Marauder Man: 1st Lt. Francis M. Kirby

Air Force: 9th

Bomb Group: 394th

Squadron: 585th

 

This is being sent in honor of 1st Lt. Francis M. Kirby and his crew--shot down over Creil, France on June 12, 1944.

 

Narrative Description of the Last Mission of B-26-B-55 Marauder 42-96117 of the Ninth Air Force's 394th Bombardment Group 595th Squadron.

 

Lt. Francis M. Kirby's plane was on a mission with 36 other planes on June 12, 1944. Their target was the Eiffel railroad bridge in Conflans St. Honorine. Lt. Kirby's plane was shot down just before the formation reached the Initial Point.

 

At approximately 8:55 A.M., on the morning of Monday, June 12, 1944, a Martin B-26-B-55 “Marauder” medium altitude bomber, bearing U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) Serial No. 2-96117, [1] was shot down just outside Paris, France by German anti-aircraft guns. According to the USAAF’s official Missing Air Crew Report No. 6050, the plane went down at approximately 49 degrees 14 minutes North/ 2 degrees 23 minutes East near the French town of Creil. The plane had departed earlier that morning from USAAF Airbase No. 161 in Boreham, England and was apparently on a mission to bomb a railroad bridge (Eiffel Bridge) over the Oise River in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, France when it was shot down.

 

[2] At the time that the plane was hit by antiaircraft fire, it was being piloted by 1st Lt. Francis M. Kirby (XXXX011). Counting Lt. Kirby, the Marauder carried a crew of seven (7), including First Officer and Co-pilot, Sol Hershkowitz, 2d Lt. and Navigator, Patrick J. Healy, 2d Lt. and Bombardier, James D. Jones, Staff Sgt. and Engineer/Gunner, Dana L. Baker, Staff Sgt. and Radio Operator, John J. McConville, and Staff Sgt. and Aerial Gunner, Lloyd E. Sjolander. Statements taken from two eyewitnesses [3] on June 13, 1944 indicated that Lt. Kirby’s plane had taken a direct and extremely violent hit from the German gunners. One of the witnesses [T.Sgt. Hagedorn] stated that the plane:

 

“… came past my right waist window. I could see it didn’t have any cockpit on it. It was blown off at the bulkhead between the navigator’s compartment and the cockpit. It fell about 2000 feet, and then a fire spread slowly over the wings. I watched it go down, and saw two (2) chutes come out. It went behind a cloud out of sight at about 2000 feet. I didn’t see it crash, but saw it burning on the ground after we had finished our bomb run.”

 

Another eyewitness [S.Sgt. Bainter] stated that he:

“… saw Lt. Kirby’s ship fall out of formation. The nose section was blown off from the leading edge of the wing on the under side of the fuselage; on the top of the fuselage, it was blown off back to the generator panel. Both engines were missing. The ship dropped approximately 300 or 400 feet when two (2) parachutes were seen to open. The ship then dropped through the clouds and I lost sight of it.”

 

The wreckage of the plane apparently went down near German “Field Ammunition Camp 10/XI St. Leu.” An English language version of a German report indicates that Lt. Kirby’s plane was shot down en route to its intended target. Five members of the seven (7) man crew were killed. Lt. Kirby and First Officer Hershkowitz miraculously were able to parachute out of the plane before it crashed. [4] First Officer Hershkowitz was captured at Chantilly at approximately 9:30 A.M., while Lt. Kirby was captured about ten minutes later by the “General Headquarters II Fighter Corps” “[o]n road from Vineul to Chantilly.” The German military appears to have retrieved the remains of five (5) crewmen, “a flight map,” and a number radio receivers and transmitters from the wreckage of the downed plane.

 

[1] 2-96117 (actually 42-96117) was part of USAAF Ninth Air Force’s 394th Bombardment Group 595th Squadron. According to USAAF records [possibly based on a translation of German military records], 42-96117 was shot down “near Villersous-St. Leu, 6 km south west of Creil.” [Other entries indicate the plane was shot down “7 km south west of Creil” at “10.30”] The plane, which reportedly bore the markings of the 394th/595th and three white stripes on its wings with its serial number painted in yellow, may have been shot down by German Antiaircraft Section 880/V Cormeillas. 42-96117 was one of 36 B-26s that were dispatched on the mission that June morning 1944.

 

[2] According to the book “Bridge Busters,” by J. Guy Ziegler, the 394th Bombardment Group had two missions on June 12, 1944. Lt. Kirby’s mission was to bomb a “railroad bridge at Conflans, France.” Based on independent research, this bridge is believe to have been the Eiffel Bridge, a railroad bridge over the Oise. The second mission was reportedly to bomb the railroad bridge at Monte Glasscourt.

 

[3] Robert W. Hagedorn (T.Sgt. 19015664) and Robert H. Bainter (S.Sgt 16018848). T.Sgt. Hagedorn is reported to have one time been a crewman on a B-26 Marauder of the 386 Bombardment Group 554th Squadron called “Ye Olde Crocke” (Serial # 131755 RU-F) flown by 1st Lt. Robert J. McCallum. (In February 1944, personnel from the 386th, 323rd, & 322nd Bombardment Groups were transferred to the 394th).

 

[4] Although it is not entirely clear, a “Casualty Questionnaire” taken from Co-Pilot Hershkowitz suggests that 42-96177 might have been flying at approximately 12,000 feet when it was struck by antiaircraft fire.
The same document states that “Lt. Kirby, Pilot, bailed out simultaneously with me.”

 

Lt. Kirby in the back row on the far left. Five of the crewmen shown I believe were the men killed on June 12, 1944. I also believe, but I am not sure, that First Officer Sol Hershkowitz is to Lt. Kirby's left.