Consolidated B-24H Liberator ‘Black Widow’
BuNo: 42-7542
446th BG, 707th BS
Crew: Five survivors
Date: 4th February 1944
Place: Bray sur Somme, France

This account has been compiled by Maurice Rowe, who has interviewed some of the survivors:

On the 4th February 1944, the 446th Bomb Group took off on a mission to Frankfurt. After crossing the coast at Clacton, the formation was approximately 15 miles inland on a heading of 095 degrees when aircraft 42-7452, ‘Black Widow’, turned onto a heading of 180 degrees and left the formation. The Public Record Office holds a file on the raid which provides several clues, including plots of German interception messages during the operation. These show an isolated track south of the main raid, beginning west of Abbeville at 11:35 and terminating near Amiens at 11:58. Black Widow was shot down by Leutnant Waldemar Radener of 6./JG 26, flying an Fw 190A-8 “Brown 4”. This was credited as his 20.5th claim, having previously shared the destruction of a B-24. Radener would finish the war with a total of 37 aerial victories against aircraft of all types, accounting for approximately 196 crew members.

The fates of the crew, some unknown, were as follows:

Pilot: Lt. Marvin W. Garber, from North Manchester, IN (KIA)
Navigator: 2/Lt. John T. Carmody, from Montclair, NJ (KIA)
Co-pilot: 2/Lt. Foster J. Hinton, from La Feria, TX (POW)
Bombardier: Lt. Joseph B. Adams, from Albuquerque, NM (KIA)
Top Turret: T/Sgt. Earl W. Lee, from Medfield, MA (KIA)
Radio Operator: T/Sgt. Anthony J. Nardozzi, from New Rochelle, NY (POW)
Ball Turret: S/Sgt. Francis A. Stewart, from Marshville, NC (POW)
Right Waist: S/Sgt. Vincent L. Riel, from Flushing, NY (POW)
Left Waist: S/Sgt. Adrien W. Kieley, from Queens Village, NY (KIA)
Tail Gunner: S/Sgt. John D. Fletcher, from New Port Richey, FL (POW)

All 5 POWs survived the war.

What actually occurred can be reconstructed with some confidence. Black Widow had originally been designated as a reserve aircraft, but when another aircraft dropped out, it was incorporated into the main formation. Shortly thereafter, the intercom failed and, at an altitude of 18,000 feet, the No. 3 engine began smoking, prompting the aircraft to leave the formation. Subsequently, the supercharger also failed. The pilot elected to attack a target of opportunity, most likely a V-1 construction site in the Abbeville area. After a second bombing run, four delayed-action bombs were released over the Abbeville region. Immediately following the bomb release, the aircraft was attacked; the first pass came from below, killing Lt. Adams and severely wounding the navigator, 2/Lt. Carmody. One of the waist gunners was also wounded during the engagement, likely S/Sgt. Kieley. Flames were observed issuing from the bomb bay, the No. 3 engine was on fire, and the aircraft became increasingly difficult to control. The pilot then gave the order to bail out. The top-turret gunner, T/Sgt. Earl Lee, was shot after landing, while the pilot, Lt. Garber, remained with the aircraft. The ball-turret gunner, S/Sgt. Stewart, exited via the camera hatch, and the tail gunner, S/Sgt. Fletcher, was attacked by a German fighter, which damaged his parachute. Black Widow ultimately crashed behind a line of trees near Bray-sur-Somme, where eyewitnesses observed smoke and flames.