Mission #8 (24 Nov 44)
updated 19 Aug 2013

Mission #18 (9 Jan 45)
updated 17 Dec 2013

Mission # 16 ( 27 Dec 44)
updated 4 Jan 2014

POW Mission Spreadsheet
added
2 May 2013

Mission Spreadsheet
Final version
17 June 2014

Correction to second A-11 Serial Number
18 July 2017

Correction to second A-13 Serial Number
16 January 2018

1 May 2013

Updated 22 June 2015

Follow this link to

The POW Missions

Sources:

497th Bomb Group Narrative History
POW Mission Reports scanned at NARA Facility, Maryland
and
73rd Bomb Wing POW Missions
by Jim Bowman

This spreadsheet is in read only format which means that you will not be able to edit any of the information.

Excel 2003 was used to create the spreadsheet but it appears to work in the 2010 version as well.

Mission numbers are those of the 497th Bomb Group.

All data within the spreadsheet is taken directly from each mission report and that means that all errors in transcription are mine alone.

Thanks to:

Without the assistance of Jim Bowman of the 500th Bomb Group Memorial Association this Mission list would not have been created.

I am grateful to the time he spent scanning and sending me the DVDs containing each mission.

Others to thank include Bob Mann and Tom Robison. Bob's books and Tom's lists have served as references to try and correct data that appears to be incorrect.

Each of these gentlemen can tell you of the difficulties working with original documents created during wartime conditions.

The Problem Children

In both my recent and distant past, making assumptions has created situations that have not exactly worked out.

Many cells in the spreadsheet are highlighted in light green. These contain information from the Mission Reports that do not make sense. And I do not have any resources to correct these errors.

However, instead of making assumptions the data is presented as it was written.

The 497th Narrative History does not contain one single page of a Roster of Officers. This would have been a wonderful resource to have to help correct some of the names in the spreadsheet. Such as were there really two Crowders?
Yes:

1st Lt. Jess W. Crowder 0761567
1st Lt. John G. Crowder 0800842

And two Conways.

I leave these problem children to the professional historians with the expectation that their expertise surpasses mine and will be able to figure out the answers to the puzzles.

An email from Jim Bowman, used with his permission, offers insights into the problems researchers encounter.

From what I've seen in the 497th records so far, aircraft 42-24774 was never A-37. She was A-22. And A-22 was lost on 3 Jul 45 over Kochi with the Merrill crew. Proof attached. Also with the Merrill crew that night were 497th Deputy Group Commander Lt Col John Griffith and the Group RCM Officer 1/Lt Joseph LaMoglia.

LaMoglia's presence, plus the fact that A-22 was the first plane to take off that evening, indicates that she was probably on a special radar jamming mission.

The intent was probably to reach the target first, begin jamming, and continue while the rest of the Group bombed. While that was going on, Griffith would presumably be able to observe the damage. But loitering around the target area also exposed A-22 to enemy fire for a prolonged period.

No night fighters were observed by any B-29 on this mission, so it was probably a lucky anti-aircraft hit which brought A-22 down. All we know is that she crashed into the middle of the city, in two parts, which means she probably broke up in mid-air. She was the only B-29 lost over Kochi that night.

But back to my SN problem, I figure there are two possibilities here. One is that 9998 was the only A-37, and 3824 was a garble, but that's a heck of a garble. The other is that 9998 was out of commission for a while and another B-29 took her place as A-37, then relinquished it when 9998 came back.

That's unlikely but possible, but even if so, 3824 is still almost certainly a garble, if Mann's book is right and 42-93824 was surveyed at Clovis on 13 Sep 44. And what is it a garble for? I am leaning toward the first possibility. It's not only more likely, it makes things easier... but how did they get 3824 for 9998? Jim