrest L. Vosler from Livonia, NY, went to the pre-mission briefing. Their day's mission was to be a return bombing raid on Bremen, Germany. They had flown to Bremen twice earlier that week. On those raids, their 303rd Bomb Group had encountered only moderate anti-aircraft fire, a few German fighter planes, and lost no bombers. Little did they realize how different the forthcoming mission would be. 

Just after dawn, the Jersey Bounce , with Capt. Merle R. Hungerford, Jr., from El Paso, TX, at the controls, took off with its heavy bomb load. Their group's slow circling climb to altitude and rendezvous with other bomb groups took nearly two hours. It was after 10 a.m. when the stream of more than 500 bombers left British air space for Germany. Approaching the Dutch coast, they encountered the first of their unexpected problems: a strong head wind, which caused some planes to reach the target off course and a half-hour late. At 26,000 feet, the assigned bombing altitude, the air temperature was below -50 F. Heavy condensation trails left by the bomber engines spread like white clouds in which large numbers of German fighter planes could hide to launch their attacks unseen. And unlike their last Bremen visit, there was intense and accurate anti-aircraft fire as they approached the target. 

Suddenly, an anti-aircraft shell burst knocked out the Jersey Bounce's No. 1 engine. Moments later, just after the bombardier called out "bombs away," another shell knocked out the No. 4 engine, leaving its propeller, which could not be feathered, windmilling out of control. On only two engines and losing altitude and speed, the crippled Jersey Bounce fell out of formation. It was a sitting duck and German fighters lined up to shoot it down. 

Capt. Hungerford and his copilot struggled to maintain altitude and keep the plane on course for home. The waist, turret, and tailgunners kept up defensive fire to ward off the fighter attacks. Their 50-caliber guns knocked down four German fighters, but others followed them out over the North Sea with relentless attacks, firing machine gun bullets and exploding 20mm shells into the stricken plane. One shell sent fragments into the legs and feet of T/Sgt. Vosler. Then a machine gun bullet passed completely through the upper abdomen of Sgt. Buske. Almost simultaneously, a 20mm shell exploding inches in front of his waist, blew his chest and abdomen open and propelled him backward from his tailgunner's seat into the fuselage. 

The fighters continued to attack. The wounded Vosler, attempting to take over the now unmanned tailgun, was struck in the chest, face, and both eyes by fragments from another 20mm shell. With blood streaming from his eyes and able to see only blurred shapes, Vosler and the other gunners kept firing until the German fighters, convinced their prey was about to crash into the sea, broke off and turned back toward Germany. 

By this time, the Jersey Bounce was just above the waves and fast running out of fuel. Vosler, though unable to see, repaired the damaged radio by touch and began sending out distress messages. Other crew members, attempting to keep the plane airborne, threw out everything they could to lighten the load. The wounded Vosler, barely conscious and feeling he was of no further use, begged to be thrown out himself to further reduce weight. 

Out of gas but within sight of the East Anglian coast the Jersey Bounce finally crashed into the frigid North Sea. Vosler managed to crawl out unassisted onto a wing. Other crew members dragged out the severely wounded and unconscious Buske. Then Vosler, holding onto the plane's antenna with one hand and Buske with the other, kept the two of them from slipping underwater until they could be pulled into inflated dinghies. 

Fortunately, their crash had been spotted by a Norwegian coaster, which picked them up and transferred them to a fast E-boat of the British Sea Rescue Command. Within an hour, they were inside Great Yarmouth harbor. From there, Vosler was sent to a Northhampton hospital and later to the States for a long hospitalization. One of his eyes had to be removed, and the other required extensive surgery but partial sight was restored. Sgt. Buske, barely alive and in profound shock from blood loss and exposure, was rushed to the local Great Yarmouth Hospital. After several blood transfusions and treatment for shock and hypothermia, he underwent emergency surgery. 

There was a large, sucking wound of his right anterior chest, which exposed his right lung and continued through a disrupted diaphragm as a single gaping wound into the right upper abdomen. There were bleeding tears in his partially fractured liver, a laceration of the duodenum, and contused intestine. A second diagonal wound across the left anterior Mission 090 - 14 Sgt Buske (lower), Dr. Brown (right) chest exposed a number of ribs. X-rays showed a number of shell fragments in his right thigh, abdominal wall, and both lungs. There were one or two fragments close to the heart. The machine gun bullet that had passed through his upper abdomen was lodged deep in the muscles of his back. Because of his extremely critical condition, the British surgeons could only control the bleeding from his torn liver, reattach the disrupted diaphragm, and close the sucking wound of the right chest. The left chest wound was dusted with sulfanilamide and packed open. The large abdominal wound was packed with gauze and also left open. 

With further transfusions and intensive nursing care during the next few days, his condition, though still critical, stabilized enough to permit transfer to the nearest US Army hospital; the 231st Station hospital at Botesdale, Suffolk. In the operating room there, the abdominal wound was found to be grossly infected and to contain considerable dead tissue. It was draining a foul, bile-stained fluid containing digestive juices and bubbles of intestinal gas. The wound was debrided and an area of pus over the dome of the liver was drained. An empyema of his right chest cavity was drained of a large amount of infected, bloody fluid. A few days later, an empyema of his left chest was drained as well. 

He was unable to take fluids or food by mouth because of the total drainage of upper intestinal contents, which were slowly digesting and enlarging the abdominal wound. He was sustained entirely on intravenous fluids containing glucose. In those World War II years, there were no amino acids or complete nutrient fluids available for intravenous feeding. The only antibiotics were two early sulfa drugs and the newly discovered penicillin. These were wonder drugs against many wartime infections, but not against the types of bacteria causing Buske's infections." 

Please read the following articles – it will help anyone better understand what the word “heroic” means. http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/090.pdf 
http://www.303rdbg.com/pp-vosler-moh.html 
http://www.303rdbg.com/h-moh.html
http://www.303rdbg.com/saving-buske.html 
http://www.303rdbg.com/hanl/1981-07.pdf 
http://www.303rdbg.com/news/2010-10-30.html
303rdBG Custom Search Results


As the article said, Vosler was awarded the Medal of Honor and Buske (five months earlier) had been awarded his first Purple Heart, another Oak Leaf Cluster for his Air Medal, and the Silver Star for conspicuous bravery.
And what about Capt. Hungerford? Three weeks later, he was back at it! This time he was flying the plane "Wallaroo" on its mission to bomb the V-1 Buzz Bomb "ski" launch sites in France (Operation Crossbow). "Wallaroo" was lost on this date of Jan. 14, 1944, crashing right beside the anti-aircraft gun and crew that shot it down. And yet, all the crew got out safely. http://www.303rdbg.com/missionreports/099.pdf 
For the crew, their flying was over. Capt. Hungerford was in Stalag I for another 17 months, until the war ended.






We lost Merle on Nov. 23, 2004, the day after my mother's death. I love him and I miss him. I was blessed to have known him.

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## Snautzer01 (Oct 5, 2020)

liberatorf7 said:


> WATU, When I saw your post I automatically thought of my family's best friend, Merle Hungerford. He and his family lived across the street from me and my family for decades. Merle served as the Operations Officer for the 303 BG "Hell's Angels" in Molesworth. One of the things he did as Operations Office was to go with a new crew on their first combat mission. Capt. Hungerford would fly as the command pilot with the crew's pilot flying the mission from the copilot's seat. On Dec. 20, 1943, he was flying B-17F #42-29664 Jersey Bounce, Jr. with the crew of 2Lt John F. Henderson, on the third mission to Bremen by the 303rd within the week.
> View attachment 597157
> 
> Merle R. Hungerford Crew
> ...


You might want to add that story here: 42-29664 | American Air Museum in Britain


42-29664 B-17F-65-BO coded VK-C, Page 1 WWII US Air Force Photos - Fold3






Bombs dropped by 42-29664







B-17F-25-BO Merle Ross Hungerford Standing first left






Merle Ross Hungerford Jr. standing 2 nd left here with 41-24562 B-17F-25-BO Sky Wolf


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## WATU (Oct 5, 2020)

An amazing story. I will pass it on and let you know if it fits what little my chap knows of the event. I live in East Anglia, UK and have many WW2 former bomber bases close by. Molesworth is just a few miles away and I have been there a few times. It was a cruise missile base in the 80's but was then steadily deactivated. I think the USAF are out completely (intelligence functions consolidated at RAF Croughton) and that the RAF controls what is left which are basically offices and storage. No flying capability.


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