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From Helton's Hellcats by Bowman & Woodall |
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Starting on 1 May, 1944, before the Germans surrendered, the 8th Air Force mounted Chowhound missions (together with RAF Manna operations, which had begun on 29 April, dropping food supplies to starving Dutch civilians. During the winter of 1944-45, 15,000 Dutch civilians had died of starvation. Some of the deaths had been caused by the Germans in revenge for the help Dutch railway workers had given the Allies at the time of the Arnheim operation. Agricultural land had been flooded as an anti-invasion measure and the invasion of Germany from the west had also left three and a half million Dutch in western Holland living in a virtual island fortress. B-17-G-VE, 44-8452, seen here flown by Lt. Col. Shepler W. Fitzgerald, deputy Group commander, can be seen approaching Haarlem on 2 May, 1944 where 40 Fortresses in the 493rd, led by the Group commander, Col. Robert Landry, dropped 3,510 cases of food to grateful recipients. The day before, 38 B-17s in the Group had dropped 3,414 cases at Rotterdam. Bowman, Martin W. and Woodall, Truett Lee, Jr., 1998, Turner Publishing Co., Box 3101, Paducah, KY42002, 152 p |
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With the Battle of the Bulge raging in the Ardennes, the Yuletide celebrations did not stop mission being flown over Christmas and the New Year. The targets were mainly lines of communication leading to the 'Bulge' salient. On Christmas Day the 493rd bombed Ahrweiler railroad tunnel and two days later 18 B-17s bombed the Irlich railroad bridge at Koblenz. This bridge was bombed again on the 28th. On 29 December 'Helton's Hellcats' returned to strategic bombing again with a raid on the marshalling yards in Frankfurt led by Lt. Col. Shepler Fitzgerald. Bowman, Martin W. and Woodall, Truett Lee, Jr., 1998, Turner Publishing Co., Box 3101, Paducah, KY42002, 152 p |
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From Helton's Hellcats by Bowman & Woodall |
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On 5 June 1945 Col. Landry relinquished command of the 493rd Bomb Group to Lt. Colonel Shepler W. Fitgerald and a farewell review was held for the departing colonel. At war's end the 493rd flew "Revival" missions, transporting Allied PoWs and displaced persons from holding camps on the continent. Col. Shepler Fitzgerald recalls one such French PoW mission. "I led this mission to Linz, Austria after the end of hostilities, date unknown. The aircraft were modified with platforms in the bomb bays. The French prisoners had been working in the River Danube valley since early in the war and wee to be taken back to Paris. We stuffed a max load into the aircraft - God know how many - we could hear them cheering when we circled the Eiffel tower! While staying overnite in Linz, we werre taken to see the concentration camp nearby (probably Mauthausen). Bodies were still stacked in boxcars on the siding, bodies in the ovens and the walking dead still in the camp. The US Army had just taken over the area. The Russians were just across the Elbe River bridge." Bowman, Martin W. and Woodall, Truett Lee, Jr., 1998, Turner Publishing Co., Box 3101, Paducah, KY42002, 152 p |
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493RD HEAVY BOMBARDMENT GROUP Lt. Col. Shepler W. Fitzgerald was mentioned as serving as Group commanding officer from June 5 to August 1945. For the whole story of the Group Click on" 493RD HEAVY BOMBARDMENT GROUP |
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From The Early Birds of Aviation Roster of Members January 1, 1993 If you have any information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper Back 
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