Richard Widmark: A Princeton legend

"The flak was thick about them, the fighters, they were worse.  Above the roar of battle, you could hear old Brogger curse; The chatter of the turrets, made the instruments all dance.  And old Brogger got so excited, that he ... right in his pants." (Saga Of The Floundering 446th, song)

The site of Bungay airfield is set on a plateau above the Waveney Valley about two miles south of Bungay and just beyond the village of Flixton in England. This is just 50 miles east of Liverpool on the west coast. It was allocated to the Eighth Air Force on June 4, 1942, as a bomber base, constructed by Kirk & Kirk Ltd., and given to the U.S. as Station No. 125. The field was first used before completion, in October/November 1942.

Bungay’s main residents were the 446th BG (Heavy) which gained the nickname “The Bungay Buckaroos.” The 446th Bombardment Group was formed and activated on April 1, 1943, at Davis-Monthan Field, Ariz., with an initial cadre drawn from the 39th Bombardment Group, and after spending six months training in the United States, moved to England, first touching down on Nov. 4, 1943, after flying the Southern Ferry Route across the Atlantic. Commanded by Colonel Jacob J. Brogger, this group had four squadrons of B-24 Liberators — the 704th, 705th, 706th and 707th — which, together with the 93rd BG at Hardwick and the 448th at Seething made up the 20th Combat Wing of the Second Bombardment Division, 8th US Air Force. Lt Max E. Castner, a pilot with the 446th Bomb Group, 704th Bomb Squadron, was one of the residents.

Most of the group’s missions were flown as part of the strategic bombing offensive, but like most Eighth Air Force groups, the 446th BG took part in a number of support operations. It took part in the campaign to support the D-Day landings, attacking German strong points, bridges, airfields and transportation in France, as well as supporting the troops fighting at Caen and St. Lo. Max’s commander, Col. Jacob J. Brogger, flew the first heavy bomber over the enemy coast on D-Day. He was later wounded in action and received the Silver Star on Sept. 18, 1944.

The 446th BG flew its first mission on Dec. 16, 1943, against shipping facilities in Bremen, Germany, losing one airplane on the return to base, that crashed just short of the field due to fuel exhaustion and fire. The plane was a B-24 Liberator No. 42-7539. The pilot was Lt. Percy H. Schopfer and the co-pilot was Lt. Max E. Castner. Schopfer, Castner and the entire crew all bailed out safely. The plane crashed and was lost. The 446BG operated chiefly against strategic objectives. Its’ targets included U-boat installations at Kiel, the port at Bremen, a chemical plant at Ludwigshafe, ball bearing works at Berlin, aircraft engine plants at Rostock, aircraft factories at Munich, marshalling yards at Coblenz, motor works at Ulm and oil refineries at Hamburg.

Some target locations in Germany were a curse to the Eighth Air Force bomber crews. They earned such a reputation because they were so strongly defended by Luftwaffe fighters and by anti-aircraft batteries. The reasons were clear. These targets were the location of factories and installations vital to the German aircraft industry. It was a matter of high priority to the Americans that these industries be destroyed, and of even greater priority to the Germans that they be defended. Three separate plants in the Brunswick area were jointly engaged in the manufacture of aircraft parts and assembly of the deadly Me 110s. The plants were also known to be working on another secret technology of war — the jet propulsion aircraft. Each of these targets had been attacked a number of times, and at each, the Germans put up a stiff battle and seriously mauled the attacking force.

Strategic operations of the Eight Air Force launched a major offensive on Saturday, April 8, 1944. Three separate forces, a total of 664 bombers divided into 13 combat wings, escorted by 780 fighters are dispatched against airfields in Northwest Germany and aircraft factories in the Brunswick area. The Beast, a B-24H/No. 42-7679 was one of the 350 B-24s to fly during the mission, along with 314 B-17s. The 780 fighters that made up the escort were 136 P-38 Lightnings, 438 P-47 Thunderbolts, and 206 P-51 Mustangs. The Beast, formerly known as The Roost, had an olive drab finish, could carry 12,800 pounds of bombs and was outfitted with 10 .50 caliber gunneries. The weight of the plane was 56,000 pounds with four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-65 engines of 1,200 hp each. It had a maximum range of 3,700 miles, a wing span of 110 feet, was 67 feet long, and 18 feet in height. It had a maximum speed of 290 mph, and its ceiling was 28,000 feet. The Beast was basically the same plane that 2nd Lt. Donald Widmark had bailed out of just little more than a month earlier on Feb. 24, 1944.

The 10-man crew of The Beast was Lt. Percy H. Schopfer, pilot; Lt. Max E. Castner, co-pilot; Lt. Earl W. Caston, navigator; Lt. Louis E. Telpner, nose-turret gunner/bombardier; Tech Sgt. Norman H. Lacas, engineer/top turret gunner; Sgt. Jack F. Thurman, radio-operator; Staff Sgt. Edwin E. Bulford, ball turret gunner; Staff Sgt. Harry J. Reece, right waist gunner; Staff Sgt. Elmer P. Lillicotch, left waist gunner; and Staff Sgt. Joseph J. Dunleavy, tail gunner.

Schopfer, Castner and the crew of The Beast were flying at 20,500 feet with 32 other aircraft. The mission flight, 47, was roughly 500 miles to target from Bungay and commenced at several intervals at around 1200 hours (noon). Though there was a large escort of fighters, the support was not what it should have been because of bad weather, and flying at lower altitudes where icing conditions and wind were less favorable would have even been worse. Their target was a bomber components factory, but even with no cloud coverage below them and merely a slight haze over the target, the group missed and hit various other places in the general area. The flak coming at them was intense and accurate. Defensive fighter support over Brunswick was good, anywhere from 75 to 200 planes. Focke-Wulf 190s and Messerschmitt BF 109s in the air and German 88 mm anti-aircraft (eight-eights) on the ground.

The Beast was hit by flak just minutes after bomb release at 14:32 hrs. (2:32 p.m.), and was forced to drop back out of formation. Navigator Lt. Caston gave Lt. Schopfer the fighter call over the interphone, as the straggling bomber was then attacked by enemy fighters. Several of the engines caught fire. Lt. Telpner bailed out followed by Lt. Caston, both through the nose wheel door. Tech Sgt. Lacas warned Lt. Schopfer that the No. 1 engine was shot out. This was all happening in a hectic short time, and everyone except for the pilot, Lt. Schopfer, got out of the plane. Lt. Castner was one of the last to see Lt. Schopfer and said the pilot was working to get his chute on when he last saw him.

I’ll keep looking for Richard Widmark in the rear view mirror and have the rest of Max’s harrowing story next time. Just hang in there. Max, Gail and the Widmark brothers during the war years and after.