SSGT KIA Magdeburg, Germany
Son of W. H. Jones & Sarah P. Belknap
brought home for burial on 5/5/1948
***************************************************************
U.S. Army Service No. (ASN): #38435950
Enlistment Date: 04/15/1943
755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, Heavy
Harold N. Jones is listed as Killed In Action in the 1946 Army and Army Air Forces Personnel Casualty List for Denton County, Texas.
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970, lists form signed for by Henry Jones of 631 Acme Street, Denton, Texas, on 05/08/1948.
Information below gleaned from: https://www.458bg.com/crewaa48moran.htm
GROUP RECORDS
"On 16th January [1945], on the mission to Magdeburg, Germany, Lt. Moran was flying the Deputy Lead position of the group. As they were approaching the target, the formation was being tracked by several flak batteries. As they flew within range of a four gun battery, the first salvo thrown up burst just in front of the lead ship. The second burst broke just in front of Lt. Moran's ship. The third burst hit Lt. Moran's ship between the #3 and #4 engine on the right wing. The impact started a fire in #3 engine and tore away the wing cell. The flak fragments entered the bottom of the engine nacelle and passed diagonally through the wing to emerge from the top of the engine. Flames trailed out behind the wing and past the tail of the ship. The flames burned the fabric of lower half of the right rudder, melted the de-icer boots from the stabilizers and warped the flaps. The turbo on the #4 engine was knocked off. The control cables of the #3 throttles, mixture and feathering mechanism were cut. This made it impossible to feather #3 prop and it continued to windmill at 2300 RPM's. Part of the left aileron was cast away and there was only 14 inches of power on #4 engine. Lt. Moran stayed with the formation to drop his bombs and then dropped off to the left of the formation and started back on a SW heading to try and get back to friendly territory. The fire in #3 engine burned itself out after 4 minutes after the engineer had shut off the gas lines leading to the engine. The flak fragments had also entered the side of the plane and knocked out the Mickey set inverters, thus making the PFF equipment useless. The weather was 9/10th undercast making navigation extremely difficult.
"Lt Moran instructed the Command Pilot [Major Philip] to contact the escort for protection as they had a long way to go with only two smoothly operating engines. The inter-phone had gone out and difficulty was encountered when Lt. Moran tried to inform the crew of the condition of the plane and what he was attempting to do. He instructed them that he was attempting to reach friendly territory before landing or giving the bail out order. A heading of southwest was held although no one was sure of their exact location. After 2 hours of flying this course, Lt. Moran intercepted the returning "bomber stream". Major Philips, the Command Pilot, contacted the wing leader on VHF. About this time the navigator gave Lt. Moran a heading of 252 degrees that would lead them to an emergency landing strip in Allied possession. Two minutes before running out of gas, Lt. Moran had gotten the ETA of reaching friendly territory as 10 minutes. Lt. Moran was flying at 11,000 feet when he ran out of gas so he feathered #1, #2, and #4 engines. He figured that he might be able to glide the remaining distance as his rate of decent was 1500 feet per minute and he was at 11,000 feet. He gave the order to stand by to bail out and sent the engineer back to the waist to instruct the gunners to be ready to bail when he gave the order. When the altimeter showed that he had descended to 3000 feet and they had entered the undercast, the order to abandon ship was given. Lt. Moran was the last man to leave the ship at 1445 hours at 1500 feet. His chute opened when he was 300 feet from the ground and he made a safe landing.
"The FFI picked up most of the crew almost immediately. The Mickey Navigator [Lt Fraysier] was wandering around until the next day. Lt. Moran walked in a westerly direction for about 4 hours when he came to a small rural community where he saw a farmer alone working in his barn. He walked up and asked the farmer where he was and the farmer showed him on a map where his place was located. The farmer called the French Police and the police in turn called the FFI and they came out and took Lt. Moran back to the place where his crew was waiting. The crew was taken to the nearest United States military police detachment that was about 40 kilometers away."
Two of the gunners on this crew S/Sgt. Richard Smith and S/Sgt. Harold Jones were killed when their parachutes, presumably frozen by the cold temperatures at altitude, failed to open. The crew was back at Horsham St. Faith on January 21, 1945.
***I would like to thank Joan Find A Grave ID 46481386 for creating this memorial***
***I would like to thank Don S Find A Grave ID 47899364 for adding his gravesite photos to this memorial***
***I would like to thank J Vogel Find A Grave ID 46975003 for updating the middle name on this memorial***
Son of W. H. Jones & Sarah P. Belknap
brought home for burial on 5/5/1948
***************************************************************
U.S. Army Service No. (ASN): #38435950
Enlistment Date: 04/15/1943
755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, Heavy
Harold N. Jones is listed as Killed In Action in the 1946 Army and Army Air Forces Personnel Casualty List for Denton County, Texas.
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970, lists form signed for by Henry Jones of 631 Acme Street, Denton, Texas, on 05/08/1948.
Information below gleaned from: https://www.458bg.com/crewaa48moran.htm
GROUP RECORDS
"On 16th January [1945], on the mission to Magdeburg, Germany, Lt. Moran was flying the Deputy Lead position of the group. As they were approaching the target, the formation was being tracked by several flak batteries. As they flew within range of a four gun battery, the first salvo thrown up burst just in front of the lead ship. The second burst broke just in front of Lt. Moran's ship. The third burst hit Lt. Moran's ship between the #3 and #4 engine on the right wing. The impact started a fire in #3 engine and tore away the wing cell. The flak fragments entered the bottom of the engine nacelle and passed diagonally through the wing to emerge from the top of the engine. Flames trailed out behind the wing and past the tail of the ship. The flames burned the fabric of lower half of the right rudder, melted the de-icer boots from the stabilizers and warped the flaps. The turbo on the #4 engine was knocked off. The control cables of the #3 throttles, mixture and feathering mechanism were cut. This made it impossible to feather #3 prop and it continued to windmill at 2300 RPM's. Part of the left aileron was cast away and there was only 14 inches of power on #4 engine. Lt. Moran stayed with the formation to drop his bombs and then dropped off to the left of the formation and started back on a SW heading to try and get back to friendly territory. The fire in #3 engine burned itself out after 4 minutes after the engineer had shut off the gas lines leading to the engine. The flak fragments had also entered the side of the plane and knocked out the Mickey set inverters, thus making the PFF equipment useless. The weather was 9/10th undercast making navigation extremely difficult.
"Lt Moran instructed the Command Pilot [Major Philip] to contact the escort for protection as they had a long way to go with only two smoothly operating engines. The inter-phone had gone out and difficulty was encountered when Lt. Moran tried to inform the crew of the condition of the plane and what he was attempting to do. He instructed them that he was attempting to reach friendly territory before landing or giving the bail out order. A heading of southwest was held although no one was sure of their exact location. After 2 hours of flying this course, Lt. Moran intercepted the returning "bomber stream". Major Philips, the Command Pilot, contacted the wing leader on VHF. About this time the navigator gave Lt. Moran a heading of 252 degrees that would lead them to an emergency landing strip in Allied possession. Two minutes before running out of gas, Lt. Moran had gotten the ETA of reaching friendly territory as 10 minutes. Lt. Moran was flying at 11,000 feet when he ran out of gas so he feathered #1, #2, and #4 engines. He figured that he might be able to glide the remaining distance as his rate of decent was 1500 feet per minute and he was at 11,000 feet. He gave the order to stand by to bail out and sent the engineer back to the waist to instruct the gunners to be ready to bail when he gave the order. When the altimeter showed that he had descended to 3000 feet and they had entered the undercast, the order to abandon ship was given. Lt. Moran was the last man to leave the ship at 1445 hours at 1500 feet. His chute opened when he was 300 feet from the ground and he made a safe landing.
"The FFI picked up most of the crew almost immediately. The Mickey Navigator [Lt Fraysier] was wandering around until the next day. Lt. Moran walked in a westerly direction for about 4 hours when he came to a small rural community where he saw a farmer alone working in his barn. He walked up and asked the farmer where he was and the farmer showed him on a map where his place was located. The farmer called the French Police and the police in turn called the FFI and they came out and took Lt. Moran back to the place where his crew was waiting. The crew was taken to the nearest United States military police detachment that was about 40 kilometers away."
Two of the gunners on this crew S/Sgt. Richard Smith and S/Sgt. Harold Jones were killed when their parachutes, presumably frozen by the cold temperatures at altitude, failed to open. The crew was back at Horsham St. Faith on January 21, 1945.
***I would like to thank Joan Find A Grave ID 46481386 for creating this memorial***
***I would like to thank Don S Find A Grave ID 47899364 for adding his gravesite photos to this memorial***
***I would like to thank J Vogel Find A Grave ID 46975003 for updating the middle name on this memorial***
SSGT KIA Magdeburg, Germany
Son of W. H. Jones & Sarah P. Belknap
brought home for burial on 5/5/1948
***************************************************************
U.S. Army Service No. (ASN): #38435950
Enlistment Date: 04/15/1943
755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, Heavy
Harold N. Jones is listed as Killed In Action in the 1946 Army and Army Air Forces Personnel Casualty List for Denton County, Texas.
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970, lists form signed for by Henry Jones of 631 Acme Street, Denton, Texas, on 05/08/1948.
Information below gleaned from: https://www.458bg.com/crewaa48moran.htm
GROUP RECORDS
"On 16th January [1945], on the mission to Magdeburg, Germany, Lt. Moran was flying the Deputy Lead position of the group. As they were approaching the target, the formation was being tracked by several flak batteries. As they flew within range of a four gun battery, the first salvo thrown up burst just in front of the lead ship. The second burst broke just in front of Lt. Moran's ship. The third burst hit Lt. Moran's ship between the #3 and #4 engine on the right wing. The impact started a fire in #3 engine and tore away the wing cell. The flak fragments entered the bottom of the engine nacelle and passed diagonally through the wing to emerge from the top of the engine. Flames trailed out behind the wing and past the tail of the ship. The flames burned the fabric of lower half of the right rudder, melted the de-icer boots from the stabilizers and warped the flaps. The turbo on the #4 engine was knocked off. The control cables of the #3 throttles, mixture and feathering mechanism were cut. This made it impossible to feather #3 prop and it continued to windmill at 2300 RPM's. Part of the left aileron was cast away and there was only 14 inches of power on #4 engine. Lt. Moran stayed with the formation to drop his bombs and then dropped off to the left of the formation and started back on a SW heading to try and get back to friendly territory. The fire in #3 engine burned itself out after 4 minutes after the engineer had shut off the gas lines leading to the engine. The flak fragments had also entered the side of the plane and knocked out the Mickey set inverters, thus making the PFF equipment useless. The weather was 9/10th undercast making navigation extremely difficult.
"Lt Moran instructed the Command Pilot [Major Philip] to contact the escort for protection as they had a long way to go with only two smoothly operating engines. The inter-phone had gone out and difficulty was encountered when Lt. Moran tried to inform the crew of the condition of the plane and what he was attempting to do. He instructed them that he was attempting to reach friendly territory before landing or giving the bail out order. A heading of southwest was held although no one was sure of their exact location. After 2 hours of flying this course, Lt. Moran intercepted the returning "bomber stream". Major Philips, the Command Pilot, contacted the wing leader on VHF. About this time the navigator gave Lt. Moran a heading of 252 degrees that would lead them to an emergency landing strip in Allied possession. Two minutes before running out of gas, Lt. Moran had gotten the ETA of reaching friendly territory as 10 minutes. Lt. Moran was flying at 11,000 feet when he ran out of gas so he feathered #1, #2, and #4 engines. He figured that he might be able to glide the remaining distance as his rate of decent was 1500 feet per minute and he was at 11,000 feet. He gave the order to stand by to bail out and sent the engineer back to the waist to instruct the gunners to be ready to bail when he gave the order. When the altimeter showed that he had descended to 3000 feet and they had entered the undercast, the order to abandon ship was given. Lt. Moran was the last man to leave the ship at 1445 hours at 1500 feet. His chute opened when he was 300 feet from the ground and he made a safe landing.
"The FFI picked up most of the crew almost immediately. The Mickey Navigator [Lt Fraysier] was wandering around until the next day. Lt. Moran walked in a westerly direction for about 4 hours when he came to a small rural community where he saw a farmer alone working in his barn. He walked up and asked the farmer where he was and the farmer showed him on a map where his place was located. The farmer called the French Police and the police in turn called the FFI and they came out and took Lt. Moran back to the place where his crew was waiting. The crew was taken to the nearest United States military police detachment that was about 40 kilometers away."
Two of the gunners on this crew S/Sgt. Richard Smith and S/Sgt. Harold Jones were killed when their parachutes, presumably frozen by the cold temperatures at altitude, failed to open. The crew was back at Horsham St. Faith on January 21, 1945.
***I would like to thank Joan Find A Grave ID 46481386 for creating this memorial***
***I would like to thank Don S Find A Grave ID 47899364 for adding his gravesite photos to this memorial***
***I would like to thank J Vogel Find A Grave ID 46975003 for updating the middle name on this memorial***
Son of W. H. Jones & Sarah P. Belknap
brought home for burial on 5/5/1948
***************************************************************
U.S. Army Service No. (ASN): #38435950
Enlistment Date: 04/15/1943
755th Bomb Squadron, 458th Bomb Group, Heavy
Harold N. Jones is listed as Killed In Action in the 1946 Army and Army Air Forces Personnel Casualty List for Denton County, Texas.
U.S., Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1970, lists form signed for by Henry Jones of 631 Acme Street, Denton, Texas, on 05/08/1948.
Information below gleaned from: https://www.458bg.com/crewaa48moran.htm
GROUP RECORDS
"On 16th January [1945], on the mission to Magdeburg, Germany, Lt. Moran was flying the Deputy Lead position of the group. As they were approaching the target, the formation was being tracked by several flak batteries. As they flew within range of a four gun battery, the first salvo thrown up burst just in front of the lead ship. The second burst broke just in front of Lt. Moran's ship. The third burst hit Lt. Moran's ship between the #3 and #4 engine on the right wing. The impact started a fire in #3 engine and tore away the wing cell. The flak fragments entered the bottom of the engine nacelle and passed diagonally through the wing to emerge from the top of the engine. Flames trailed out behind the wing and past the tail of the ship. The flames burned the fabric of lower half of the right rudder, melted the de-icer boots from the stabilizers and warped the flaps. The turbo on the #4 engine was knocked off. The control cables of the #3 throttles, mixture and feathering mechanism were cut. This made it impossible to feather #3 prop and it continued to windmill at 2300 RPM's. Part of the left aileron was cast away and there was only 14 inches of power on #4 engine. Lt. Moran stayed with the formation to drop his bombs and then dropped off to the left of the formation and started back on a SW heading to try and get back to friendly territory. The fire in #3 engine burned itself out after 4 minutes after the engineer had shut off the gas lines leading to the engine. The flak fragments had also entered the side of the plane and knocked out the Mickey set inverters, thus making the PFF equipment useless. The weather was 9/10th undercast making navigation extremely difficult.
"Lt Moran instructed the Command Pilot [Major Philip] to contact the escort for protection as they had a long way to go with only two smoothly operating engines. The inter-phone had gone out and difficulty was encountered when Lt. Moran tried to inform the crew of the condition of the plane and what he was attempting to do. He instructed them that he was attempting to reach friendly territory before landing or giving the bail out order. A heading of southwest was held although no one was sure of their exact location. After 2 hours of flying this course, Lt. Moran intercepted the returning "bomber stream". Major Philips, the Command Pilot, contacted the wing leader on VHF. About this time the navigator gave Lt. Moran a heading of 252 degrees that would lead them to an emergency landing strip in Allied possession. Two minutes before running out of gas, Lt. Moran had gotten the ETA of reaching friendly territory as 10 minutes. Lt. Moran was flying at 11,000 feet when he ran out of gas so he feathered #1, #2, and #4 engines. He figured that he might be able to glide the remaining distance as his rate of decent was 1500 feet per minute and he was at 11,000 feet. He gave the order to stand by to bail out and sent the engineer back to the waist to instruct the gunners to be ready to bail when he gave the order. When the altimeter showed that he had descended to 3000 feet and they had entered the undercast, the order to abandon ship was given. Lt. Moran was the last man to leave the ship at 1445 hours at 1500 feet. His chute opened when he was 300 feet from the ground and he made a safe landing.
"The FFI picked up most of the crew almost immediately. The Mickey Navigator [Lt Fraysier] was wandering around until the next day. Lt. Moran walked in a westerly direction for about 4 hours when he came to a small rural community where he saw a farmer alone working in his barn. He walked up and asked the farmer where he was and the farmer showed him on a map where his place was located. The farmer called the French Police and the police in turn called the FFI and they came out and took Lt. Moran back to the place where his crew was waiting. The crew was taken to the nearest United States military police detachment that was about 40 kilometers away."
Two of the gunners on this crew S/Sgt. Richard Smith and S/Sgt. Harold Jones were killed when their parachutes, presumably frozen by the cold temperatures at altitude, failed to open. The crew was back at Horsham St. Faith on January 21, 1945.
***I would like to thank Joan Find A Grave ID 46481386 for creating this memorial***
***I would like to thank Don S Find A Grave ID 47899364 for adding his gravesite photos to this memorial***
***I would like to thank J Vogel Find A Grave ID 46975003 for updating the middle name on this memorial***
Inscription
HAROLD N JONES
TEXAS
STAFF SGT AIR CORPS
WORLD WAR II
OCT 26 1924 JAN 16 1945
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
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