This page is in appreciation of his crew, led by John Moseley and Leo Jones, and all the rest of Dad’s fellow crewmen, who all conspired together with my father to bring him back alive so that I could exist to write this. With many thanks to Andy Wilkinson.—Nicholas Robinson, Montreal 2003
MOSELEY CREW MISSION CHART
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Mission #
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Group Mission #
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Date
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Target (in Germany unless shown otherwise)
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Flight time
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A/C Serial
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Letter
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A/C Name
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Remarks
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1
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126
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Oct. 30/44
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Harburg
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5:13
|
D
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First mission as a crew unit for 790th Sq. crew#59
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||
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2
|
131
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Nov. 9/44
|
Metz, Fra.
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5:36
|
E
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“STINKER” "SAUCY PANTS"
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x | |
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3
|
134
|
Nov. 16/44
|
Escheiler
|
Unk.
|
G
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Target: enemy troop concentration. Due to fog Group landed away from base | ||
|
4
|
138
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Nov. 29/44
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Bielefeld
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5:21
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T
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“PLOW JOCKEY” "TEN OF US"
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x | |
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5
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145
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Dec.18/44
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Coblenz
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4:27
|
J
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|||
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6
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146
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Dec.24/44
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Daun-Gerolstein-Ober
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6:??
|
J
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Maximum effort mission 60 Group aircraft participate | ||
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7
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147
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Dec.25/44
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Mechernich-Gerolstein-Hallschlag
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5:32
|
G
|
|||
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8
|
166
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Feb. 3/45
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Magdeburg
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7:12
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F+
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Name, if any, unknown
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First mission with lead 791st Sq. as crew#89 | |
|
9
|
173
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Feb. 16/45
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Osnabruck
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5:45
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Z+
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|||
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10
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x |
Feb. 17/45
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Aschaffenburg
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Unk.
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Z+
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Mission recalled due severe icing during assembly. No mission credit | ||
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11
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174
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Feb. 19/45
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Meschede
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7:09
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X+
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Name, if any, unknown
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H2X PFF lead aircraft | |
|
12
|
176
|
Feb. 22/45
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Hildesheim
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7:28
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42-48860
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B+
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Name, if any, unknown
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H2X PFF lead aircraft |
|
13
|
181
|
Feb. 27/45
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Halle
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8:10
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44-48820
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L+
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"LUCKY ‘LEVEN" "ALWAYS A WINNER"
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H2X PFF lead aircraft |
|
14
|
182
|
Feb. 28/45
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Bielefeld
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6:20
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S+
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Name, if any, unknown
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H2X PFF lead aircraft | |
|
15
|
184
|
Mar. 2/45
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Magdeburg
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7:16
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X+
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Name, if any, unknown
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790 sq. crew lost | |
|
16
|
190
|
Mar. 10/45
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Arnsberg
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6:36
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44-49513
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N+
|
Name, if any, unknown
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H2X GH PFF lead aircraft |
|
17
|
194
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Mar. 15/45
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Zossen
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7:05
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Z+
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H2X GH PFF lead aircraft | ||
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18
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196
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Mar. 18/45
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Berlin
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7:31
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44-48860
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B+
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Name, if any, unknown
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2 crews 789th/791st lost |
|
19
|
197
|
Mar. 19/45
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Leipheim
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8:29
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S+
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Name, if any, unknown
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||
|
20
|
199
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Mar. 21/45
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Hespe
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5:15
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44-49591
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H+
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Name, if any, unknown
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H2X GH PFF lead aircraft |
|
21
|
203
|
Mar. 24/45
|
Kirtorf
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6:09
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44-49340
|
G+
|
Name, if any, unknown
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Second Group Mission of the day |
|
22
|
208
|
Apr. 5/45
|
Plauen
|
8:14
|
Z+
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H2X GH PFF lead aircraft | ||
|
23
|
211
|
Apr. 8/45
|
Unterschlauersbach
|
7:13
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44-48860
|
B+
|
Name, if any, unknown
|
|
|
24
|
213
|
Apr. 10/45
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Rechlin/Larz
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7:48
|
M+
|
Name, if any, unknown
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H2X PFF lead aircraft | |
|
25
|
215
|
Apr. 14/45
|
Royan, Fra
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9:19
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S+
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Name, if any, unknown
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“Perfect drop” mission: most accurate of WWII | |
|
26
|
217
|
Apr. 16/45
|
Landshut
|
8:34
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44-50674
|
P+
|
Name, if any, unknown
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H2X GH PFF lead aircraft: last mission for crew#89 |
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Re-deployed in June 1945 and assigned 790th Squadron to Zone of Interior on Operation “Home Run” in B24JSH 42-50950. See Operations Orders No. 52 29th May 45
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Coombe House, located a couple of miles east of Shaftesbury, Dorset. During the war, this was used as a "Flak shack," where "flak-happy" flyers went to recover.
This home was for R&R and specifically catered for up to 50 officers. (Thanks to Andy Wilkinson for this information and identification of photo.) Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Left to Right:
Lt. O'Connell - Navigator | Lt. Leo Jones - Copilot; Lt. John Moseley - Pilot | Lt. Knechels - Bombardier. (Location probably in the U.S.) Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Left to Right:
Lt. Leo Jones - Co-Pilot | Lt. John Moseley - Pilot | Sgt. Sol Womack - W.G. Armorer Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Lt. Leo Jones - Co-Pilot, in an undated picture. Kindly provided by Bea Mansfield.
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Bea Mansfield says of Lt. Leo Jones:
"Leo died in 1993 of bone cancer and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I plan to add to the very brief obituary that is on the Arlington website. After WWII, he went to college and became an aeronautical engineer. "He was in R&D afterwards except when he flew C-123s in Vietnam. Leo retired as a Lt. Col. He received several decorations and awards and I'm wondering if he received any of those as a member of the Moseley crew. "He received the European African Middle Eastern Ribbon with 5 Bronze Service Stars, Air Medal with Numeral 8 (would that have been for the 8th Air Force or did it stand for something else?), WWII Victory Medal, Honorable Lapel Button, American Campaign Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Good Conduct Medal, etc." Photo courtesy Bea Mansfield |
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Upper - L to R standing: Lt. John Moseley - Pilot | Lt. Nelson King - Navigator | Sgt. Sol Womack - Gunner | Lt. O'Connell - Navigator | Lt. Wilson - Copilot.
Lower - L to R: Sgt. Hubbard - Gunner | Sgt. Joseph Pilarski - Tail Gunner | Lt. Beyer - Bombardier | Lt. Fitzgerald - H2X Op. | Sgt. Eugene Zumalt - Engineer | Sgt. Russell Robinson - R. O. not shown. (He took the picture.) Photo dated March 18, 1945 Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Left to Right:
Sgt. Sol Womack - Gunner | Lt. Leo Jones - Copilot; Lt. John Moseley - Pilot | Sgt. Russell Robinson - Radio Operator (photo dated 12 December, 1944) Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Left to Right:
Sgt. Russell Robinson - Radio Operator | Sgt. Joseph Pilarski - Tail Gunner (outside Nissen hut | photo dated 24 Jan. 1945) Photo courtesy Joe Pilarski |
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Sgt. Russell Robinson - Radio Operator (outside Nissen hut. Presumably dated same as above)
Photo courtesy Russell Robinson |
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Upper - L to R standing: Lt. Nelson King - Navigator | Lt. O'Connell - Navigator | Unidentified | Lt. John Moseley - Pilot | Unidentified;
Lower - L to R: Sgt. Russell Robinson - R. O. | Sgt. Sol Womack - Gunner | Sgt. Joseph Pilarski - Tail Gunner | Sgt. Clifford Hubbard - Gunner | Sgt. Eugene Zumalt - Engineer | Date unknown; probably after March, 1945 I built a replica of the Leading Lady. It may be seen here. Photo courtesy Russell Robinson |
Nelson King: Then, and later?
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A mystery unraveled: While doing a search on the Internet for "Nelson King, navigator," I ran across a photo at a page for the 13th Bomb Squadron.
The actual photo is here. Despite its general washed-out appearance, I felt for sure that it was one and the same Nelson King who flew with the Moseley crew. I wrote to the caretaker of the site, Charles Hinton, and he kindly provided me with a higher-reolution photo, which only heightened my suspicions. I advised Joe Pilarski of my thoughts by email, and he promised to check it out. Check it out he did, and came back with this response: "Just a few words to give you an update on the Nelson King story. First of all, you were correct in your assumption that he was with the 13th squadron. I just got off the phone with his widow. She informed me that Nelson finally retired from the Air Force in 1965, got ten good years of fishing in and passed away from a heart attack in 1975. I wound up speaking with her for about an hour. I told her I would send her the photo he was in from the March 18th mission. She was elated." |
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