November 30, 1916 – August 11, 1967
Bradford Field Truesdell was the youngest of the ten children of Arthur and Charlotte.
Brad married Marjorie Marion Davis January 24, 1942
WWII Veteran & POW
Army Air Corps
8th Air Force
3rd Air Division/Bomb Division
13th Combat Wing
100th Bombardment Group
350th Bomb Squadron (H)
On July 8, 1942, 23-year-old Brad enlisted in the army. After training at several bases in the U.S. (Miami, Florida; Kessler Field, Mississippi; Willow Run, Ypsilanti, Michigan; Harlingen Air Gunnery School in Texas; Pueblo, Colorado; and Lincoln Nebraska), he deployed overseas December 3rd where he was stationed at Thorpe Abbotts Airfield.
Brad was part of the 100th Bombardment Group, often referred to as “The Bloody Hundredth”. He was assigned to the 350th Bomb Squadron (H) under Lt. Delbert Pearson, Pilot. Lt. Wilbert Lund served as Co-Pilot. While the Navigator frequently changed each flight, Brad took his position as the Right Waist Gunner on the missions he flew in the B-17, the Flying Fortress.
Flight Log
1943
December 28th
Local; 2h 30m
1944
January 9th
Local; 3h 5m
January 23rd
Local; 3h
January 27th
Local; 3h
January 28th
Local; 2h
January 29th
Sortie; 3h 45m
100th BG Mission #64
Target: Frankfurt – industrial area
January 30th
Local; 2h
February 3rd
Aborted; 3h 45m
100th BG Mission #66
Target: Wilhelmshaven – port area
February 4th
Sortie; 8h
100th BG Mission #67
Target: Frankfurt City Steel Works – railroad marshaling yards
February 5th
Aborted; 4h
100th BG Mission #68
Target: Romilly sur Sienne & Villa Coublay – airfields in France
February 6th
Sortie; 5h
100th BG Mission #69
Target: Romilly sur Sienne, Conches, Evreux – airfields in France
February 9th
Recall; 3h 45m
Target: Halberstadt
February 10th
Sortie; 8h
100th BG Mission #70
Target: Brunswick City – industrial area
February 13th
Sortie; 3h 30m
100th BG Mission #71
Target: Livossart & Bois Rempre; Pas-de-Calais V-weapons sites
February 21st
Aborted; 5h
100th BG Mission #73
Target: Brunswick, Alhom & Vorden airfields
February 22nd
Recall; 4h 15m
Target: Schweinfurt – industrial area
Narrative: The crews experienced bad weather.
February 24th
Sortie; 11h 45m
100th BG Mission #74
*Big Week Target*: Posen, AC Factory, & Rostock (ST)
February 25th
Sortie; 9h 35m
100th BG Mission #75
Target: Regensburg, AC Factory
February 29th
Local; 1h 25m
March 2nd
Combat; 5h 35m
100th BG Mission #78
Target: Chartres AF
March 3rd
Combat; 5h
100th BG Mission #79
Target: Berlin – Bosch Electrical Engineering Factory
Aircraft: Cahepit/31074
Narrative: Takeoff time was 07:18 – the first daylight attack. The Cahepit took the high Squad Position with the callsign RearWheel. The Cahepit, piloted by Pearson, had to turn back over the North Sea at 10:49 as the dense cloud cover prohibited the crew from maintaining formation.
March 4th
Combat; 10h
100th BG Mission #80
Target: Berlin – electrical equipment
Aircraft: Black Cat 13/32009
March 6th
Combat; 8h 30m
100th BG Mission #81
Target: Berlin – electrical equipment
Aircraft: Cahepit/31074
March 9th
Combat; 5h 15m
100th BG Mission #83
Target: Oranienburg
Aircraft: Buffalo Gal/31537
March 15th
Combat; 7h 30m
100th BG Mission #84
Target: Brunswick, Waggum & AC Factory
Aircraft: Cahepit/31074
April 1st
Aborted; 3h 50m
100th BG Mission #92
Target: Ludwigshaven – chemical industry
Aircraft: XR-P/37621 (ship of the 96th Bomb Group’s 337th Bomb Squad)
April 8th
Combat; 5h 40m
100th BG Mission #93
Target: Quackenbruck AF
Aircraft: LN-E/42-31981
April 9th
Combat; 5h 30m
Target: Krezinke (Posen) & Marienburg
Aircraft: LN-E/42-31981
April 10th
Combat; 6h
100th BG Mission #94
Target: Maldegem AF (Rheims) -Airfields in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany
Aircraft: unknown
April 12th
Combat; 5h
100th BG Mission #96
Target: Schkeuditz (Leipzig)
Aircraft: LN-E/42-31981
April 13th
Combat; 9h 10m
100th BG Mission #97
Target: Augsburg – AC Factory
Aircraft: LN-E/42-31981
April 18th
Combat; 9h
100th BG Mission #98
Target: Berlin – Genshagen AC Engines
Aircraft: unknown
April 22nd
Combat; 7h
100th BG Mission #101
Target: Soest (Hamm) & Werl – marshaling yards
Aircraft: unknown
April 24th
Combat; 9h
100th BG Mission #102
Target: Friedrichshafen, AC Factory, Neckarsulm (ST)
April 26th
Air Sea Rescue; 5h 10m
April 28th
Combat; 6h 10m
100th BG Mission #107
Target: Sottevast – heavy weapons installation of Cherbourg
Aircraft: LN-E/42-31981
Narrative: New Commanding Officer Robert H. Kelly gave the briefing prior to takeoff, instructing the pilots not to take evasive action if they encountered flack as it would ruin the bombardiers aim.
Although Kelly initially had J. Swartout as the lead, he decided to take it himself and bumped Swartout out while Brad was loading his guns. At 07:00, the ships took off, traveling across the English Channel to France.
The mission was supposed to be a Milk Run (No-Ball). They would bomb Sottevast, a heavy weapons installation of Cherbourg, on the French peninsula. As they approached, Kelly passed over the target but had the men hold their bombs. The ships had to circle around to pass over the target a second time in hopes of completing the mission. The circle Kelly lead his men was incredibly wide and time consuming. As the ships flew towards the target again, the Germans were ready with heavy and accurate flak. Kelly’s ship was hit, catching fire and spiraling into the clouds. Luckily, 15 ships were able to accomplish their mission in hitting the target and an additional 3 ships hit a Target of Opportunity.
62 out of 64 ships returned. 3 ships returned with injuries, including Brad’s, which had 2 injured on board.
Subsequently, Lt. Col. John Bennett resumed temporary command of the 100th Bomb Group.
May 9th
Combat; 5h 10m
100th BG Mission #114
Target: Laon/Couvron AF (B); Laon/Athies (A) – Marshaling yards and airfields in France, Belgium and Luxembourg
Aircraft: Boss Lady/102611
Narrative: At 03:00, crews were debriefed, relieved to hear they were not flying into Germany. The 13th Combat Wing would fly its A Formation to target the Athies Airfield, while the B Formation would target Couvron Airfield.
Takeoff started at 06:00. Brad’s crew was part of the 100th B Composite Squadron (Poohbah), flying in the Low Squad position with 6 other crews. The 390th taking the High Squad position.
One ship of the A Formation encountered light flack. This mission was deemed very successful and even made the news.
May 10th
Combat; 5h
Target: Fallersleben – Volkswagenwerk Factory
Aircraft: unknown
Narrative: The mission debrief started at 02:45 with a takeoff time of 05:55. The weather deteriorated by the time Pearson crew reached the English Channel. All ships were recalled to Thorpe Abbotts.
May 11th
Combat; 6h
100th BG Mission #115
Target: Leige, Belgium – marshaling yards
Aircraft: Hard Luck II/31903
Narrative: The debriefing occurred at 12:30 with a takeoff time of 15:00. Brad’s crew flew in the 13A Main Formation in the Low position. The planes encountered intense flack as they flew over enemy terriroty. Bombs away began at 18:31, lasting 4 minutes. Chaff was dropped 3 minutes prior and 11 minutes after the IP. 4 ships, including Brad’s, returning with serious damage at 20:10. Not surprisingly, the overall complaint at Interrogation was the ships had to fly too low with too many guns pointed at them.
May 12th
Combat; 9h 30m
100th BG Mission #116
Target: Brux oil refinery, Chzechoslovakia
Aircraft: Messie Bessie/30152 (ship of the 100th Bomb Group’s 418th Bomb Squad)
Narrative: The debriefing occurred at 05:00. Brad’s crew flew in the composite 13B Formation with the 390th, this time in the High Position. While visibility was excellent for the 350th, they encountered 35 heavy guns at Brux. This mission had very succesful bombing results. Crews returned in time for dinner at 17:00.
May 19th
Combat; 9h 30m
100th BG Mission #118
Target: Berlin city – Friedrichstrasse station
Aircraft: Boss Lady/102611
Narrative: The debriefing occurred at 06:00. The runway lights were out, making takeoff challenging. Heavy contrails became worse on the Danish coast. Crews encountered 25 Enemy Aircraft and intense flak while en route to the target but were able to shoot down 8 EA. Bombs away began at 14:20. During Interrogation, airmen voiced the “non-response” from P-38s when aid was requested.
May 23rd
Local; 2h 40m
Brad once told his son, John, that they would “fly a local” if there had been a bad crash or hard mission so that they wouldn’t be afraid to go out and fly again.
May 24th
MIA
100th BG Mission #121
Aircraft: LN-Y/97095
Target: Airfields in France and Financial District, Admiralty, War Offices in Berlin area
Narrative: Takeoff time began at 06:55 and continued through 07:24. The Pearson crew flew in the 100th A Group, 13B Combat Wing Squadron, taking the Low Squad position in the dense haze. While en route, several ships encountered Enemy Aircraft. Brad’s plane was shot down by Enemy Aircraft prior to reaching their target, starting the next phase of his journey as a Prisoner of War. Brad and the crew bailed out as their plane crash landed in Dreetz, 14 miles northeast of Rathenow, Germany. The ship’s ball turret gunner, S. Sgt. James S. Morrow of the M. Tashjian crew, was KIA.
Sources