Plane named Sweet Pea II

[joanne]

Hi: I had done some research on a relative years ago. I gave that information to the Mighty Eighth Musuem, which means I no longer have access to it. I never found much out about the plane he piloted, which I had been told was Sweet Pea II. It seems he was co-Pilot on the original Sweet Pea, which had crashed in England. My realtive was in the 389th BG, I don't remember the squadron number but think it was the 565th. He flew 39 flights, which included 2 on D-Day, was sent home to teach high altitude gunnery flights in Charleston, SC. He died in April 1945, on one of those training missions. I had found information on everything, except his plane and would like to do so now, if possible. "Seesul", had posted a thread with a plane called Sweet Pea but it was with the 2nd Bomb Group,..so obviously I am confused. Were plane names duplicated?
Thanks,
Joanne

 

[evangilder]

I looked at the website for the 389th BG, but they don't list a B-24 called Sweet Pea. There are a number of names that were used on multiple aircraft during the war, so it is likely that multiple aircraft could have that name. If you could give us the name of the relative, that would make the search a lot easier.

 

[Geedee]

Not sure if this any use ... SWEE' PEA II

The following text with this pic states that it served with the 8AF, 389th Bomb Group, 565 Bomb Squadron

Is this the one you are looking for ?

 

[Wurger]

Yes , I think it can be this bomber.Good work Geedee.

 

[Airframes]

Excellent work Gary.

 

[evangilder]

Now that one shows up on the 389th site
389thbg.net

Good catch, Gary. I didn't think of it being spelled like Popeye would say it!

 

[Geedee]

Now that one shows up on the 389th site
389thbg.net

Good catch, Gary. I didn't think of it being spelled like Popeye would say it!

Cheers guys.

I remembered looking at a B24 web site sometime in the dim and distant past, found it and put in Sweat Pea 2 and the result is as above.

All we need now is confirmation from Joanne that this is right one !

 

[Wurger]

Yep.

 

[Doubl3Ac3]

well in the mean time lets try to cross reference the serial number of that plane to any missions it flew including 2 from d-day. not sure how we can do this but it should be possible

 

[joanne]

Sorry, I don't have the hang of these forums just yet, but I do believe that you found the right plane. I hadn't thought of it as Swee Pea....but I did know it was from Popeye. I really appreciate your finding it for me.
Thanks, Joanne

 

[ccheese]

Joanne: Just because you may have found what you're looking for, don't
stray from the forum. Lots of good people here, from all over the world.
Join the discussions, get to know some of these guys.... they're all great
people.

Charles

 

[Geedee]

Hi Joanne, glad to be of help.

Would love to hear any anecdotes or stories you have (if you'd like to post them?) about / from your relative, ref his time in the service.

You mentioned duplicate names for planes ?. This did happen but probably not too many times as most crew would want to have a unique name for their own planes. To give you an idea, there was a B-17 Flying Fortress called 'Tondelayo' and also a B-25 Mitchel with the same name.

I personaly think that if you decide on a name for your plane that some-one else has allready thought of, you would have a different character / emblem / cartoon to go with it.

Bear in mind also that duplicate names would probably not be allowed to happen in the same Wing / Bomb Group / Air Force as that would cause confusion, not only in the air but also for station crew (Control Tower / Ground Crew / Armourers etc) :-
...'Tower to 'Hells Angels', cleared to take off, no, not that Hells Angels, the other one, pay attention !'
...'Errrrr, which 'Witch' is which, cos I gotta get these bombs to her !'
...'Close up 'Red Dog !....no not that Red Dog, the other Red Dog !'

Just my observations.

 

[joanne]

It has been a while since I did my research on my cousin. His name was Eddie Madell. He originally signed up in a different branch as a pilot, and his Dad immediately got him out because Eddie was his only son. Eddie then signed up and became a member of the 389th. He was a co-pilot on the first Swee Pea, and it supposedly crashed in England. Somehow Eddie became a pilot, which I understand was unusual...not sure, maybe because he hadn't gone to Officers training ??? at any rate, he became the pilot of Swee Pea II. In total, he flew 39 missions, two on D-Day. That was when I found out that bombers "hovered" in place waiting for the bombing runs to start, and that many crashed in-air, even before the run got underway. In doing my research, I got some old microfilm from Charleston, and in reading them, got the names of several members of his crew. Two I remember were a Mr. Kissling from near Allentown Pa, and a Mr. Kohlari...from Ohio (I think). I contacted them, and to a man, all were glad to talk with me, and a few were surprised to hear that some runs they made were in different areas of Germany than they thought. One fellow said he had been contacted by the son of another bomber group, and he was going to inform him that he now knew what happened to his father. It seems the records I had showed his plane was shot down and somehow or other it mentioned he was captured by the French??? Eddie came home and was training high altitude gunnery? flights off the coast of Charleston, SC. He was the instructor, not the pilot, and theirs was the only plane that didn't make it back from this training mission, and nothing was found to indicate what happened. The plane went down the week FDR died so the news reports of the search stopped and FDR took it's place. I gave all the information I had ( including what for all intents and purposes, was a yearbook....all Eddies flight information from training level onward, and the letters sent to his Dad telling him Eddie was missing) to the 8th Air Force museum in Georgia. I requested that they make it available for others to research, and told them that I had been asked by Eddie's sister, Jackie, to find a good home for the papers... which I think I did... although I never have had a chance to visit. That is pretty much it...oh, I did contact their Col., I think his name was Robert Miller, and he was as excited to talk to me as the flight crew were....they all had an incredible bond. My guess is that many of the men I spoke with are no longer alive as it has been close to 10 years...or more. I'm the daughter of a 501'r, my Mom and Eddie were the same age, even though he was her nephew.... Eddie's group dropped supplies on Bastogne, where my Dad was, and I like to think he knew.

 

[RabidAlien]

Personally, I'd be buggin the crap outta the guys at the 8th Museum, and pester 'em until I got at least a copy of everything back. That sort of story is just beggin for a book, or at the very least a well-documented website! Every man who served had a story to tell, and none should be forgotten. Or worse....tossed into some storage closet or filing cabinet lost.

 

[Airframes]

I agree with Rabid'; contact the Museum and ask for copies. I'm sure that they'll do everything they can to help. In my (limited) experience of dealing with American aviation museums, I have found the staff I contacted to be extremely helpful and diligant, providing exactly what I have needed, and more. And that's to an English bloke who has no connection to US Forces!
As Rabid' pointed out, there's a story begging to be written, and I for one would certainly like to read it.
Good luck, and I hope you get somewhere.

 

[joanne]

Thanks for the suggestion about getting copies. I think I will try to go the Museum, and take it from there, rather than contact them out of the blue. I love the Dragon quote...the crunchy with toast part was hysterical. When my Uncle Louis, Eddies Father received the news, he was obviously devastated, but what probably made it worse was that the Chaplain who wrote to him, called Eddie "Tony" several times in the condolence letter. It wasn't until the Vietnam War that Luis got over Eddies death , he was coming home from Virginia Beach and right before he entered that long tunnel, he heard the beginning of a news report about explosions on the Forestall, where his grandson, who was named after Eddie, was stationed. Upon entering the tunnel, his radio lost reception, and it wasn't until he got out and called his daughter, that he found out that his grandson was safe. For some reason, he was able to let go of his son's death because of the Forestall.
I am definitely going to try to get to the Museum.

 

[Airframes]

Good on you Joanne! I hope you find, and get, what you want. Please try to keep us all informed. Good luck.
Terry.

 

[Hannahnmt]

Joanne I would to be able to e mail you. My Grandfather, Dock A. Brown was on this bomber as well.

 

[joanne]

Joanne I would to be able to e mail you. My Grandfather, Dock A. Brown was on this bomber as well.

Hi: I just found your comment...hope you aren't as slow as I am re:responses. Since my car is being inspected today, and most "non-essential" shops are closed due to my Governor shutting them down, I decided to clear out a file cabinet. In it, I found a letter I received in 1991 from one of Eddies flight crew, O. E. Kolari. I hadn't realized how long ago it was since I started my quest. Reading his letter made me wonder if there were any more Swee Pea comments on the blog. In re-reading the earlier comments, I found yours. Any thing you would share would be appreciated. Regards, Joanne

 

[MiTasol]

Hannahnmt was last seen on ww2aircraft in March 2016