Elmira Horsa Glider

Hello all,

It's been a while, but I did actually run into some additional information that may be helpful to my search.

About a week ago, I recalled a local New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper photograph that I had seen years ago, of my father in a hospital bed at LaGarde Hospital in New Orleans (Army operated during WWII). To this day I don't know whatever happened to the photo. So, I contacted the local library here and learned that it had an historical section containing digitized copies of Times Picayune newspapers dating back to its inception in the 1800s. A search of the 1944 issues actually produced two articles, one of which contained the photo I had remembered, and another earlier article without photos. The earlier article is dated July 19, 1944 and was written by a New Orleans Times Picayune correspondent who had interviewed my father at Foster Gen. Hospital in Jackson, MS. The second article was also by a Times Picayune correspondent and was conducted at LaGarde Hospital in New Orleans on Aug. 6, 1944. In this second article my father and another glider pilot, who was not part of the 82 TCS, were interviewed.

On balance, I think that these articles add a good deal of color to what I heretofore understood about my father's landing. With one remarkable factual exception, they not only track with what we have already known about the crash landing, but also go on to add further detail concerning the landing that I had never heard from my father. Basically, all he said about the matter was that he flew a glider into Normandy and was shot down by machine gun fire. Reading the articles now is almost like hearing the crash description from him. I had never read either of the articles prior to last week.

The articles are readable, but are not as sharp as I had hoped. I understand that they had been put on microfiche a long time ago, and eventually digitized from the microfiche years later. And Pat, I apologize up front about the size of the two images. It was quite a cut and paste job getting the sections of the articles in a position to be copied and I think the height may be a bit long. Please feel free to manipulate them as you see fit.

If anyone wants to avoid eyestrain from trying to read the articles as included here, a retyped version follows each one. Now the articles.


Article No. 1, July 18, 1944

​

Orleanian Is Flown from England to Mississippi​

Jackson, Miss. July 18. -- An arm and a leg in casts, Lieutenant Charles C. Bass, Jr. of New Orleans and the Army Air Corps, was in Foster General hospital here today after he landed amidst a rain of Nazi firepower behind the German lines in France at dusk on D-Day.

The glider pilot, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Bass, 3318 Coliseum street, was flown to Jackson from England via Mitchell Field in New York. A practicing attorney when he enlisted in January, 1942, Lieutenant Bass was graduated from Tulane university in 1936.

Covered with an umbrella of fighter planes, Lieutenant Bass piloted a glider plane in a formation across the channel to France in a mission that almost cost his life and those of the men that were in his craft.

Strung Out for Miles​

"It seemed to me that thousands of ships were in the channel as we flew across, four abreast." said Lieutenant Bass. "The gliders, towed by C-47 planes appeared to be strung out for many miles, but we had wonderful protection."

"As we passed over the beach we saw fierce fighting. Everywhere we looked there were ships. We saw two of our big battleships pouring fire into some target on the beach.

"Within a minute or two after we were cut loose from the C-47, our glider became a target for machine-gun fire. One of the men aboard was hit, but was not wounded badly. In fact he was able to keep on soldiering after we landed. The machine-gun bullets beat a steady tattoo. Meanwhile, we saw flashes of gunfire from tank battles all around us."

Lieutenant Bass, who was editor of the Tulane Hullaballoo in 1935, said the machine-gun bullets struck the air tanks of the glider, which operate the flaps serving as "brakes" for the craft. His glider was approaching a thickly wooded area when he descended, and it tore into some trees. It was in this smashup that his right leg and his left arm were broken.

Saved by Orleanian​

Another New Orleans man, Lieutenant Jumel, who had joined his unit only a few days before, was aboard the glider with him.

"I don't know Lieutenant Jumel's first name, but I do know he probably saved my life." said Lieutenant Bass. "The German patrol was nearby when we crashed into the trees. Jumel, uninjured, extracted me from the wreck and he and the other fellows removed an ammunition trailer that was leaning against my leg. In the face of the fire, they took a seat from the glider, put it in the trailer, hooked on the jeep and we started to our assembly area.

"En route to the area we saw the German patrol. We saw them before they did us, and hid in a ditch alongside the country road. They passed within a few feet. Finally, that night we reached our assembly area.

"Everywhere about us there was constant gunfire. The bullets were tearing into the trees above us. Incidentally, the glider was so wrecked in the crackup that the fellows were able to roll the jeep right into action.

"All during the night the teams that had landed behind the German lines were gathering in the woods. By morning our men were able to hold back the German reinforcements."

Lieutenant Bass said he saw the first invading Allied infantrymen late the next day. However, he said they were driven back by the Germans and the first real contact of that area was made the next morning.

Taken to LST​

By that time he was on his way back to the field hospital on the beach. He was taken in a jeep by a chaplain. Later he was taken by amphibious jeep to a LST which was anchored in the channel. There he stayed with many wounded men.

"It was while we were on the LST that I got my biggest scare." he said. "The German aircraft were bombing the beach. One of the bombs hit within 50 feet of our ship. None of the wounded aboard were hurt any more."

Lieutenant Bass, who became a glider pilot after eight months of training in the United States, plus paratroop training, was actually serving as an intelligence officer two weeks before the invasion.



Article No. 2, August 6, 1944

​

​

Orleanian Hurt When Glider Hits Trees​

Two glider pilots, the first Louisianians wounded in the invasion area to be returned here for treatment, talked over experiences at LaGarde General hospital Saturday. They are Lieutenant Charles C. Bass, Jr. 3318 Coliseum street, New Orleans, and Lieutenant Lee Lanier, Jr. of Amite.

Lieutenant Bass wears casts on his left arm and right leg which were broken when his glider crashed into trees at dusk on D-Day. Lieutenant Lanier wears a cast on his chest as the result of a jeep accident in which he suffered three broken ribs.

Lieutenant Bass was pinned under an ammunition trailer when his glider crashed. "I thought everything was falling on top of me as we went down but I was never unconscious or in pain. Another New Orleanian, one Lieutenant Jumel, whose first name I was never able to learn, took charge of me after the accident and we were ready to move on to our assembly area in a matter of minutes." Lieutenant Bass related.

Huried to Hedgerow​

Lieutenant Lanier said he was catapulted into a hedgerow when he tried to swerve his jeep out of the way of an object on one of England's narrow lanes. Both men were brought by plane to this country.

Here they have been reunited with anxious parents with whom they are able to talk by telephone regularly from their hospital beds at LaGarde. Lieutenant Lanier is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Lanier of Amite, publishers of the News Digest. He is 25 years old and was attending Louisiana State university at his induction in the army. He has three brothers in the service, Shipfitter Third Class Leo H. Lanier, who is with the Seabees in the Aleutians; Corporal Lee Roy Lanier, with the Army Air Forces in Hawaii, and Captain Les D. Lanier, an instructor at the army air base in Smyrna, Tenn.

Orleans Lawyer​

Lieutenant Bass graduated from Tulane university in 1936 and practiced law in New Orleans. He is the son of Dr. and Mrs. C. C. Bass, whith whom he resided here. He has three sisters, Mrs. J. W. Hopkins of New Orleans, Mrs. Donald Trumbo of Fayetteville, Ark., and Miss Corinne Bass of Memphis, Tenn. Neither Lieutenant Bass, who is 35 years old, nor Lieutenant Lanier, who is 25, is married.

In addition to gliders and casts, the two lieutenants found another subject of mutual interest as they talked at LaGarde Saturday. That subject was hedgerows. "A hedgerow stopped me when I flew out of that jeep." Lieutenant Lanier said. "And a hedgerow protected us when an enemy patrol passed only a few yards away after we landed behind the German lines on D-Day." Lieutenant Bass recalled.

Dodge Nazi Patrol​

"When our glider crashed, the jeep and ammunition trailer we were carrying fell into a road--in position to move as soon as I was pulled out from underneath and the fuselage of the glider cleared away." Lieutenant Bass related. "We had hardly gone 100 yards when we heard German voices. Instructed not to engage the enemy until we were united with other forces at our assembly area and could strike in force, we dived into a ditch behind a hedgerow. The German patrol passed us by so closely that we might have touched them with outstretched hands. We were scheduled to land at 11 p. m. and darkness was supposed to come five minutes later. The darkness, which came on schedule, and the hedgerow saved us from the patrol which outnumbered our group."

The hedgerows encountered by Lieutenants Bass and Lanier consisted of mounds of earth thrown up like a fence and topped with shrubbery.
Some of what the Europeans call hedgerows are actually nothing more than what we call earth fences--they have no hedges growing on them. The fields and roads are laid off with hedgerows in the same way that we use fences." the lieutenants explained, adding with smiles that they were happy to have contacted hedgerows with protecting brush on top.

_________________________​

First, I will address the "remarkable factual exception" that I mentioned at the outset. That is my father's statement in the second article that he was never unconscious following the crash. This does not square with Jumel's statement in the Unit History for June, 1944, of the 436th TCG, 82nd TCS, reported in my first post of this thread, wherein he stated that it took 3 hours to remove what he refers to as a truck from the wreckage. (Jumel was the other pilot who flew the glider with my father.) As noted in both articles, my father's recollection is that the truck/jeep and trailer spilled out of the glider upon crashing and that they were all on their way to the assembly area in very short order. The only thing I can think of to explain the contradiction here is that perhaps my father was unconscious for several hours and woke up when they were about to leave the crash site. If anyone has any other ideas about how to explain the apparent discrepancy, I would be glad to hear them. I don't have any personal experience with being unconscious, (other than sleeping) but if someone were unconscious, it doesn't seem like that is something that would be remembered. Beyond this matter, there are some other bits of information that I was not aware of and which I find helpful.

Maybe the most interesting information is that it seems likely that the glider crashed, at least in part, on a road. Under Dodge Nazi Patrol in the second article, my father indicates the jeep and trailer fell onto a road, and that before they could move out, the glider fuselage had to be cleared away. Whether the jeep and trailer fell out of the glider upon crashing, or were placed on the road after 3 hours of difficult work, they ended up on a road, likely along with the glider. Moving the fuselage suggests that it might have been blocking the direction they had to go to reach the assembly area.

It is mentioned that the air tanks aboard the glider were hit by machine gun fire, thus disabling the flaps. This is not a surprise, but does help confirm that the flaps were not working during the landing.

Under Orleanian Hurt When Glider Hits Trees in the second article, my father stated that he thought "everything was falling on top of me as we went down". I'm not sure what this means, but it seems to suggest a steep gliding slope.

A few times in the articles there is mention of a German patrol very nearby as the group was making its way to the assembly area. This is consistent with Jumel's statement in his report in the June, 1944 Unit History, in which he stated "German patrol passed. Stayed nearby all night." And, as I wondered in post #87 on page 9 of this thread, I continue to think that the landing location might well be near the "German strong point" depicted on the map in that particular post, as a number of Serial 32 gliders that reported similar general landing areas also reported German patrol activity.

I guess that will be all for now from me. Any thoughts or comments on these articles would be welcomed.


Charles

 

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the comments. For quite a while now, I have considered the two Horsas laying across the D17 to the West and East of the Hoatson crash site, as shown in US30_4108_1002. However, after reading carefully the description of the Horsa crash in the two recently discovered articles, and assuming that the descriptions are accurate, I now think that it is very unlikely that either of those gliders would be a reasonable prospect for my father's crash.

I am coming to this conclusion based on the idea that: while my father's Horsa crash likely ended up on, or partially on, a road, close to 2300 hrs on D-day evening, it also seems true that before the pilots and troops moved out towards the assembly area, the fuselage of the glider was cleared away, presumably so that they were able to drive the jeep along the road in the desired direction. The glider clearing would have taken place in the very early morning hours of 7 June. If this was the case, then we would not expect to see a daylight image of the crash site showing the glider laying completely across the road, relatively intact. If this reasoning doesn't make any sense, please let me know.

So, I think I should be looking for images of crashed gliders where the components of said gliders have been moved to one side or another (or both sides) of a road. We have seen a number of these situations. For example, in the same frame as the two horsas laying across the road, there is another glider that could be a possibility. This glider is on the East side of the D115, adjacent to the large 8-glider field. It is below, at the arrow, in the zoomed view of the same frame 1002 noted above:

​

​

And, is seen much more clearly in the following zoomed in version of US30_4108_1001:

​

​

The following screen-grabs from You Tube, of glider wreckage being inspected, which was shown in the Hoatson glider thread, may also be something to consider as the troops seem to be walking on a road. The first one clearly shows troops walking by the crashed Horsa.

​

​

The second image shows the skyline immediately above the crashed glider:

​

Likewise, the crash site depicted below from the Horsa Crash Site? (Knotts Photo) thread is worth consideration, even though it is a little closer to SME than what I have thought to be the likely general area of my father's crash:

​

So, off to search for and consider glider crashes on or very near roads in the general area of Northeast-of-SME. If anyone thinks that I may be restricting myself too much by this approach, please don't hesitate to let me know. I continue to appreciate the help I have received from this forum.


Charles

 

Thanks John,

Just to be sure I have my bearings straight, are you referring to two gliders showing up very well in US30_4108_1001, and of which we have a high-resolution image on the website? One glider ending up under a large tree, and its port wing a number of yards below the main wreckage, and the other glider being the one further south, just above the runway work in progress, and nosed up closely to the farm lane? If so, I have long considered each of these gliders to be a possibility. And I agree that the men would likely have considered the farm lane to be a road, especially since they could drive on it.


Charles

 

High Allan,

Thanks for the comments. As you could tell, not all of the German Armistice article could be seen in my earlier postings. So, I have pieced together the entire article below for any who are interested. Also, in a print size that won't strain the eyes.

​

Charles

 

Ok John, so these 3 Horsa Gliders from us30 4108 1001, among others, are potentially in play:

​

Glider at top of image partially hidden under a tree
Glider directly south of the one under the tree, which appears to be entangled in a hedgerow
Glider near bottom of image with nose up against hedgerow and small road.


Charles

​

​

 

Hi all,

Thanks to Don, I have a couple more resources to use in my quest.

The first is a link to an early post-WWII paper by Capt. Tony J. Raibl, HQ Bty, 82AB Div arty staff, covering Airborne landings near SME for the period 6 - 8 June, 1944. The website can be accessed at this address: Maneuver Center of Excellence Libraries To see this paper, scroll down to the Digital Collections section and select WW II. From here scroll down to Raibl, Tony J. Select his name and the paper will appear. According to an 82AB arty rept., Raibl flew onboard one of the two HQ BTRY DIV ARTY Serial 32 gliders. The paper is appended by several maps which can also be accessed on this site. To access the maps, go back to the Digital Collections listing and select Maps from Students Papers. Again, scroll down to Raibl's name and there will be six maps from which to select. I found Map E, The Artillery Landings, to be of interest. This map indicates the general area of landings for Serial 32 and 33 gliders. It also gives the location of an Assembly Area for the 319th. I don't think I knew about the assembly area location before.

Below are three images of the map, one as it appears on the website, one with the map overlaid on GE, and a third image that is a zoomed-in version of the overlay.

Map E as it appears in Raibl's paper. In the upper right-hand quadrant we see the assembly area for the 319th GFAB.

​

​

Map E overlaid on GE:

​

Map E Overlay zoomed:

​

​

I do struggle to get these overlays done and so this one is not perfect. However, I think it may be reasonably accurate. It is anchored on the Meredet River on the West, the town of SME, and the familiar hump of the D15 coming NE out of SME.

From what I can see, if the map is accurately positioned on GE, it looks like the Assembly Area for the 319th, according to Raible's map, would have been about .6 miles ESE of the intersection of the La Londe farm road and the D17. Using the scale shown on the bottom left of the map, it looks like the 1000 yd. increment is about the right distance from what I am assuming is the D17 on the map and the indicated Assembly Area. Of course, I guess we really don't know just how accurate the map is. In any event, it is interesting to me that the indicated Assembly Area may have been the one that those of the 319th on my father's glider were seeking.

 

​

Another resource provided to me was the reference to the book Battery! C. Lenton Sartain and the Airborne G.I.'s of the 319th Glider Field Artillery by Joseph S. Covais, Copyright 2010. Joseph Covais's father was in the 319 GFAB. The book is a very detailed read about the experiences of not only his father, but also of a good number of his father's fellow 319th personnel. The time span is basically from 1942 to the end of the war and follows the 319th's activities over that period.

After his father's death, Covais located a 319th Veterans Association directory among his father's papers, which listed names and addresses of all of the 319th. He was able to contact a good number of these people and spent several years interviewing them and collecting photographs when he could. He also had a good deal of contact with C. Lenton Sartain, who is followed throughout the book. Near the end of the book, Covais presents then up-to-date photographs of many who had also submitted earlier photographs of themselves during the war, along with a recap of what they did after the war.

Along with the book reference, I was also provided with a link to a radio broadcast podcast, which is a three way conversation among the radio announcer, the author Joseph Covais, and C. Lenton Sartain, which was done on Memorial Day, 2010. The link is: truenorthradio.com. This is a very enjoyable interview and lasts about 30 - 40 mins. Sartain is interesting to listen to. Click on the link. Scroll down to A Memorial Day Special. Click once on True North (5/31/2010). It will turn red and another screen opens up. It may take 30 seconds or so to start.

At this point, I have mostly only read the portion of the book that focuses in on the Elmira Mission and the serial 32 gliders. A number of the landings by serial 32 gliders are described by someone of the 319th GFAB who was a passenger. A good deal of bad crashes. I was hoping to read about a crash that sounded like that of my father, but alas, no such luck, unless I just missed something.

I did notice one thing in Battery!, however, which might not really mean anything, but got my attention. It was noted that on 11, June, the 319th received a visit from a chaplain named Reid, of the Division Artillery, for the purpose of holding nondenominational religious services. Chaplain Reid had jumped in with the first paratroopers on D-Day, and had splashed into the Meredet River. It was said that he was the first chaplain to "set foot on French Soil". This got my interest only because in the first newspaper article that was recently posted above, it was indicated that my father was taken to a field hospital on the beach by a chaplain. From my reading, I think this would have been on 8, June. While I have no evidence that it was Reid who provided the jeep ride, it could have been.

That's all for now.

Charles

 

Hi all,

My continued digging around has turned up one more little tidbit that could possibly be helpful in my search. However, it is a really long-shot.

About a week ago, I ran across a Facebook web page of the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion. Over 300 of that battalion were carried into Normandy on D-day evening by 40 Horsas of Serial 32. The web page is interesting and can be see at this link:

319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion

If you scroll down about one forth of the way, you will see a photo of Zane H. Graves, who is identified as a F/O with the 82nd TCS, 436th TCG, my father's assignment. The name rang a bell and, sure enough, he is listed as co-pilot of a Horsa glider in the reports filed by pilots/co-pilots, as reflected in the June Unit History for the 82nd TCS, 436th TCG.

I placed a post on the Facebook site, describing what I know about my father's landing and asked if anyone might have information that would help. Graves's son, Greg, responded to me shortly thereafter and said that he would speak to his father to see what his memories of that flight might hold. Now, really surprisingly, in a follow up email to me he advised that his father was not a glider pilot, even though the record suggests otherwise.

As you will see on the Facebook page, Graves went on to fly in subsequent missions. According to his son, he actually did occupy the co-pilot seat in the Market Garden mission, and played a roll in the landing of a CG4A glider in Holland. His actual assignment was as a member of a 75mm Pack Howitzer gun section, "A" Battery of the 319th GFAB.

In any event, Greg will question his father and get back to me.

Also, I tried to look up Zane Graves in the current roster of the Nat'l WW2 Glider Pilots Assoc., and did not find him there. However, he is listed among the deceased glider pilots.

Finally, if you look through the Facebook website, you will find a good many ground photos of crashed gliders, some with informative notations.

More later,

Charles

 

Hi again,

I heard from Greg once more a few days ago. Not surprisingly, his father was unable to recall any specifics of what might have been my father's crash near him. He noted that gliders were flying into trees, other obstacles and each other all around him. He did say that they were able to hook up a jeep and move to a rendezvous point.

Then he added something that Greg had not heard before. His father said that he and some of the other artillerymen took cover behind a "small wall", and while there, noticed the smell of sausage. Reportedly, they determined that it was coming from the other side of the wall where there were a couple of German soldiers less than 100 feet away. I don't know where this was, but am wondering if it could have been the German "strong point" at or very near the intersection of the D115 and D17, as shown in the overlay at post 87 above, dated 12/14/14. Below is a GE street view of that point, showing what might be considered a small wall:

​

I sent Greg a copy of the above image along with a few other things to identify its location. Might be interesting if his father recognizes anything here.

Zane Graves went on to fly into Holland for Market/Garden later. He advises that he was in the co-pilot seat of a CG4A when they were coming in for a landing. He says that it looked like they were going to hit some trees and the pilot froze at that point. Graves reportedly grabbed the "wheel", pulled back and managed to get the glider over the trees, after which they pancaked onto the ground. No casualties but the Pack Howitzer was slightly damaged.

Guess that's all for now.


Charles

 

Thanks guys, for the additional info.

So, Graves apparently received the same Air Medal as did the glider pilots, under that GO 33.

The website page wherein Graves describes his landing in Normandy is very interesting to me. I was aware of the deaths of Adam Bone and Ben Winks. According to the June 1944 Unit History for the 82nd TCS, Bone landed 1 mile ENE of SME and Winks reported landing 1 1/2 miles NE of SME. The report on Graves indicates the glider "cut in 1 to 2 miles NE of St. Mere Eglise". Since Graves reports actually seeing the bodies of Bone and Winks, on the road, it sounds like they may not have landed too far apart. I will continue picking through this to see what else I might find.

Charles

 

CLARIFICATION!​

I have just received an email from Greg, which clarifies a couple of things about which I was apparently confused. So, here is the clarification:

First, Greg is not the son of Zane Graves. His name is Greg Sebring, and he is the son of Mahlon Sebring. He is a Co-Administrator of the 319th GFAB Facebook page.

Zane Graves' son is Gary Graves. Zane Graves was indeed a Co-Pilot and Flight Officer, who flew with Pilot James L. Hanes in Serial 32 of Mission Elmira, as part of the 82nd TCS on the evening of D-Day. He correctly received the Air Medal. Zane Graves is deceased.

Mahlon Sebring was a Private who road in a Horsa glider on the evening D-Day invasion of Normandy. The glider crashed into some trees and broke apart. There were minor injuries and a 75mm Pack Howitzer was slightly damaged. Since he was with the 319th GFAB on that mission, I would assume that he flew in Serial 32. At this time, I do not know which squadron provided his glider and tug. Later on, in Market/Garden, Sebring was told to take the co-pilot seat of a CG4A glider. As noted earlier, he reports that he took control of that glider over Normandy when it became apparent that it was headed for some trees, and managed to get over the trees and achieve a landing with no serious injuries.

I hope this clarifies any doubts readers were having concerning my initial understanding of the information emanating from the 319th Facebook page. The confusion was all mine.

Back to the search.

Charles