The 6th Bomb Group

Crew #2413. Cpt Jacob R. Schad


The Air Crew

The members of crew #2413 were:

Cpt Jacob R. Schad (A/C)
1/Lt Jorge Moreno (Pilot)
1/Lt Clarence E. Rein (Navigator)
1/Lt Marshall E. Seddon (Bombardier)
1/Lt C. A. Schlosser (Engineer)
S/Sgt Jack W. Highfill (Radio)
S/Sgt William G. Buckley (Radar)
T/Sgt Wilbur D. Kittinger (CFC)
S/Sgt Thomas J. Fisher (R Gunner)
S/Sgt Webster Singer (L Gunner)
Sgt Richard G. Lucas (T Gunner)

1/Lt Jorge Moreno (Pilot) became A/C of another crew, apparently sometime before Apr 24.  He later transferred to training command at Clovis NM, where his crew was honored as the outstanding crew in training


This may be a picture of Crew #2413, with officers in the front and enlisted men in the back.
Photo courtesy of Anthony and Michael Donini, all rights reserved.

Training

This may be the crew described in the following article:

Lt. Jorge Moreno, La Feria, has been commended by superior officers for commanding the outstanding B-29 crew in training at Clovis Air Field, New Mexico.  Under Lt. Moreno's leadership as airplane commander his crew No. R20 received the distinction of being the model B-29 crew.  "Your deportment, your ground school work, and your flying records have shown the kind of personal application and group coordination that has made you so vital a member of the Army Air Forces," the letter commending Moreno and his crew read.
[Source: Brownsville Herald, Brownsville, Texas (3/30/45), p. 12, col. 2]

DFC Citation - Mission 30. Hitachi Aircraft Company (Apr 24)

For extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight 24 April 1945. These individuals were combat crew members of a B-29 airplane based in the Marianas Islands, leading a formation in a daylight medium altitude strike against a high priority target, the Hitachi aircraft engine works, near Tachikawa, Japan. Taking their heavily loaded bomber off smoothly at night, this crew effected assembly at the designated point. On the approach to the target, intense flak was encountered, so deadly that all planes in the formation suffered hits. Twenty-seven aggressive and determined attacks by enemy aircraft were encountered. Their plane had more than forty holes shot in it's engine nacelles, wings, and fuselage, and all aileron controls were jammed. Despite this battle damage, the crew maintained close formation, pressed home the attack, and assisted in destroying a considerable part of the factory. Reconnaissance photographs showed more than fifty percent of the roof burned out. The flight back to base in the crippled plane was skillfully and successfully accomplished by alternately cutting the power in the several engines. By their coolness and determination in the face of great danger, their individual skill, and their efficiency and teamwork, these veterans of more than twenty-three missions against Japan, reflected great credit on themselves and the Army Air Forces.

Captain JACOB R. SCHAD as Airplane Commander
First Lieutenant CLARENCE E. REIN as Navigator
First Lieutenant MARSHALL E. SEDDON as Bombardier
First Lieutenant CHARLES A. SCHLOSSER as Flight Engineer
Staff Sergeant WILLIAM G. BUCKLEY as Radar Gunner
Staff Sergeant JACK W. HIGHFILL as Radio Operator
Staff Sergeant WILBUR D. KITTINGER as Central Fire Control Gunner
Staff Sergeant THOMAS J. FISHER as Right Gunner
Staff Sergeant WEBSTER SINGER JR, as Left Gunner
Sergeant RICHARD G. LUCAS as Tail Gunner

[Transcribed by David Wilson, son of Sgt Bernard E. Wilson (Gunner, "Anonymous IV")]

The Airplanes

This crew primarily flew "Jake's Jernt".