The Wartime Memories Project - RAF North Pickenham USAAF Station 143

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Information. RAF North Pickenham, opened in 1944 as a Bommber Command station. It is situated in Norfolk, two and a half miles south east of Swaffham. It was also home to the B-24 bombers of the 852nd, 853rd, 854th, 855th Squadrons of the 491st Bomb Group and 856th, 857th, 858th, 859th Bomb Squadrons, 492nd Bomb Group, 8th Airforce. The base was known as USAAF Station no: 143 On 22 July 1959, 220 sqd RAF was reformed at North Pickenham as a Thor strategic missile squadron, disbanding on 10 July 1963. The airfield closed in 1965 and is now an industrial estate. Nine Missing WWII Airmen are Identified The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of nine U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are 1st Lt. David P. McMurray, of Melrose, Mass.; 1st Lt. Raymond Pascual, of Houston, Texas; 2nd Lt. Millard C. Wells Jr., of Paris, Ky.; Tech. Sgt. Leonard J. Ray, of Upper Falls, Md.; Tech. Sgt. Hyman L. Stiglitz, of Boston, Mass.; Staff Sgt. Robert L. Cotey, of Vergennes, Vt.; Staff Sgt. Francis E. Larrivee, of Laconia, N.H.; Staff Sgt. Robert J. Flood, of Neelyton, Pa.; and Staff Sgt. Walter O. Schlosser, of Lake City, Mich.; all U.S. Army Air Forces. Ray and Flood were buried last week in Harford County, Md., and Dry Run, Pa., respectively. The burials of the other servicemen will be at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. on a date to be determined. Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men in their hometowns to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate internment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army. On July 7, 1944, the men were aboard a B-24J Liberator that departed North Pickenham, England, on a mission to bomb a German aircraft factory near Bernburg, Germany. The plane was last seen by U.S. aircrew members in that vicinity. Captured records revealed that it had crashed near Westeregeln, about 20 miles northwest of the target, in what would become the Soviet sector of a post-war-divided Germany. In 2001, a group of German citizens interested in recovering wartime relics and remains, learned of a potential crash site south of Westeregeln. Later that year and in 2002, the group found the site and uncovered human remains, from what appeared to be two burial locations. The remains and other personal effects, including identification tags, were turned over to U.S. officials. In 2003, a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) team excavated the crash site and recovered additional remains, identification tags and non-biological material evidence. Among dental records, other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of the remains. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO Web site. http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo Pentagon Release, submitted by Chris Warne, Ray Arment and Steve Webbe Further information about the pilot, David McMurray can be found here: Read his story I'd like to make this dedication in honor of the 852nd Bomb Group and in honor of my Father, Robert C. Wenskovitch and Crew #R27. Names of crew members are: Pilot: David B. Mautner CoPilot: Jack Osbourne Nav: Robert E. Bruskotter Rad: Thomas Cook Eng: Edward P. Manning Rozin W Stoneman gunner's: Harry M.Thurn James M. Todd my Father listed in those records as: Clarence R. Wenskovwitch Milton R Stracener. The 491st was activated in October of 1943. The unit started out at Metfield on 25 April 1944 and in August they relocated to North Pickenham Airfield. The 491st consited of the 852nd, 853rd,854th and 855th Bomb Groups. Their Campaigns: Air Offensive, Europe, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Central Europe, and Ardennes-Alsace. Commanding Officers: Col.Dwight O. Monteith 10 Oct 1943 Maj. Jack G. Merrell 20 Dec 1943 Col. Wilson H. Banks 5 Jan 1944 Maj. Alex E. Burleigh 19 Jan 1944 Lt. Col. Jack G. Merrell 20 Jan 1944 Lt. Col. Carl T. Goldberg 12 Feb 1944 Col. F. H. Miller 26 June 1944 Col. Allen W. Reed 20 Oct 1944-1945 The 491st led the entire 8th Air Force for bombing accuracy. It also had the highest rate of operations of all B-24 groups. The 491st received 23 Major Awards including a DUC. The 491st returned to the United States in July and was inactivated 8 Sept 1945. Dedication from a Loving Daughter, Barbie Graham This is of my father Robert C. Wenskovitch (deceased) who was in the crew of a B-24 Liberator with the 491st BG 852nd BS crew #R27 stationed at North Pickenham, England during WW II. My father was a tail gunner. Crew members: Robert E. Bruskotter. 1st LT Nav Thomas Cook. Rad Edward P. Manning. S/Sgt. Eng David B. Mautner. Pilot Jack Osbourne. 2nd LT CP Rozin W Stoneman. Harry M. Thurn S/Sgt. gunner James M. Todd S/Sgt. gunner Hilton L. Stracener. and my father: Robert C. Wenskovitch. S/Sgt. tail gunner. My father's plane was shot down over Germany and he returned to his unit via the "underground" and he received a Bronze Star for helping a severely injured fellow soldier. My Father passed away at his home in Pennsylvania on September 6, 1983 Barbie Graham Photographs If you have any Photographs you would like to share please get in touch. List of those who served. 1st Lt Robert E. Bruskotter navigator 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story Thomas Cook 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story Staff Sgt. Robert L. Cotey Read his Story Staff Sgt. Robert J. Flood Read his Story Staff Sgt. Francis E. Larrivee Read his Story 1st Lt. David P. McMurray. pilot. Read his Story S/Sgt. Edward P. Manning Eng. 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story David B. Mautner. Pilot 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story 2nd Lt Jack Osbourne. co-pilot 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story 1st Lt. Raymond Pascual Read his Story Tech. Sgt. Leonard J. Ray Read his Story Staff Sgt. Walter O. Schlosser Read his StoryTech. Sgt. Hyman L. Stiglitz Read his Story Rozin W. Stoneman 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story S/Sgt. Harry M. Thurn. gnr 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story S/Sgt. James M Todd gnr 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story Hilton L. Stracener 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story 2nd Lt. Millard C. Wells Jr. Read his Story S/Sgt. Robert C. Wenskovitch tail gnr 852nd BS, 491st BG Read his Story If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch. If you have a story which you would like to share, or a website dedicated to an airfield or aircrew, please get in touch. Send an E-mail to The Wartime Memories Project Links Airfields Index The Wartime Memories Project is a non profit organisation. 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