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 359th Brown Crew
Malcolm E. Brown, Pilot
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MALCOLM E. BROWN CREW - 359th BS
(crew assigned 359BS: 12 July 1943 - photo: 17 July 1943)

(Back Row) 2Lt Malcolm E. Brown (P)(1)(a), 2Lt Felix T. Szelwian (CP)(2)(a),
2Lt Hillard C. Alloway (N)(3)(a), 2Lt Matthew Schreidell (B)(4)(a)

(Front Row) T/Sgt Beryl L. Kress (E)(5), T/Sgt Ralph T. Cirello (R)(6)(a),
Sgt Charles E. Wernet (BTG)(7), S/Sgt Malcolm Wright (WG/E)(8)(a),
S/Sgt Henry C. Boucher (WG)(9), S/Sgt Calvin E. Boggs (TG)(6)(a)

(Crewmen are not in photo order)

Crew Notes:
Original members of the Lt Malcolm E. Brown crew dispatched on the following 20 combat missions between 29 July 1943 and 23 September 1943: 55, 56(A), 57, 60(A), 61(AS), 62, 63, 65(A), 66(A), 67, 68, 69, 70, 71(A), 72(AS), 74(A), 78, 79(AS), 80, 81
(A) Six non-credited abortion missions - (AS) Three credited abortive sorties. Bombs not dropped.
Eighteen of the missions were flown in B-17F #42-5257 Miss Bea Haven 359thBS (BN-S). The other two missions (#68 and 69) in B-17F #42-5177 Fast Worker Mk II 359thBS (BN-U).

  1. Crewmen dispatched on both Schweinfurt missions (#60 - 17 Aug 43 and #78 - 14 Oct 43). Aborted mission #60 with a defective Ball Turret. Seven of the crewmen completed missions #78 - all except Sgt's Kress, Wernet, and Boucher.
  1. 2Lt Malcolm E. Brown (P) - Dispatched on 21 missions. First orientation mission as CoPilot with Lt Arthur H. Pentz, Pilot (#52 24 July 1943). Dispatched on 21 missions with the 303rd. Transferred to 813th BS/482nd BG (H) at Alconbury, England where he flew additional missions. Was awarded the DFC while flying with the 482nd BG(H). He brought back his badly damaged B-17 from a mission to Germany where he made a skillful one engine landing in a small English Field probably saving the lives of his crewmen. On another mission, after being promoted to Captain, he was a Lead Crew Pilot flying with General Robert H. Travis and led the entire 8th Air Force on a mission to Augsburg, Germany

  2. 2Lt Felix T. Szelwian (CP) Dispatched on 16 combat missions with the Lt Brown Crew. Crew had a substitute CoPIlot on missions 62,63,79 and 80

  3. 2Lt Hillard C. Alloway (N) - Dispatched on 20 303rd BG(H) combat missions. Was on mission #52, not on #81 - Became a Lead Crew Navigator with the 305th BG(H) at Alconbury where he flew additional missions

  4. 2Lt Matthew Schreidell (B) - Dispatched on 17 missions with the Lt. Brown Crew. Did not fly on missions 79, 80 & 81. Also flew on mission #82 and on missions 146,148,149,151, 152 with the 2Lt Russell W. Meier Crew.

  5. T/Sgt Beryl L. Kress (E) - Dispatched on fourteen Lt Brown Crew missions. Crew had substitute Engineers on their final six missions.

  6. T/Sgt Ralph T. Cirello (R) and S/Sgt Calvin E. Boggs (TG) - Dispatched on all of the 20 Lt Brown Crew missions.

  7. Sgt Charles E. Wernet (BTG) - Dispatched on 9 missions with the Lt Brown Crew. Downed a German FW190 on mission #61. Lt Brown crew used substitute Ball Turret Gunners on the eleven other missions. Also flew on 18 additional missions (19 June 1944 through 01 August 1944) with three different Pilots. Had been reduced in grade from Sgt to Private on fifteen of these missions but was advanced to his previous grade of Sgt on his last three missions.

  8. S/Sgt Malcolm Wright (WG/ENG) - Dispatched on all of the twenty Lt Brown Crew missions - last six missions as Flight Engineer.

  9. S/Sgt Henry C. Boucher (WG) - Dispatched on 12 missions with the Lt Brown Crew. Substitute Waist Gunners used on missions 67,68,69,74,78,79.80 & 81. Resumed his combat missions on 22 February 1945 and flew 23 missions with 11 different pilots. Completed his combat tour on mission #362 17 April 1945.

[photo from the 303rdBGA Archives]
[Researched by 303rdBGA Historian Harry D. Gobrecht]