CREW 02
GULF STREAMER


CAPT JAMES TOPPER

MISSION SUMMARY

MISSION #	DATE	TARGET AREA AND TARGET	BOMB RUN	ENEMY AC CLAIMS D/P/K	CREW CASULTIES L/S/K	NOTES
23/1	Mar. 4, 1943	Hamm/Rotterdam	60		1/0/0	New crew. Assigned Air Spare.  1 man frostbitten.
24/2	Mar. 6, 1943	Lorient, Subs	0	3/0/5	4/1/2
25/3	Mar. 8, 1943	Rennes, MY	20	3/0/3	0/3/2
26/4	Mar. 12, 1943	Rouen, MY	30	0/0/1
27/5	Mar. 13, 1943	Amiens, MY	30	0/0/0
28/6	Mar. 18, 1943	Vegesack, SY	0	6/0/1	1/1/0	Fuel leak. Emergency landing in England.
29/7	Mar. 22, 1943	Wilhelmshaven, SY	40	5/0/1	0/0/1
30/8	Mar. 28, 1943	Rouen, MY	30	0/0/1	0/0/0
31/9	Mar. 31, 1943	Rotterdam, SH	-	1/0/1	1/1/0	Did not bomb due to weather.
32/10	Apr. 4, 1943	Paris, Renault Billancourt Motor Works	30	0/0/2	0/0/1
33/11	Apr. 5, 1943	Antwerp, Erla Motor Works	5	2/8/5	3/0/1	Hit Mortsel?
34/12	Apr. 16, 1943	Lorient, Power Station	30	0/0/0	2/0/0	Uneventful trip to target.  Encountered no fighters on this mission. Safe return trip with uneventful landing.
35/13	Apr. 17, 1943	Bremen, FW Plant	5	5/0/4	2/0/0	Quiet flight until target reached.  Four waves of fighters attacked formation.
36/14	May 1, 1943	St Nazaire, U-Boats	20	1/1/4	3/0/1
37/15	May 13, 1943	Meaulte, AC Factory	20	-	-
38/16	May 14, 1943	Kiel, U-Boats	90	-	-
39/17	May 15, 1943	Wilhelmshaven/Heligoland	30	1/5/7	4/0/0
40/18	May 17, 1943	Lorient, U-Boats	20	1/2/4	0/0/2	1107th Squadron Lead.
41/19	May 19, 1943	Kiel, SY	20	4/4/3	0/0/1	1107th Squadron Lead. One man frostbitten.

MISSION SUMMARY

CREW STATION	NAME	RANK	Experience	Missions	CLAIMED KILLS	Notes
PILOT	Topper, James		+1	17
CO-PILOT	Abbot, Al		+1	13
BOMBARDIER	Ceda, Dennis		+1 BR +1 MG	19	6	Ace Gunner.
NAVIGATOR	Lamont, Jim			5	1
Engineer	Prang, Ed		+1	19	19 4	Ace Gunner
RADIO OPERATOR	Franklin, John			8
Ball Turret Gunner	Steen, Jan			3
Left Waist Gunner	Mio, Bob			16
Right Waist Gunner	Quinn, Rusty			10	1
Tail Gunner	Evans, Marty		0

CREW NOTES

Mission	PILOT	CO-PILOT	BOMBARDIER	NAVIGATOR	ENGINEER	RADIO OPERATOR	BALL TURRET GUNNER	LEFT WAIST GUNNER	RIGHT WAIST GUNNER	TAIL GUNNER
23/1	Topper	Riggins	Ceda	Lucas LW	Prang	Larsen	Law	Raft	Munson LW Frostbite	Rapp
24/2	LW	DOW		SW-IH	LW			LW		LW
25/3	SW	Russel		Fouts				SW-IH	Prince	SW
26/4	Hansen			Ross				Mio	James	Thompson
27/5
28/6	Topper	SW-IH						LW
29/7		Abbott
30/8										Rapp
31/9								LW	SW-IH
32/10									Quinn
33/11	LW		LW							Reed LW
34/12						Franklin		LW	LW
35/13			LW						LW
36/14
37/15				Lamont
38/16							SW-SH
39/17							Steen
40/18								SW-DOW
41/19				Recover		Dildy		Weal
										Evans

AFTER ACTION REPORT

MISSION #	DATE	TARGET AREA AND TARGET	MISSION DESCRIPTION
41/19	May 19, 1943	Kiel, SY	This was one tough mission.  We were attacked over zone 6 by a group of FW-190's which severely wounded Reed and caused some damage to the navigation area including cutting the heat.  Hit later by a 110 from below which knocked out the ball turret guns and caused some further damage.  Attacked by nine fighters over zone 7, resulting in rudder and starboard wing root damage as well as oxygen hits in the radio room and tail.  Hit again over target by 10 fighters including a 110 from 6 low that killed Reed and shot out our starboard brake.  Ceda nailed a 110 at 12:00 high which exploded in front of us.  Prang and Lamont damaged a couple more soon after.  Hit by flak in the tail area which destroyed the gun turret which Quinn was attempting to reach after Reed's death.  Took some more damage in the tailplane roots and control cables in the tail area.  Another 110 put six cannon shells into the tail, blowing off our rudder and caused further tailplane damage.  As he came around from 12:00 level to make another pass, Prang flamed him for his 20th kill. Hit by a group of FW-190's over zone 5, but they could not hit us and left immediately. We counted FORTY fighter attacks today.  We were very fortunate that several were not veteran pilots.  Also saw twin-engine planes dropping bombs into our formation.  We escaped damage. Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer
40/18	May 17, 1943	Lorient, U-Boats	Quiet flight until zone 5 reached.  Swarmed by FW-190's attacking from sides and rear.  First attack wounded Franklin and Mio with Prang blasting one at 3:00 high.  Lamont flamed one at 1:30 level soon after.  Took numerous hits over target area resulting in ball turret mechanism failure, pilot window damage, heat out in pilot compartment and several wing root hits.  Prang exploded another bogie at 9:00 high.  Hit by flak right before bomb drop did not knock Ceda off target and resulted in 20% damage. Hit by several more 190's which killed Franklin as we turned for home.  Reed damaged a couple and exploded one directly behind him at 6:00 level and the rest broke off. Claims: Lamont - FW-190 KIA   (confirmed by Topper) Prang  -  FW- 190 probable              FW-190 KIA X 2  (confirmed by Topper) Reed - FW-190 probable X 2           FW-190 damaged           FW-190 KIA  (confirmed by Prang) Casualties: Franklin - LW and SW - KIA Mio - SW - died of wounds Bomb run - on target - 20% damage Replacements: Doug Dildy - Radio Operator John Weal - Port waist gunner Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer
39/17	May 15, 1943	Wilhelmshaven/Heligoland	Hit hard heading into zone 6 by five fighters.  Ceda took one down at 12 level immediately.  The others either missed or caused scratches.  Steen hit another hard and he was trailing smoke as he passed under us.  As we fought our way through six more fighters with Ceda blowing up another 109 as the German mounted a personal duel with his nose gun, we were hit amidships with Mio and Quinn taking wounds, but the other Germans were wide on their aim.  We hit a localized storm over Wilhelmshaven and turned back to the secondary target of the airfields at Heligoland.  A lone 109 challenged Ceda again, and he exploded it right in front of us.  Immediately we were hit by 12 more attacks.  Reed blasted a 109 at 6:00 and was wounded shortly after.  We lost our pilot compartment heat and tail turret immediately after that.  Most of the the Germans were poor shots and we suffered minimal damage.  After dropping bombs with 30% observed damage, Prang blasted another 109 at 6:00 high.  An FW-190 took out our top turret and wounded Prang seconds later.  Steen then nailed a 190 at 3:00 level.  We were forced to descend soon after with a lone 109 streaking in from 12 High.  Ceda exploded him in an instant.   I guess the crew won't be ribbing him anymore about 16 missions with no kills.  We made it home without further incident after dodging some ineffective flak. Medal recommendation for Dennis Ceda for his claims as I observed his 4 kills myself and also saw the two listed as probables trailing smoke and flame as they passed the cockpit.  He certainly protected the lives of our crew and possibly saved our ship. Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer
36/14	May 1, 1943	St Nazaire, U-Boats	Jumped by numerous fighters in zone 6.  Prang brought one down (Me-109) on its first attack from 12:00 high.  The others caused some minor damage and LW'd both waist gunners.  After these attacks, several came around for second passes.  Prang blasted one into flames at 6:00 high (FW-190), while another FW caused some minor wing damage.  Soon after this, another five FW's joined the fray.  Prang flamed one at 3:00 high, but one coming head on killed Ross and LW'd Ceda and Mio (2nd).  Luckily, the rest of these boys were not so hot.  After seeing no flak and dropping on target with 20% damage observed, we swung toward the west to head for home. Jumped in Zone 7 by a single Me-109 which Prang blew the port wing off of and we watched him spiral in to the ground.  Another 109 headed in from 1:30 high and was hit hard by Prang.  He was shuddering and smoking when he left us, but could not be confirmed as a kill by our crew.  Maybe someone else saw him go down.  It would be great for Prang to bag five in one mission, gaining him triple-ace status. Rest of flight home was quiet, as we mourned the loss of Mike Ross. Medal Recommendation - Ed Prang for expert markmanship which probably saved our ship. Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer
37/15	May 13, 1943	Meaulte, AC Factory	Fighter cover instrumental in successful mission today.  Met very light opposition over target.  Two JG-26 Me-109's attacked from our 12 and 1:30.  Although our guns seemed to be off today, so were theirs.  Hit by flak which destroyed our radio, but caused no other appreciative damage.  Bomb run on target with 20% seen.  Would have liked better placement in such good weather, but Ceda was rocked by flak at last minute. No casualties No claims Bomb run - On target - 20% More runs like this would be welcome anytime.  In fact, twelve more would be great. Submitted - James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer
38/16	May 14, 1943	Kiel, U-Boats	Met enemy fighters in zone 7 outbound.  A pair of 109's made one pass, but missed us.  Over the target, it was a different story.  A pair of FW's attacked with minor damage incurred and Reed exploding one as it passed by.  Three more bogies came in with a 109 causing some damage and wounding Quinn.  A 110 was spotted coming from behind us and hit us pretty good, but mostly minor damage and a couple of rudder and elevator hits.  As he came around from 3:00 High, Prang flamed him and he exploded after passing under us. Flak missed us entirely, allowing Ceda to line up expertly and hit with 90% results.  After entering zone 7 heading home, six or seven more fighters hit us with Law receiving a SW and more damage to the tail area. Prang blasted another 109 at 3:00 High and Reed exploded another with a passing shot soon afterward. We manged to make it home with no further incident.  Law will be sent home to recover fully from wounds received.  Jan Steen will be assigned to our crew at the ball gunner position. Submitted- Capt James Topper - Pilot - Gulf Streamer

1107 CREWS

1107 HQ

BRIEFING ROOM     GROUP OPERATIONS