Category 801 Bomb Group

10 -11 April 1944 – First completed operation

Tim B

The Ambrose Crew had better luck on its second operation.
Report 198 notes the results of the nine and half hour operation “Marksman 20” as completed. After flying a few hours to behind enemy lines in France, Chuckie and his fellow crew dropped 12 containers, 6 six packages and 5 leaflets in France and returned safely back to Harrington in England.

Loading the aircraft

Once the flight was confirmed, the target went to the OSS Liaison Officer at Harrington so that he could draw up a list of required containers and packages and arrange delivery to the plane. Containers were consigned to the Group Ordnance Officer, whose men first snapped on parachutes then delivered them to The Worry Bird where Armament Section men stood ready to load the containers into the aircraft. Packages are delivered to the Armament Officer and taken to the aircraft also for loading.

Leaflets were used to disseminate both pro-Allied and anti-Axis propaganda, with the aim of damaging enemy morale and sustaining the morale of the occupied countries. Usually six to ten bundles of 4,000 were loaded onto the plane according to the stock on hand, the length of flight and the time over enemy territory. No leaflets are dropped near Carpetbagger targets, for security reasons.

The OSS Liaison Officer and his men check each aircraft to ensure that the proper loading is in place.

The Worry Bird is ready for take off.

Report 198: Chuckie and his crew took off at 9:24PM in the evening and returned at 7AM the next morning. They found the pinpoint, the letter “J” was clearly distinct on the ground from a large bonfire. Flying just 400 feet above the ground, they made the drop of containers and packages to the resistance members.

After leaving the target thirty to fifty miles behind, the dispatcher drops the leaflets on villages and towns passed over on the homeward flight.

They encountered “scattered machine gun fire” between Loire, a river in West central France, and Cabourg in the Normandy region of France on the English channel.

Pilot Ambrose’s personal report: “The target area was not to (sic) good. Hill adjacent to target – pine used for J target made smoke over the area.” The intelligence gathered on the flights was valuable for improving operations and helping guide more successful future operations.

Operation Report 198 from Chuckies successful operation

Chuckie must have been exhausted from the long mission but likely also exhilarated from the adrenaline, proud of his crew’s success that night.

9-10 April 1944 – Chuckie’s first Carpetbagger mission

Tim B

Chuckie’s first mission was actually the second night of combat missions at Harrington. Twenty two aircraft lifted off the runway that night.

Report 168: Chuckie’s first flight mission is documented in a Secret Mission Report dated 10 April 1944. These reports were filed by the Commanding Officer immediately after each aircrew were debriefed when they returned back from its “Special Operation.”

Report 168 lists Chuckie as the Engineer of the B-24 Liberator that took off for France at 10:27 PM on 9 April and returned at 5:40 AM the next morning 10 April. The plane was carrying 12 containers, 8 leaflets and 9 packages to be dropped to the resistance in France.

Their Target was Peter 47 –
specific coordinate was 45° 26′ N 01° 25′ E

Result of Operation: Not Complete

B-24 Liberators were big planes for carrying supplies and people. The bottom gun turret had been taken out and the hole covered with plywood. The opening was known as a “dump hole” or “joe hole.”  Supplies were all packed in long tubes that the crew shoved out when the pilot signaled.

The reason given: “Visibility of the target was very poor – a great deal of ground haze prevented navigation of check points with target was the reason.” The report also notes that at 1:21 AM they encountered enemy opposition enemy opposition at 3,000 feet on their left flank.

I was amazed when after a few clicks on the internet, I was able to get a copies of all the Mission Reports for each of Chuckie’s Carpetbagger missions. The first one was filed 10 April 1944. Stay tuned for the rest.

The Mission Report from Chuckie’s first Carpetbagger Mission

Interrogation (debriefing) of Crews

When an aircraft completed its mission and returned to the home base, its crew were driven directly to the Intelligence Library situated at the rear of the Group Operations Building for debriefing by S-2 Officers.

Drop success that evening had been fourteen complete and nine incomplete. Three out of the four agents had been delivered, 156 of 252 containers had been delivered, 202 of 210 bundles delivered and 95 out of a possible 139 packages had been delivered.

The interrogation may find a crew showing the stress of a hard dangerous mission which has lasted from five to eight hours. Free, frank interchange of information is encouraged. The S-2 Officers handle the jumpy crew with a great deal of tact and flexibility. An official Report is then filed by the Commanding Officer.



The movie playing that night was
Murder on the Waterfront  – the 1943 American film staring Warren Douglas and Joan Winfield.

B-24 Liberator – Flight Engineer

Tim B

Records show that Chuckie was the Flight Engineer of “The Ambrose Crew” on the B-24 Liberator “The Worry Bird” for those Carpetbagger missions in April 1944. A B-24 carried a crew of eight to ten men (a ten man crew was most common) comprised of both officers and enlisted men. Among the six enlisted crewmen, each crew typically had three specialists: the Flight Engineer which Chuckie was; Radio Operator; and Aircraft Armorer. 

The Flight Engineer had to be a qualified airplane mechanic. Chuckie had gone through training school (and in all probability) at Kesssler Air Force Base, in Biloxi, Mississippi. It focused on specialized training in Consolidated B-24 Liberator maintenance. The Liberator was a complicated and advanced machine, leading to prolonged training programs.

The Engineer perhaps knew more about the B-24 than any other member of the crew, including the airplane commander. In emergencies, the airplane commander turned to the engineer. The duties of the flight engineer were to assist the pilot and copilot in monitoring the performance of the engines and to keep track of fuel burn.

The Engineer was usually also the top turret gunner, a position that allowed him to monitor the four engines and where the Pilot could call to him in a hurry, when something went wrong and needed fixing, while in the air. The Pilot and Co-Pilot’s attention were needed in the duties of flying the plane.  The top turret gunner’s position provided a good view of the engines as well as a panoramic view of the surrounding airspace.

The May 1, 1945 version of the B-24 Pilot Training Manual provides the following duties for the Flight Engineer:

  • Principal duty:  Aerial Engineer
  • Secondary duty:  Top Turret Gunner
  • Added duty:  Qualified for Copilot Duties
  • Added duty:  Parachute Officer
  • Added duty:  First Aid Specialist
  • Added duty:  Assistant Radio Operator

One veteran noted that the Engineer usually got to fly the plane many times, and on occasion, to even take off. Maybe Chuckie got to do that too.

4-5 January 1944 – First Carpetbagger Mission from Harrington

Tim B

For over fifty years, families of American servicemen Killed In Action on Operation Carpetbagger like Chuckie knew very little about their loved ones’ dangerous, top-secret mission or the circumstances of their death. It was classified, top-secret. During World War II, Operation Carpetbagger was a general term used for the aerial resupply of weapons, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and sometimes even spies to resistance fighters in France, Italy, and other European countries by the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Carpetbaggers Insignia

Today, thanks to declassification of Army Air Force and OSS records beginning in the 1980s, and many years of effort by a handful of researchers, there is considerable information on Operation Carpetbagger now available. It can easily be found in national archives, history books, museums, news articles, movies, websites and YouTube videos. (Don’t worry reader, the entire history won’t be covered on this blog. Just what’s relevant to complete Chuckie’s story.)

Operating under the cover of night darkness and often in weather considered impossible for flying, they flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators to supply French partisan groups north of the Loire River in support of the upcoming D-Day invasion.  Chuckie and his air crew joined the Carpetbaggers at Harrington on 25 March 1944 and flew five successful missions to France and back again over the following weeks of April 1944.

They dropped canisters of supplies to resistance fighters: radios, batteries for radios, weapons, ammunition, first aid supplies, food, clothing, and many other daily necessities. They also delivered items used in the world of espionage agents. A parachute attached to one end of a canister, and the other end had a shock-absorbing cap to protect the contents. Once on the ground, resistance forces quickly gathered the canisters before German forces could arrive.

I found on YouTube a fascinating 15-minute Central Intelligence agency archival film hat’s been digitally restored of the actual Carpetbaggers at Harrington. At minute 12:40, watch for the aviator checking his watch on the farthest left. When he lifts his head up and looks at the camera, is it possible we catch a glimpse of Chuckie for a brief moment? Some in Chuckie’s family think so.

In addition to the dangers from German night fighters and flak, the Carpetbaggers always ran the risk of crashing into hillsides as they made low-level parachute deliveries to the resistance forces waiting below. I found out that is exactly what happened to Chuckie and his fellow airman of “The Worry Bird” that fateful night. Stay tuned.

Carpetbaggers were among those who received the Congressional Gold Medal in DC last year. The group has been generally recognized as the ancestor of today’s Air Force Special Operations. The National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio has one of the few surviving Consolidated B-24 Liberators like Chuckie flew on display.

I hope to see it one day.

1 April 1944 – 801st Bomb Group Established

Tim B

Chuckie’s 36th Bombardment Squadron and the 406th Bombardment Squadron formed the 482nd Bomb Group at the beginning of 1944. It was the only U.S. 8th Army Air Force Bomb Group formed outside of the United States during WWII. 

On 1 April 1944 they were placed under the provisional 801st Bomb Group at RAF Harrington. Twenty four of the fat B-24s arrived and were soon squatting on the hardstandings round the perimeter of the airbase.  More than a thousand troops would move into Harrington during April of 1944. The first “Carpetbagger” missions were carried out by this unit under the control of General “Wild Bill” Donovan’s Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The group has been generally recognized as the ancestor of today’s Air Force Special Operations.

The insignia of the 36th Bomb Squadron (Radar Counter Measures)
from The American Air Museum in Britain

Gen. William J. Donovan Heads Office of Strategic Services

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a wartime intelligence agency of the U.S. during World War II, and a predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The OSS consisted of men and women from many areas and backgrounds — lawyers, historians, bankers, baseball players, actors, and businessmen. Their assignment was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and morale operations against the Axis powers, and conduct in-depth research and analysis on the nation’s enemies and their capabilities.

The OSS was instrumental in many of the successes during World War II, including providing the U.S. government with advance information about German efforts to develop atomic weapons and the plot to assassinate Hitler.

Donovan became known as the “Father of American Intelligence.  More information on him and the OSS can be found on the CIA website. 


Gen. William J. Donovan, also known as “Wild Bill” Donovan.
Source: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/ww2/oss/images/img7.jpg

25 March – Move to RAF Harrington airbase for Operation Carpetbagger

Tim B

Chuckie’s 36th Bombardment Squadron moved into a more secluded, more secure airbase Royal Air Force Station (RAF) Harrington on 25 March 1944. It was built for heavy bomber use, the main runway length being about a mile. Approximately 860,000 square yards of concrete were laid, with one and three quarter million bricks being used, 210,000 cubic yards of soil being moved and 6 miles of roadway formed.

Chuckie was part of the initial operational squadron at Harrington. When they moved there, his 36th Bombardment Squadron was assigned to the 801st Bombardment Group.

A plan of the Harrington airfield (station 179) which had been built by
US Army Engineers and local contractors.

The Group had already adopted the nickname of “Carpetbaggers” from its original operational codename. A Carpetbagger Aviation Museum at the site of the former airfield has on its website interesting photos and other historical information that provided me with additional details about the last weeks of Chuckie’s life.

It was loud, busy and always noisy, by all accounts. Yet looking at this 1944 B&W photo, even today, one can almost smell the fresh cut grass of the airfield and clearly see the beauty of a green English countryside that Chuckie and his crew would have experienced every day.


Afternoon lineup (photo taken looking south) at the airfield
where Chuckie’s plane took off from at RAF Harrington
The Control Tower at RAF Harrington which guided Chuckie’s plane’s take off that night.
The Mess Hall at RAF Harrington where Chuckie likely had his last meal.

Sadly, Chuckie was Killed in Action in the first month of Carpetbagger’s six months of operations at Harrington in 1944. Its operations peaked in June and July 1944 and on 13 August 1944, the Carpetbaggers at Harrington were re-designated as the 492nd Bomb Group (BG). Carpetbagger operations came to a practical end on the night of 16/17th September 1944.

The 492nd BG at Harrington continued supply dropping, bombing and missions until 7 May 1945 when Germany finally surrendered. They then left Harrington for Kirtland Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico where they later joined up with the ground echelon who had travelled back to America by the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth. The Group deactivated on the 17th October 1945.

Following the withdrawal of the Americans, Harrington airfield fell into a period of disuse and returned to farmland. It received a new lease of life when it was selected to become one of the RAF’s Thor missile sites in the late 1950’s.  The site was again abandoned in 1965 and the buildings, runways and most of the roads and taxiways were demolished.

Today, the foundations of some WWII buildings can still be seen around the site of the airfield, the only remaining original substantial WWII buildings left standing are where The Carpetbagger Aviation Museum is now housed in part of the original Operations Building at the airfield’s administration site. 

I hope to get there one day to take in the English countryside view Chuckie saw the last day he saw daylight – 27 April 1944.

15 Feb 1944 – “The Ambrose Crew” arrive to Great Britain

Tim B

By 1944, US forces reached their greatest numbers in preparation for the Normandy Invasion.  After training in the US for two years, Chuckie arrived to Royal Air Force (RAF) Alconbury in England some time in the Jan-Feb 1944 period. He was part of the 36th Bombardment Squadron enhancement forces for the planned Allied Invasion in June.

Chuckie’s unit was formed in November 1943 to clandestinely deliver agents and supplies into Nazi-occupied Europe for the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.). To address this mission, specially modified B-24 Liberators were formed and activated at RAF Alconbury, England. This was the very beginning of Operation Carpetbagger.

Chuckie was part of pilot George W. Ambrose’s crew on “The Worry Bird” a specially modified B-24D Liberator aircraft. Carpetbagger aircraft flew spies called “Joes” and commando groups prior to the Allied invasion of Europe on D-Day and afterward and retrieved over 5,000 officers and enlisted men who had escaped capture after being shot down. The low-altitude, nighttime operation was extremely dangerous and took its toll on these airmen. The first aircrews chosen for this operation came from the anti-submarine bomb groups because of their special training in low altitude flying and pinpoint navigation skills.

My research uncovered that Chuckie and his fellow “Ambrose” crew successfully completed five classified Carpetbagger missions in the month of April 1944 before its fiery crash in France behind enemy lines.


B-24 Liberator “The Worry Bird” Picture Date: December 1943
Back Row Left to Right:
1st Lieut. George W. Ambrose (Pilot); 2nd Lieut. Peter Roccia; 2nd Lieut. Robert H. Redhair 
Front Row, Left to Right: Sgt. Eddy Dwyer;  Staff Sgt. George Henderson; Sgt.Wilford Bollinger;
Staff Sgt. Charles M. Wilson; Sgt. Donald Dubois; Sgt. James Heddelson

Attending “Pathfinder” School

Although Great Britain is a small nation, for many young American pilots newly arrived from the Midwest and used to training over the blue skies over Texas, it was easy to get lost.  England was a patchwork of fields, towns, and villages.  Pilots have written that it all looked remarkably similar from the air.  There were more than 140 airfields in the UK.

Getting around on the ground wasn’t any easier as the British had removed practically all the road signs and mile markers as a German invasion was always a threat. Navigation became such a problem that a special “Pathfinder” school was established at the RAF Alconbury (AAF-102) in Huntingfonshire, which today was amalgamated into Cambridgeshire.  Chuckie and his crew were likely there on orders to learn the mysteries of navigation from the experts of the 482 Bombardment Group.

A new airfield under construction in the depths of rural Northamptonshire, RAF Harrington (Station 179) would be the Ambrose Crew’s next destination. It proved ideal for Carpetbagger operations and the heavy equipment and aircraft.

Soon the Ambrose Crew would move there.


4-5 January 1944 – First Carpetbagger Mission from Harrington

Tim B

For over fifty years, families of American servicemen Killed In Action on Operation Carpetbagger like Chuckie knew very little about their loved ones’ dangerous, top-secret mission or the circumstances of their death. It was classified, top-secret. During World War II, Operation Carpetbagger was a general term used for the aerial resupply of weapons, ammunition, food, medical supplies, and sometimes even spies to resistance fighters in France, Italy, and other European countries by the U.S. Army Air Forces.

Carpetbaggers Insignia

Today, thanks to declassification of Army Air Force and OSS records beginning in the 1980s, and many years of effort by a handful of researchers, there is considerable information on Operation Carpetbagger now available. It can easily be found in national archives, history books, museums, news articles, movies, websites and YouTube videos. (Don’t worry reader, the entire history won’t be covered on this blog. Just what’s relevant to complete Chuckie’s story.)

Operating under the cover of night darkness and often in weather considered impossible for flying, they flew Consolidated B-24 Liberators to supply French partisan groups north of the Loire River in support of the upcoming D-Day invasion.  Chuckie and his air crew joined the Carpetbaggers at Harrington on 25 March 1944 and flew five successful missions to France and back again over the following weeks of April 1944.

They dropped canisters of supplies to resistance fighters: radios, batteries for radios, weapons, ammunition, first aid supplies, food, clothing, and many other daily necessities. They also delivered items used in the world of espionage agents. A parachute attached to one end of a canister, and the other end had a shock-absorbing cap to protect the contents. Once on the ground, resistance forces quickly gathered the canisters before German forces could arrive.

I found on YouTube a fascinating 15-minute Central Intelligence agency archival film hat’s been digitally restored of the actual Carpetbaggers at Harrington. At minute 12:40, watch for the aviator checking his watch on the farthest left. When he lifts his head up and looks at the camera, is it possible we catch a glimpse of Chuckie for a brief moment? Some in Chuckie’s family think so.

In addition to the dangers from German night fighters and flak, the Carpetbaggers always ran the risk of crashing into hillsides as they made low-level parachute deliveries to the resistance forces waiting below. I found out that is exactly what happened to Chuckie and his fellow airman of “The Worry Bird” that fateful night. Stay tuned.

Carpetbaggers were among those who received the Congressional Gold Medal in DC last year. The group has been generally recognized as the ancestor of today’s Air Force Special Operations. The National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio has one of the few surviving Consolidated B-24 Liberators like Chuckie flew on display.

I hope to see it one day.

His B-24 Liberator – “The Worry Bird”

Tim B

The B-24 Liberator Bomber that Chuckie and his fellow airman flew on their missions was renamed “The Worry Bird” in February 1944 when it became a Carpetbagger B-24. These aircraft were specially modified B-24s painted with a glossy black anti-searchlight paint to supply friendly underground forces throughout German occupied Europe. Flights were made at night and at low altitude levels making them particularly dangerous.

The serial number of the plane Chuckie was killed in was 42-40997 which I found along with pictures of the plane on a website dedicated to WWII B24 Liberator Bombers. This was an important fact to know because information about all missing WWII aircraft in the National Archives are filed under the plane serial number. With the serial number, I was able to locate an enormous amount of information about Chuckie, his fellow airman, their mission and its Missing Aircraft Report (MACR).

Photo Credit: Amy Combat Photographer Bernard A. Kotfila

Chuckie and the squadrons flew agents and supplies into southern France with B-24 Liberators that had all armament removed except in the top and tail turrets. In addition, the standard bomb shackles were removed from the bomb bay and British shackles were installed to accommodate special supply canisters. All unneeded radio gear was removed, as were the oxygen bottles.

Flash suppressors were installed on the guns, flame dampeners weren installed on the turbo-superchargers, and blackout curtains were installed over the waist gun windows. Light bulbs were painted red to spare night vision and special radio gear was added to assist in navigation and homing in on drop zones. The undersides of the aircraft were painted black to avoid detection by enemy searchlights. Combat with the enemy was avoided as it only endangered the success of the mission.

Drops were also made using radio-navigation equipment. Supplies were also released in containers designed to be dropped from the existing equipment in the bomb bay. Pilots often flew several miles farther into enemy territory after completing the drop to disguise the actual drop zone in case enemy observers were tracking the plane’s movement.

Between January and September 1944 the 801st / 492nd Bomb Group undertook 2263 separate missions. More information can be found on the Carpetbagger Aviation Museum website.

The plane was originally named the Screaming Mimi before its Carpetbagger missions

Of the 19,256 aircraft built, 13 complete examples survive today, two of which are airworthy. Eight of the thirteen aircraft reside in the United States.

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds”

Tim B

General of the Armies John J. Pershing said of his generation of fighting Americans, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.” Our memories aren’t so fortunate. It’s important that we keep them alive including those at rest abroad like Chuckie.

The American Battle Monuments Commission administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments both inside and outside the United States.