New: 01/18/2003

 

Although my father's personal records were lost in a flood some 35 years ago, I have been extremely fortunate to obtain the following personal documents from his crew.  Co-pilot Herb Glasscock passed away in 1995, but his son Al provided me with his flying log.  I have also met waist gunner Russ Kerr and radio operator Nor Knueppel, both of whom provided copies of their combat diaries.  Presented here together, they provide a unique view of a combat tour in the E.T.O. during the summer of 1944.

 
Lt. Herbert Glasscock
Co-pilot, age: 22 
from Joliet, Illinois

Flying log entries in BLACK
Sgt. Russell Kerr
Waist Gunner, age: 22
from Pleasant Valley, Iowa

Diary entries in BLUE
Sgt. Norbert Knueppel
Radio Operator, age: 22
from Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Diary entries in RED

My notes and comments are in GREEN

Herb's Flying Log columns are:

Date Hours Mission No. Target Location

#1. 6/29/44
9 hrs

Leipzig, Germany. Pilot and myself.  Attacked oil refineries, flak light but accurate and no fighter opposition. At least 128 holes in ship and my oxygen system shot out.  All returned unhurt. Two ships lost out of our Sqd.

Kerr and Polansky flew an Orientation Mission with an unknown crew

 

7/6/1944

4:20

#1

Coast Guns

North France

1. July 6th - Calais, France - 6 hrs Flying bomb sites

The 447th flew two missions this day. Herb flew one, Nor flew the other

 

7/7/1944

8:00

#2

Oil

Leipzig

#2. 7/7/44
8 hrs

Leipzig, Germany. Whole crew.  Attacked oil refineries -- flak heavy but not very accurate.  No fighter opposition. Two holes in ship, no one hurt. One ship lost. Had to release 19 bombs by hand.

2. July 7th - Leipzig, Germany - 10 hrs. Oil refinery

 

7/8/1944

4:40

#3

Buzz Bomb Ins.

N.W. Paris

#3. 7/8/44
4 hrs

Paris, France.  Whole crew.  Target was a storage dump but T. of Opp landing strip.  Fighters did not attack our formation.  Flak rather heavy and accurate but our ship was not touched.  One ship lost out of our formation.  Bomb bay doors stuck.

3. July 8th - Paris, France - 6 hrs   Flying bomb sites

 

 

 

 

 

7/9/1944

1:30

 

 

Local Flight

7/11/1944

9:15

#4

Oil

( Munich ) Munchen

#4 7/11/44
4 1/2 hrs

Munich, Germany. Whole crew. Jet propulsion plant was the target. The visibility was completely obscured by a dense layer of clouds so we hit the city itself. There was no fighter opposition, but the flak was very intense tho inaccurate because of the clouds. We picked up three holes and the bombardier was scratched by a piece of flak.  Two ships were missing out of our Sqd.

4. July 11th - Munich, Germany - 10 hrs ME-109 factory

 

7/13 to 7/15

London, England : All the pubs, dance halls and women were the principal targets.  All came back happy but very tired and broke.

 

7/16/1944

7:35

#5

Oil

Stuttgart

 

Russ and Nor did not fly this mission

 

7/17/1944

4:10

 

 

Local Flight

7/18/1944

3:15

 

A.B.S. Ret.

North Germany

 

Herb Glasscock flew as a replacement pilot on an Airborne Spare, and returned to base before reaching German coast

7/18/1944

1:40

 

Heath Ret.

Martelsham

7/19/1944

6:15

 

Slow time

Local Flight

7/20/1944

7:45

#6

Oil

Leipzig

 

Russ Kerr did not fly this mission

5. July 20th - Leipzig, Germany - 10 hrs    Chemical and munitions factory

 

7/21/1944

8:35

#7

Oil

Regansburg

#5 7/21/44
8 1/2 hrs

Regensburg, Germany. Whole Crew.  The flak was very inaccurate and came back with out a hole only after hitting the target on the nose. Two ships were lost out of B Sqd.

6. July 21st - Regensburg - 10hrs: Oil refinery

 

7/22/1944

3:25

 

 

Local Flight

7/24/1944

5:40

#8

Beach Head

(N.B.)

 

Russ Kerr did not fly this mission

7. July 24th - St. Lo - 5 hrs: To bomb German troops 

 

 

 

 

 

7/25/1944

5:15

#9

Beach Head

St. Lo

#6 7/25/44
6 hrs

St. Lo, France. Whole Crew.  Bombed the front lines of the Jerries from 12,000 ft.  The flak was light + inaccurate.  No holes were acquired and no ships lost.

8. July 25th - St. Lo - 5 hrs: Bombed German troops 

 

7/27/1944

4:20

#10

Plane Plant

Ostend

 

Russ Kerr did not fly this mission

9. July 27 - Ostend , Holland - 4-1/2hrs.

 

8/2/1944

5:05

#11 Virg. Helen

(Abort) Buzz Inst.

Paris

#7 8/2/44
5 1/2 hrs

French coast. Whole crew. Developed engine trouble and came back to the base with one prop feathered after flying about 50 miles into France. Dropped bombs in Channel from 150 ft.

10. Aug. 2nd - Paris - 6 hrs: Flying bomb sites, abort

 

8/4/1944

1:55

 

(scrubbed)

Coast

8/5/1944

4:30

 

 

Local Flight

8/7/1944

5:20

#12

Bridge

Anizy

#8 8/7/44
5 1/2 hrs

N.W. of Paris. Whole crew. We hit a storage dump. The flak was heavy but very inaccurate. No fighters encountered and no holes were picked up.

 

Nor Knueppel did not fly this mission

 

#9 8/8/44
5 1/2 hrs

French Coast - Whole crew less Herb. 
We bombed behind the German front line aiding Montgomery in his break thru at Caen . We bombed from 11,000 ft and the flak was severe for our element. We were lucky to get but four holes.

11. Aug 8th - Falaise, France - 5hrs: German troops encircled

 

8/14/1944

7:20

#13

Buzz Parts

Mannheim

#10 8/14/44
7 1/2 hrs

Mannheim, Germany. Whole Crew.  
A jet propulsion plant was the target in the center of the city, which we hit squarely. 150 heavy guns were encountered leaving us with 33 holes, all too close for comfort. Two ships were lost.

12. Aug. 14th - Mannheim - 8hrs: Flying bomb storage depot

 

On this mission, Nor was unconscious for several minutes after his oxygen supply was hit by flak.  He and Russ did not mention the event for fear that Nor would be grounded by the doctors.

 

8/15/1944

5:00

#14

Airfield

Munster

#11 8/15/44
5 1/2 hrs

Munster, Germany. Whole Crew.  
An airfield was our target which we completely destroyed. Again the flak was intense – 91 guns at the target.  Our ship came thru with but three holes – Hope our luck holds out.

13. Aug. 15 - Munster, Germany - 6hrs: Airfield

 

8/16/1944

8:05

#15

Oil

Rositz

#12 8/16/44
9 hrs

Near Leipzig, Germany. 
We made a beautiful hit on an oil refinery. Smoke rose 10 to 15 thousand feet high. The flak was inaccurate, and altho fighters were around, they did not bother us. Three holes in our ship.

14. Aug. 14th - Leipzig, Germany - 8hrs: Oil refinery  

 

8/18/1944

7:40

#16

Airfield

St. Dizier

#13 8/18/44
8 hrs. 

St. Dizier, France. 
The mission turned out to be one of the best as no flak was encountered and we made a perfect hit on an airfield.

15. Aug 18th - St. Dizier , France - 8hrs: Airfield

 

8/24/1944

7:55

#17

Synthetic Oil

Brux -  Flak

#14 8/24/44

Brux, Germany. 8 1/2 hrs.
Seen most of the important cities of Germany. Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Bremenhaven. Saw several flak areas and hit intense flak at the target which was an oil refinery. Our luck is still holding out as we got only a few holes whereas several ships came back with dead and wounded.

16. Aug 24th - Brux , Germany - 8hrs: Synthetic oil refinery

 

8/25/1944

8:30

#18

Airfield

Muritz Lake

#15 8/25/44

 

N. Berlin, Germany.  9 hrs.
This mission is of particular interest as we entered Germany from the north over Denmark and the island of Als where I have relatives. Flak was very light in & out and over the airfield we hit.  One hole.

17. Aug 25th - Berlin, Germany - 9hrs: Air field

 

8/28/1944

6:20

#19

Recall

Berlin

#16 8/27/44

Danish Coast. 6 1/2 hrs.
We were sweating out our first Berlin mission, but we aborted because of dense clouds. Several planes had near collisions because of the visibility.

18. Aug. 28th - Danish coast - 5hrs: no bombs dropped

 

8/31/1944

4:40

 

 

Local Flight

9/1/1944

6:55

#20

Recall

Mainz

#17 9/1/44

Mainz, France. 7 hrs.
Again we had to abort due to cloud formations.  We were lucky to get credit for the mission.

19. Sept. 1st - Mainz, Germany - 6hrs: Flying bomb factory, recalled

 

9/3/1944

7:05

#21

Anti-Pers. Fragmentation

Brest Pennisula - 8,000'

#18 9/3/44

Brest, France. 7 hrs.
We hit a small packet of German installations still holding out against the Yanks. No flak.

20. Sept. 3rd - Brest, France - 7hrs: German troops and installations

 

9/5/1944

6:30

#22

Anti-Pers. Fragmentation

Brest Pennisula - 12,000'

#19 9/5/44

Brest, France. 7 hrs.
Hit the same target.  No flak.

21. Sept. 5th - Brest, France - 7hrs: German troops and installations

 

9/8/1944

6:30

#23

 

Mainz

#20 9/8/44

Mainz, France. 7 hrs.
Flying bomb ordnance depot was the target.  Flak was scattered and inaccurate.

22. Sept. 8th - Mainz - 7hrs: Airplane

 

9/9/1944

7:50

#24

Maquis R & D

Lake Janeva

#21 9/9/44

Dole, France. 7 1/2 hrs.
Dropped supplies to the Maquis from a few hundred ft.  The scenery was most beautiful.  No flak was encountered.

23. Sept. 9th - Dole, France - 8hrs: Supplies for the French Maquis

 

9/10/1944

7:35

#25

J. P. Airfield

Giestistadt

#22 9/10/44

Near Frankfurt, Ger.  6 1/2 hrs.
An airfield was the target.  Flak was scattered & inaccurate. Two ships were lost.

24. Sept. 10th - Frankfurt - 7hrs: Jet-propelled air base

 

9/17 – 9/24

Seven-day leave

 

9/25/1944

6:35

#26

Chemical Plant

Ludwigshaven

#23 9/25/44

Ludwigshaven, Ger.  6 1/2 hrs.
Chemical factories were hit by P.F.F. because of clouds.  Flak did not hit our Sqd.

25. Sept. 25th - Ludwigshaven - 7hrs: Chemical factory

 

9/26/1944

6:50

#27

Focke-Wulfe Plant

Bremen

#24 9/26/44

Bremen, Ger. 6 hrs.
Aircraft factories. Picked up 4 holes.

26. Sept. 26th - Bremen - 6hrs: FW-190 factory

 

9/27/1944

6:10

#28

Chemical Plant

Ludwighaven - Kovach hit

#25 9/27/44

Ludwigshaven, Ger.  6 hrs.
Aircraft factories as last resort target. Flak heavy, 107 holes, Nav's broken left arm was the result of one of them. John took care of Nav while I flew as Eng. Our pilot made a beautiful landing.

27. Sept. 27th - Ludwigshaven - 7hrs: Jet-propelled factory (Lt. Kovach, Nav. hit by flak)

 

9/28/1944

7:45

#29

Chemical Plant

Merseberg - Janowski hit

 

Our bombardier flew the 28th and got a chipped shoulder blade from flak
Russ Kerr did not fly this mission

 

Nor Knueppel did not fly this mission

 

10/2/1944

7:15

#30

Ordinance Depot

Kassel

#26 10/2/44

Kassel, Ger. 7 1/2 hrs.
Tiger tank ordnance factory as 2nd P.F.F. target. 6 holes in the waist, all too close for comfort. While coming back we were fired on by Yank 155mm guns and five huge holes in the radio room was the result. A good thing Nor was in the waist with me. Our identity was unknown to the Yanks.

28. Oct. 2nd - Kassal - 8hrs: Tiger tank factory

 

10/3/1944

7:45

#31

3rd Target

Ulm

#27 10/3/44

Nuremburg, Ger. 8 hrs.
Marshalling yards.  Flak was light.

29. Oct. 3rd - Nuremburg - 8hrs: Marshalling yard

 

10/9/1944

5:50

#32

Tank Plant

Mainz

#28 10/9/44

Frankfurt, Ger. 7 hrs.
Tank factory. Two holes.

30. Oct. 9th - Frankfurt - 7hrs: Tank factory

 

 

 

 

 

10/12/1944  

6:35

#33

 

Bremen

#29 10/12/44

Bremen, Ger. 6 1/2 hrs.
Tank factory. Flak was heavy but missed our Sqd. Four holes, all small. One ship lost.

31. Oct. 12th - Bremen - 6hrs: Tank factory

 

10/14/1944

See note

#34

 

Cologne

 

 

Run away prop on #2 engine couldn't feather, cowling flew off,

 

 

caught fire twice. Vibration very bad. Landed near Lille, France.

 

6:20 to Lille

Removed prop. Stayed at Hotel Royal. Got 375 Gal. of fuel from Canadians.

 

1:30 to

Took off & returned on 3 engines, rain bad 300'

 

England

ceiling. Radio Operator injured left knee - grounded.

#30 10/14/44

Ruhr (Cologne), Ger.  ? hrs.
Made a forced landing at Lille.  Everything was okay until we left the target when No. 2 ran away.  We were all ready to jump when fire broke out, but it was put out with CO2. From then the engine cowling flew every direction putting a huge hole in top turret.  We landed on an old heavily bombed Ger. fighter base. The Pilot made a wonderful landing.
We spent the nite in a wonderful hotel (Hotel Royal) everyone treating us like kings. Using money in our escape kits we all proceeded to enjoy ourselves on champagne and cognac in the Strasbourg Taverne.
After removing the bad prop, we mad a hazardous takeoff with two three engines on a short runway.  Even with all the ammo and flak suits out we used every inch of the runway. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

32. Oct. 14th - Cologne - Marshalling yard (plane hit by flak, engine on fire, hurt knee in dive)

  Flak damage to No. 2 engine destroyed oil line to prop governor, allowing prop to over-rev and prevented feathering (per J.T. Williams, Flt Engineer).

 

10/17/1944

6:30

#35

 

Cologne

 

LAST ONE for P, CP & E.M.  B - 2 to go

 

#31 10/17/44

Ruhr (Cologne), Ger.  6 1/2 hrs.
This was the pilot's 35th and our last due to our experience on the previous one. Flak was heavy on all sides of us.  Only two holes were picked up, both against the armor plating above my head. Aside from that it was a good mission. All in all our tour in the E.T.O. was very exciting with no resulting serious injuries. Much credit is due to our pilot, John Polansky and co-pilot Herbert Glasscock.

"Finis"

 

 

The end of a terrible nightmare.
(Nor Knueppel did not fly the final mission on October 17.)

Epilogue

John Polansky and Herb Glasscock flew their 35th mission on October 17, 1944. With that flight, all of the enlisted men on the crew had completed between 31 and 35 combat missions, and were released from the active flight duty roster.

Lou Kovach was hit by flak on September 27. The fragment passed through his upper left arm, shattering the bone.  He was treated at the base hospital and later transferred to another medical unit for further treatment and recuperation before returning home.

Adam Janowski was struck by flak on the following day, and grounded for approximately one week. He flew two additional missions after the crew had finished its tour.

Nor Knueppel was thrown against the bomb bay bulkhead after the plane was hit on October 14, badly spraining his knee.  He was grounded when the crew flew their last mission, and released shortly thereafter.

Russ Kerr, together with J.T. Williams, Art Wayrynen and Sam Larson left Rattlesden at the end of October, followed shortly by Nor Knueppel. They returned to the ZOI on the Queen Mary, arriving home in time for Thanksgiving, 1944. All were assigned as instructors until the war's end.  Polansky and Glasscock returned in December, both serving as flight instructors.
  


Seven of Nine
the Polansky Crew on Oct 17 after their last mission
See also the Polansky Crew Profile