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| USAAF 13th AF 7th ADS Former Assignments 307th BG 370th BS |
Pilot 1st Lt. Harold E. Surbaugh, O-672897 370th BS (MIA / KIA) Champaign, IL Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Thomas J. Price, O-801394 (survived) Navigator 1st Lt. Charles L. Ogg, O-390814 (survived) Engineer SSgt Stanley A. Okon, 32380081 7 ADS (MIA / KIA) Erie County, NY Radio Pfc Stephen F. Sakalski, 33355550 (survived) Passenger Captain R. S. Taylor, SIDF (MIA / KIA) Ditched May 1, 1944 MACR 16546 Aircraft History Built by Consolidated in San Diego. Constructors Number 694. Project Number 30044. Fort Worth modification center line number 88. On September 8, 1942 delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) as B-24D-10-CO Liberator serial number 41-23899. Also known as #899 for the last three digits of the serial number. On September 22, 1942 at St. Joseph, Missouri. On September 29, 1942 returns to Consolidated at San Diego. On October 21, 1942 flown to Sioux City. On October 23, 1942 flown to McClellan Airfield to the Sacramento Air Depot (SAD). On October 26, 1942 flown from Hamilton Field on a ferry flight to Hickam Field as part of the cadre of the 307th Bombardment Group (307th BG). The ferry crew included pilot 2/Lt Buford B. Flahaven, co-pilot 2/Lt John H. Ralph, bombardier 2/Lt Moses Payton, navigator 2/Lt Michael J. Hriczko, 2nd navigator 2/Lt Walter C. Witherspoon, Engineer S/Sgt John W. Anderson, Engineer, radio operator S/Sgt Stanley W. Maperkoski, assistant engineer S/Sgt James M. Faulkenberry, and S/Sgt assistant radio operator John E. Fanning and tail gunner Sgt Donald J. Potter. Wartime History Assigned to the 7th Air Force (7th AF), 307th Bombardment Group (307th BG), 370th Bombardment Squadron (370th BS). Nicknamed "The Bad Penny" with the nose art of a penny with "One Cent U.S.A." with wings, a halo plus devil horns and a tail. On December 21, 1942 at 4:30pm took off from Hickam Field on Oahu on a flight to Midway Airfield arriving December 22, 1942 to stage for a bombing mission against Wake Island. On December 22, 1942 took off from Midway Airfield piloted by 2nd Lt. Buford E. Flahaven armed with five 500 pound bombs and climbed to 10,000' for a night bombing mission against Wake Island. The formation included 26 B-24 Liberators from the 307th Bombardment Group (307th BG) inclining bombers from all four squadrons. The formation include this bomber plus B-24D 41-23870, B-24D "Flying Gator" 41-23898 and B-24D "Bundles For Japan" 41-23969. After crossing the international dateline, the B-24s arrived over the target after midnight on December 23, 1942 and until 12:40am, bombed one of nine targets from 4,000' making a single bomb run. The B-24s were armed with five 500 pound general purpose bombs, with some fused with 1/10 second delay fuses for specific targets, the rest with instantaneous fuses. The Japanese appeared to be caught off guard and did not offer a coordinated defense, with anti-aircraft fire and search lights not commence until the raid began and were described as light and mostly from machine guns with some heavy anti-aircraft fire. Search lights did not seem to be coordinated with anti-aircraft fire and caught only a quarter of the formation in their beams. Four enemy aircraft were believed to be in the air but did not intercept. Afterwards, climbed to 10,000', crossed the international dateline and returned to Midway Airfield on December 23, 1943 between 5:50am to 7:30am. None of the bombers sustained serious damage (aside from two with superficial damage) or injuries to crews. In total, this mission spanned over 4,300 nautical miles and reported in the press as a "Christmas Eve" raid. On February 6, 1943 departed Kipapa Field (Kipapa Gulch Field) on Oahu on a ferry flight across the Pacific to the South Pacific (SOPAC). Assigned to the 13th Air Force (13th AF) at Henderson Field and Carney Field on Guadalcanal and began flying bombing missions in the Solomon Islands until early 1944. Later, the original green house nose was replaced with a nose turret. On the left side of the nose was painted "899" (the last three digits of the serial number). A scoreboard with Japanese flags indicating enemy aircraft claimed shot down was located on the left side of the nose below the cockpit. On April 30, 1944 condemned as war weary (CON AFMSC). Afterwards, assigned to the 7th Airdrome Squadron (7th ADS) and used as a transport. During late April 1944 or May 1, 1944 this B-24 flew from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal to Sydney Airport (Mascot) near Sydney with the same air crew. Mission History On May 1, 1944 took off from Sydney Airport (Mascot) near Sydney piloted by Surbaugh on a flight bound for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Aboard was passenger Captain R. S. Taylor, Solomon Islands Defence Force (SIDF) who was returning from leave in Australia. Possibly, additional non-American passengers were also aboard this flight. Due to bad weather, this B-24 ditched into the sea nine miles off the coast of Guadalcanal. When this B-24 failed to arrive it was officially declared Missing In Action (MIA). Search After the crash, a search was conducted over the immediate area and surrounding waters and islands but nothing was located. Rescue Later, Price, Ogg and Sakalski were rescued and transported to Guadalcanal. Memorials Surbaugh and Okon were officially declared dead on May 1, 1944. Both are memorialized on the tablets of the missing at Manila American Cemetery. Passenger Taylor was officially declared dead "between May 1-31, 1944" and is memorialized at Bourail Cemetery on the Bourail Memorial, panel 10. Ogg retired from the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a Lieutenant Colonel. He passed away on January 7, 1985. He is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery at section PPE site C-4. References NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Harold E. Surbaugh NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Stanley A. Okon Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC) B-24D 41-23899 USAF Serial Number Search Results - B-24D-13-CO Liberator 41-23899 Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) "1st Combat Reports Mission - Wake Dec. 22-23 1942 Mission Report Aircraft No. 899 [41-23899] pages 1-2 CINCPAC "Action Report - Night Bombardment Raid, Wake Island 22-23 December 1942" December 26, 1942 Missing Air Crew Report 16546 (MARC 16546) created retroactively on November 5, 1948 List of Names of Western Pacific Local Forces to appear The Bourail Memorial - Solomon Island Defense Force "Captain Taylor, R. S." via Martin Hadlow American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Harold E. Surbaugh American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Stanley A. Okon CWGC - R. S. Taylor FindAGrave - 1Lt Harold E Surbaugh (tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - SSgt Stanley A Okon (tablets of the missing) FindAGrave - LTC Charles Leonard Ogg (grave photo) Thanks to Bob Livingston for additional aircraft information and Martin Hadlow for information on Taylor Contribute Information Are you a relative or associated with any person mentioned? Do you have photos or additional information to add? Last Updated
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 B-24  MIA 3 Missing |
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