Warbird Information Exchange

All official records indicate Howes went down of 3MAR45--(Hey, that's tomorrow!)--not the 6th.

Howes landed in the combat zone to effect a rescue of a squadron mate (Liles) who had been shot down. With two men in the cockpit and the muddy conditions of the field he landed in, Howes plane had problems getting off and he pranged. Both became POW.

Here is the witness account:




You can see two (2) Dulag Luft capture photos of Howes here:

http://www.teunispats.nl/fr-macr-12109.htm Photos 32 and 33 near the bottom of the page (Liles is photo 34)

The plane Howes was flying on that mission was 44-63745. The MARC lists "NONE" in the grid for Aircraft nickname.

Another aircraft apparently assigned to Howes at one time, and also lost, was 44-63567. That was the Michaelson plane lost on 20FEB45. The MACR on that loss also lists "NONE" as the a/c nickname.

A third plane apparently assigned to Howes was 44-11370--eventually flying in the 38th FS. Coincidentally she was also lost on 20FEB45 with Lt. Sill pilot. (No a/c nickname referenced)

Interesting too that "IF" 411370 had ever been named MY Li'L HONEY by Howes, when assigned to Capt. Wm. B. Staggs in the 38th she was called WILD HONEY. (A lot of honey going on here)

Howes was from Stoughton, Mass. (For you airborne fanatics that is the home of Corcoran jump boots.) He appears to have deceased 02JAN1990.

Dave

Dave,

Just to add...a lucky small arms shot took out the throttle quadrant just as Howes got airborne. The a/c lost speed and dropped back to earth and after one bump, it cartwheeled to a stop. As Howes was sitting on Lilles' lap (they had both take off their parachutes to get into the cockpit) he slammed forward and hit his head on the gunsight..and was temporary blinded. The bandage on his head in those POW shots is as a result of that head wound.

Shabby
http://www.55th.org
http://www.station131.co.uk

Wow, great pictures... great stories. Gotta love WIX

That dude was sportin' a pant load of bricks when that picture was taken.

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It's you and me against the world.

We attack at dawn.

Sorry the glued on text was so ginchy on the photo....and unless I'm mistaken that is an ME-109...not a FW-190 as per the text.

Too low for a chute, but when it's a choice between that and being roasted alive...

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Neat stuff there guys! I've seen that Mistel photo many, many times and would have never dreamed I might have in my hands a photo related to that!

Here's the next shot:


The caption on the back of this one doesn't make any sense to me. If I read it correctly it says: B arn ard

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

3J is 99th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 441st TC Group.

Could the fractured lettering be BERNARD as in Howes?

If you can do an isolated scan at mega-DPI of the nomenclature just forward of the antennae maybe we could get the s/n of this plane. The print online pixelizes at 300%.

The original codes appear painted over (large square repaint) and newer lettering added. Possibly a transfer from another Group.

Wow, no kidding. My mind is spinning after seeing that photograph.