| MISSION DATA: | |||
| DATE | 384th BG Mission # | 8th AF Mission # | 384th PRIMARY TARGET |
| 1943‑07‑29 | 12 | 79 | Target: Naval Base Type: Military Location: Kiel, Germany |
| Weather Stymies Bombers: Solid clouds at German coast prevented formations from continuing mission. Captain Ketelson led Group in an attack on a target of opportunity (TOO), an airfield on a German coastal island, near Heligoland. Due to the shortness of the bomb run, the Bombardier reported all bombs fell into the North Sea. About fifty enemy fighters and moderate flak were encountered after turning back. Wing formation was described as 'straggling', leaving formations vulnerable to attack. | |||
| SORTIE DATA: | ||
| COMBAT CREDIT | STATUS | TARGET ATTACKED (MODE) |
| Yes |
Completed Mission Comments: Wing lead. |
TOO (Visual) Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: [unidentified island], Germany |
| SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA: | ||||
| TYPE | SERIAL NUMBER | SQUADRON | SQ CODE | NAME |
| B-17F | 42‑3216 ⇗ | 545th | JD*S | THE JOKER |
| SORTIE CREW DATA: | |||
| POSITION | CREWMEMBER | UNIT | STATUS |
| Commander | Ketelsen, Raymond Paul⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Pilot | Carrington, Richard Thompson, Jr⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Navigator | Taber, Robin Everett⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Bombardier | Smithwick, Michael Hayes⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Radio Operator | Brittain, Arthur Edward⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Engineer/Top Turret | Schmidlapp, Phillip Elbert⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Ball Turret | Smalley, Win Richard⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Tail Gunner | Stallings, Gordon Kenneth⇗ | 546 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Waist (Flexible) Gunner | Parkins, Walter Carl⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Waist (Flexible) Gunner | Wingate, Floyd Montell⇗ | 545 | Completed, Uninjured |
| SORTIE-RELATED DOCUMENTS: | |
| TYPE | IDENTIFICATION |
| Photo | 1943-07-29,Wing Lead, R. Ketelsen, R. Carrington |