James M Thompson, AMC class of 1928 (The Longhorn 1928 has his image flipped with Otto the BQ)
Colonel Thompson was the first Commander of the Headquarters, 448th Bombardment Group (Heavy) when it was constituted on April 6, 1943, at the Seething Airbase East Anglia.
Colonel Thompson was KIA on April 1, 1944, during a bombing run. An account of the day's mission is as follows
The 448th Bombardment Group was another of the eight groups of B-24s that the 2nd Air Division dispatched on April 1. This group had a particularly bad day.
Colonel Thompson was the first Commander of the Headquarters, 448th Bombardment Group (Heavy) when it was constituted on April 6, 1943, at the Seething Airbase East Anglia.
Colonel Thompson was KIA on April 1, 1944, during a bombing run. An account of the day's mission is as follows
The 448th Bombardment Group was another of the eight groups of B-24s that the 2nd Air Division dispatched on April 1. This group had a particularly bad day.
Colonel Thompson is buried: Plot A Row 22 Grave 32 Normandy Cemetery Colleville-sur-Mer, FranceQuote:
Twenty-four aircraft were dispatched to bomb Pforzheim near Ludwigshafen. Dawn had gone forward by an hour that day because of the time change and so they left before first light.
The CO Colonel James Thompson rode as co-pilot in 712 Squadron's PFF aircraft flown by Lt Alan Teague, together with the group navigator Capt Bob Thornton and the day's radar navigator Capt Minor Morgan. This meant there were 11 men aboard the bomber with the pilotage navigator in the nose-turret; the radar navigator on the flight deck behind the co-pilot. All the pilotage navigation had to be undertaken from the front of the aircraft in the uncomfortable confines of the turret.
At 09:09 BDST a recall option signal was received, but Colonel Thompson, weighing the weather and judging the situation to merit a continuance, the formation carried on. By now the tail wind was much stronger than forecast and this was making the bombers early despite the deliberate dog-legging course they were flying.
Colonel Thompson was determined that the bombing that day should be accurate and as a consequence, no less than three passes were made over the target. Eventually at 11:04 the lead aircraft dropped and the others followed, presuming the lead PFF which had mastered the bombing, had a good picture painted of the target by its Mickey set. Now the force turned for the rally point, and the run home. Two B-24s had been lost so far on the run to, and out of the target. At 12:50 pm Lt. Harrison C. Mellor and his crew were shot down; and at 1:15 pm Lt. Charles Knoor's Liberator blew up after a direct hit--no parachutes were seen.
But the headwind was severe and fuel problems immediately presented themselves. The dog-legging on the way in, the longer time than usual over the target area, all added to the extra time needed on the return route. These circumstances were made even more critical by the fact that a number of the bombers had been struck by flak, and as a consequence were leaking precious fuel. Fuel exhaustion problems became acute. One by one pilots found themselves in difficulty. The Group Commander's own aircraft was low on fuel and despite all endeavours on the part of his crew, it ran to a point where it could only make a powered descent; they couldn't go on. Shuffling around in the interior of the aircraft, the over-subsidised crew made their way to the hatches and started to jump. First out was the radar navigator Captain Morgan, who parachuted to safety. The next was Colonel Thompson. Then as the next crew member went through the fore hatch, the aircraft tilted and lurched into a spiral dive. The men inside were trapped. The aircraft continued to rotate and crashed into a hillside. Colonel Thompson was killed in his parachute as he made his descent--by German machinegun ground fire. He was buried in the Abbeyville cemetery, France. Captain Morgan survived and became a POW.
The crew of B-24H #41-28673, the number 355 plane, was brought down due to flak on its mission to a target at Pforzheim 1 April 1944 near the area of Arras FRANCE and in the vicinity of the German border. Col James M Thompson, the Command Pilot, was killed in the crash. Three airmen were able to evade capture, however, the others were taken as POWs. The 389th Bomb Group lost three planes that day due to flak. This loss is documented in MACR #3596. The aircraft model was B-24H-15-DT, Letter J. The crew members were~
Col James M Thompson, O-017992, Command Pilot, KIA, from Limestone County TX
Lt Alan J Teague, O-661892, Pilot, POW, from Rock County WI
2nd Lt Jesse M Hamby, O-811196, Co-Pilot, EVD, from Tuscaloosa AL
Capt Robert R Thornton, Navigator, O-430028, POW, from Houston TX
2nd Lt Bruce A Vaughn, O-690742, Navigator, POW, from Vanderburg County IN
TSgt Edmund J Rudnicki, 35300453, Top Turret Gunner, POW, from Mahoning County OH
SSgt Simon Cohen, 11130339, Radio Operator, EVD, from Suffolk County MA
SSgt Charlie L Dugosh, 18201733, Ball Turret Gunner, POW, from Bandera County TX
SSgt John A Dutka, 31277381, Waist Gunner, EVD, from Middlesex County CT
SSgt Jack W Porter, 36181194, Waist Gunner, POW, from Kalamazoo County MI
Capt Minor L Morgan, O-660224, Tail Gunner, POW, from Dallas TX
