B-17 Duke of Paducah 324th BS 91st BG. The closing of 1943 in December was symbolic of the end of the Mendelsohn crew. The navigator received a promotion. The bombardier was about to enter training as a navigator, and Stuart would become the new operations officer of the 324th Squadron. Verne was set up to become the pilot of the Duke of Paducah with a new crew at the beginning of 1944. On December 30, Stuart scheduled the Duke of Paducah to fly its last mission of the year on New Years Eve. Verne was the pilot, and Stuart decided to schedule himself as the co-pilot and fly one last time with his crew. About the same time, another B-17, The Black Swan, taxied too close to the Duke, and its left wing badly damaged the Dukes gun turret. Amazingly enough, The Black Swan sustained no major damage, so the crew changed to fly the Swan instead. On the way back from their New Years Eve bombing run, they encountered two German FW-190s. Two or three shells crashed through the right cockpit window tearing the frame away, recalls Verne. Exploding in the cockpit, the shells killed Mendelsohn instantly. The wind coming through the large gap on the right side of the cockpit was deafening. Verne maintained control of the craft for quite some time, but after a while signaled for everyone else on board to evacuate. He found himself in France, not knowing if anyone else on the Swan survived. He traveled south for over a week, hiding in barns and being taken care of by the sympathetic French. He was eventually caught by the Germans and spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft I, a camp for officers. The Duke of Paducah was repaired within a couple of weeks of being hit by The Black Swan and flew 29 more missions before being scrapped in 1945 after the end of the war in Europe. Verne, freed from the camp at the end of the war, settled with his wife in Massachusetts where he still resides. He works vigilantly to keep the memory of the Duke of Paducah alive along with the hero that served as its pilot.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 04:29:57 +0000
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