Z SQUARE 7, A B-29 TRUE STORY

MISSING AIR CREW REPORT 14488

Home
The Z Square 7 Crew
Z Square 7 Crew Families
Z Square 7 Crew Cemeteries.
Missing Air Crew Report
Z Square 7 Crew Military Funeral
Memorial Lt Eugene M. Thomas Jr (Marion, Al)
Memorial Lt Francis X. Glacken (Cambridge, MA)
Memorial Lt Norman B. Bassett (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY)
Marcia Bassett McGrattan
Memorial Sgt George P. Demers (Lynn, MA)
Memorial Sgt George P. Demers (Lynn, MA)
Peter & Lillian Demers/Charlotte (Demers) Fiasconaro
Memorial Sgt Louis A. Dorio (Clarksville, VA)
POW-MIA-KIA Ceremony
Bill Mauldin With Willie And Joe
Father John McBride
S/Sgt Kenneth O. Eslick with Photo Album
Sgt Jesse S. Klein. 41-13180
Sgt James B. Rice, Radio Operator, C47, 42-108884
Frank Farr & Merseburg, Germany
Ivan Fail Introduction and "Long Before The Guns And Tanks."
Ivan Fail's "Tribute to the Queen"
NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL
Frank Farr Poetry "November 2, 1944", "Old Men And The War", " Merseburg"
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Pages Introduction
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Crew Index
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 1
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 2
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 3
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 4
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 5
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 6
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 7
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 8
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 9
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 10
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 11
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 12
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 13
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 14
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 15
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 16
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 17
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 18
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 19
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 20
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 21
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 22
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 23
Zachary Taylor Nat'l Cemetery Memorial Page 24
Ivan Fail's "The Tuskegee Airmen"
Memorial Page #1
Memorial Page #2
Memorial Page #3
Memorial Page #4
Memorial Page #5
Memorial Page #6
The Navajo Code Talkers & Native American Medals Of Honor
Ivan Fail's "D Day, The Normandy Invasion"
Ivan Fail's "When The Mustangs Came"
Ivan Fail's "Against All Odds - Mission Complete"
Ford Tolbert by Sallyann
Ford Tolbert Pictures
A Tribute to Lt Raymond "Hap" Halloran
Lt Raymond "Hap" Halloran
Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, USMC, The Black Sheep Squadron
Lt Halloran Eulogy for Colonel Boyington
Omori POW Camp
Ivan Fail's "A Salute To Lt. Holguin"/ "Shoo Shoo Baby"
General Lemay's biography including a B-29 nose art photo album
March 9 and 10, 1945 Over Tokyo
Lt "Hap" Halloran on March 10, 1945
General Earl Johnson
General Earl Johnson Biography
313th Bomb Wing Mining Missions
Lt Robert Copeland, copilot, Z Square 8
Pyote Bomber Base With A Photo Album
"Hap" Halloran induction Combat Airman Hall of Fame
Blackie Blackburn with a photo album
Hap's Memorable Flight On FIFI
C. Douglas Caffey, A WW2 Veteran, Book Of Poetry
C. Douglas Caffey Collection Of Poetry
C. Douglas Caffey Poetry
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "Graveyard at the Bottom of the Sea"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "I Saw Liberty Crying"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "Old Memories"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "I Saw An Old Veteran"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "Flying Backwards"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "All Is Quiet On Iwo Jima"
C. Douglas Caffey Poem "Bones In The Sand"
C. Douglas Caffey on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
C. Douglas Caffey With More on PTSD
C. Douglas Caffey Memorial Day Flying The Flag
C. Douglas Caffey Saying Goodbye To America
The Pacific Theater
Battle of Saipan, Mariana Islands
Saipan Medals of Honor
Battle of Tinian, Mariana Islands
Tinian Medals of Honor
Battle of Guam, Mariana Islands
Guam Medals of Honor
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima Medals of Honor
Cpl Ira Hayes, USMC
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa Medals of Honor
Ivan Fail's "The Saga Of The Superfortress"
Ivan Fail's "The Silent Sentries"
Last Page

This is the Missing Air Crew Report that was prepared shortly after Z Square 7 was not accounted for after the May 24, 1945 mission over Tokyo.

Missing Air Crew Report 14488 was provided by Mark Stevens with the 20th AFA. Thanks Mark! I appreciate your help!

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Z Square 7 departed Saipan at about 6 PM on May 23, 1945 being part of one of the largest air operations in the history of the world. General Curtis LeMay had 520 B-29s over Tokyo on this operation. They arrived over their target area at 4 AM on May 24, 1945.
 
Just seconds after releasing their bombs on the South Tokyo dock area, the plane was hit with flak on the right wing. They feathered the engine and tried everything to put out the fire to no avail. They decided to try to make it to the rescue submarine (probably the USS Razorback) stationed at the entrance of Tokyo Bay.
 
A few minutes later they were hit the second time with flak somewhere in the rear which disabled the controls and the intercom. Lt. Thomas ordered the bailout. It is not known if anyone in the rear survived this flak hit or heard the bailout order.
 
Lt. Thomas, Lt Glacken and Sgt Bradford went out over the front  wheel well. It is assumed that Lt. Bassett and Sgt  Mitchell  went out through the open bomb bay immediately behind their positions. Lt. Phillips, the Bombardier, was the last one out. He did not see the others when he parachuted nor did he ever hear of them again.
 
Since the intercom was inoperable it is unknown what happened to the five men in the rear.
 
As Lt Phillips glided down he saw the plane explode in midair and fell into Tokyo Bay. It stayed on top of the water on fire for about 10 minutes before slipping beneath the waves. He didn't see any survivors.
 
Lt. Phillips landed on a sandbar and was captured by a Japanese patrol boat. Most of his time as a prisoner was at Omori POW Camp.
 
The fate of these men other than Lt Phillips is unknown since they were never heard from again.
 
The U.S. Government investigating Japanese war atrocities determined the men probably drowned in Tokyo Bay. The case was closed and the war trials began. All these men were outstanding swimmers in great physical condition and, in fact, Lt. Thomas was on his University's Swim Team.
 
After the war two "Unknown" graves in the Yokohama Military Cemetery No. 1 were determined to be the crew of this B-29. The remains were combined in one casket and reburied at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Ky. While ten men are listed on the stone, it is not clear  who is really buried here.
 

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