Warbird Information Exchange

The link below is nicely written bit on "Sunshine" by Mark Melchiorre, the son of Angelo P. Melchiorre who was "Sunshine's" Tail Gunner.
https://sunshine.melchiorre.com/

The Youtube video below: "The forced landing of Sunshine" Note: click on "watch this video on youtube"



Per J. Baugher: Ford B-24H-5-FO Liberator 42-52106 (449th BG, 719th BS, *Sunshine*) captured by Luftwaffe at Venegono, Italy Mar 29, 1944. MACR 3715. Flown by Luftwaffe on penetration missions in RAF bomber streams at night in Luftwaffe markings. Shot down by German AAA Apr 6, 1945 on ferry flight from Hildesheim to Bavaria.

Per 449th BG website: "An original cadre ship acquired 23 October ’43 and assigned to Stephens’ crew who flew her overseas in December ’43. On 29 March ’44, “Sunshine” was damaged by flak over Bolzano, North Italy. Hemphill’s crew elected to try to make it to Switzerland rather than to bail out. However, having difficulty identifying their exact location from the air, they landed at a German held airfield in Venegono, Italy. The entire crew was taken POW. “Sunshine” was taken over by the Luftwaffe propaganda squadron and, after being equipped with Meddo and Berlin type radios, was put to propaganda uses. 10 POW MACR 3715."
Link to webpage: https://449th.com/42-52106/


B-24H “Sunshine”, s/n 42-52106 wearing Bar A tail marking of Feb-Mar 1944

Below several photos of "Sunshine" in Luftwaffe hands.














Sunshine was a B-24H with an offbeat story to tell. In April 1944 she landed at Venegono airport in Italy, and the Germans made a movie showing her "surrendering". The crewmen in American uniforms are Germans, but the undamaged aircraft made the whole stunt look convincing. Sunshine had belonged to the 716th Squadron of the 449th Bomb Group




Standing (L to R): John Puff (B), Robert Feldman (N), Nelson Wood (CP), Gifford Hemphill (P). Lower row (L to R): Francis Tolisano (F/E), D. Powell (R/O), D. Lombardelli (G), A. Melchiorre (G), O. Harper (G), E. Briggs (G).

HEMPHILL, Gifford T., Pilot – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
WOOD, Nelson D., Co-Pilot – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
FELDMAN, Robert, Navigator – POW 22 Feb 44 Woodle
PUFF, John D., Bombardier – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
TOLISANO, Francis J., Flight/Eng – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
LOMBARDELLI, Domonic D., Radio/Op – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
MELCHOIRE, Angelo P., Tail Gunner – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
POWELL, D. C., Ball Gunner – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
HARPER, Orel Malcom, Nose Gunner – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
BRIGGS, Eugene W., Gunner – POW 29 Mar 44 Hemphill
GUTTENBERG, Sam, Navigator – POW 29 Mar 44 (Not OC) Hemphill









Below from the book: "Luftwaffe KG 200: The German Air Force's Most Secret Unit of World War II"

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[Thread title is ridiculous btw]

HEMPHILL, Gifford T., Pilot

Must be a distant relative of mine. Research time! Where do I start? Never done this before.

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Lake Dallas, Republic of Texas

I'll bet those poor guys felt very low about the whole thing. Not their fault, of course, but handing over the radar and bombsight and a flyable a/c must have stung.

The Germans must have captured many, many examples of the Norden by then. Were aircrew still instructed to try to destroy it to prevent capture throughout the war?