that 1st Lt. Charles L Gempel and the Bentcliff Crew
Flew on. The first column called missions flown
represents the number of missions that aircraft was
used in. The Gempel on Missions column is the number
of times the crew used that aircraft during the war.
The total count is 25. Some of the most famous planes
Sabrina 3 & Joplin Jalopy were very successful, well
built aircraft. Shack Rat did well also. What is
significant & sad is the plane they died in, labelled
the Bar T, was only in theater during the time they
were there and ultimately was the aircraft they
perished on. This aircraft was made in the Dallas
area factory and had a hull number of 1338. Hull
numbers were used on aircraft originally designed to
be seaplanes or seaworthy. The nomenclature stuck to
these aircraft throughout the war.
<><><>
| Aircraft S/N | Name | Missions Flown | Date of Last Mission | Gempel on Missions | |||
| 42-50535 | Joplin Jalopy | 64 | 4/25/1945 | 1 | |||
| 42-50626 | My Gal Sal | 16 | 8/25/1944 | 2 | |||
| 42-50644 | no name | 43 | 4/25/1945 | 2 | |||
| 42-50733 | no name | 9 | 8/18/1944 | 3 | |||
| 42-94952 | Shack Rat | 57 | 9/8/1944 | 1 | |||
| 42-95207 | no name | 8 | 7/21/1944 | 7 | |||
| 42-95209 | Sabrina III | 105 | 4/20/1945 | 4 | |||
| 42-95531 | no name | 53 | 4/25/1945 | 1 | |||
| 44-10523 | Bar T | 12 | 10/30/1944 | 4 |
That is simply awesome.This is the first time I saw this,thank you so much Doug.If there's anything I can do,please let me know,Clifford
ReplyDeleteClifford--You are very welcome---We can work together to make this a great story---Let me know if you want to share anything else---Your name goes on the crew picture when I get the book published.
DeleteMy Dad, Edward Reynolds, was the pilot for the last mission of Aircraft: 42-95531 over Hallein, Austria.
ReplyDelete