The 389th Bomb Group, 565th Bomb Squadron of the Eighth Air Force was based at Station 114, Hethel, England. Located seven miles south-west of Norwich a 6,000 foot main runway with two intersecting 4,200 foot runways, three hangers and fifty hardstands for the B-24 Liberators, the base was home to the 389th Bomb Group. The “Sky Scorpions” began operations in September 1943 and completed over 300 missions. The “Circle C” code markings were painted on the tail of their aircraft.

Pilot 1st Lt. Julius Weiss and his crew of the B-24J aircraft 44-40109 flew operational mission #270 to Magdeburg, Germany on 14 February 1945. The usual Weiss crew was missing a waist gunner. Staff Sgt. Monroe W. Gray, who had flown 34 missions with another crew, was assigned to the Weiss crew that day. He only had one mission to complete to reach the gold of 35 successful missions to be rotated back to the United States. He did not make his goal.

About two minutes after leaving the target, the #4 engine was on fire and Weiss was dealing with a wounded man in the plane. Later, he reported the fire was out, but he had only 15 gallons of fuel left and was just off the Dutch coast and being fired upon. The entire crew bailed out and captured by the Germans and served as prisoners of war. Tail gunner John E. Brown was killed by Germans shooting at him and he fell to his death.

The Weiss aircraft crashed about 16:30 hours near Brielle, Haringvliet, Netherlands due to heavy flak. Missing Air Crew Report No. 12340 was filed after the aircraft failed to return home. An eyewitness account of the events was made by 1st Lt. Richard C. Dawson:

I was command pilot on this mission. I had a call from A/C 44-40109 about two minutes after we left the target, saying he had # 4 engine on fire and wounded men in the waist. He requested fighter cover to escort him to FRANCE. I told him I would get the fighters for him, but in the meantime to cut us off at the rally and stay beneath the formation. I contacted BOOTLEG COGNAC and he dispatched several fighters to pick up A/C 44-40109. When I attempted to advise him of this I could no longer contact him. I tried at intervals to contact him all the way out to the coast, but was unable to do so. My last conversation with him was that he had the fire out, but was falling back and losing altitude.

Lt. Weiss called for the crew to bailout. All members of the crew landed near Oostvoonre, Holland but tail gunner John E. Brown was killed while he was descending in his parachute. German soldiers firing from the ground caused the parachute to collapse and he fell to his death. He was buried in the local cemetery of Rockanje, Holland.

When Staff Sgt. Gray hit the ground, two Dutch girls approached and told him that the area was controlled by the Germans and it had been German soldiers that were shooting at the parachuting airmen. Grey saw two German soldiers coming his way, so he quickly gave his money and some candy to the girls, as he knew the Germans would take it. After his capture, Gray was taken to a nearby village and questioned by German officers. He thought the officer was speaking to him in German and Gray replied that he did not speak German. The officer then stated in a high voice, “I thought I was speaking the English.” Gray then asked him to repeat his questions and the officer asked several questions including “Do you have an I.D. card?” The other crewmen were captured and they all were sent to Dulag Luft – Oberusal.

Following the crash, the Germans completed a downed Allied aircraft report Kampfflugzeug Unterlagen (KU) 3710.

KU-3710

Crash of B-24 Liberator 44-40109 MACR 12340