Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith
Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith 37-480433, 494th Bombardment Squadron, 344th Bombardment Group (M), Station 169-S Stansted.
Sgt. H.C. Smith was killed in action on September 23, 1944 on a mission over Venlo Marshaling Yards in Holland.
His earliest mission and perhaps first mission this historian located in the 344th Bomb Group records, was on September 11, 1944.
According to 344th BG Silver Streaks: “Strong points at Verny-Orny, Metz and Foret de Haye were attacked on September 11 and 12 with very good concentrations of bombs and much destructions at these places. On the Verny- Orny mission, flak was intense and accurate, nine men being wounded and 17 planes damaged, three of these considerably and another beyond further use by the group.”
On Sept. 11, Sgt. Smith flew in K9-A, believed to be 42-95890 named Mary Sue III and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 2-2-4. There is no crew list (load list) available for this mission. Since Sgt. Smith flew with Comstock on ensuing missions it is assumed he flew as tailgunner on this mission.
36 aircraft participated on the mission. The formation encountered moderate to intense flak during the bomb run and turn off the target. The flak was accurate for some flights an inaccurate for others. Several red bursts were noticed at the beginning of the fire. Two ships crash landed at the base. Seven planes received category A damage. three received cat. B damage. One plane had cat. E damage. The bombs were dropped on Verny at 11:06 from an altitude between 10,000 and 12,500 ft. The weather was good.
Comstock and the crew of the 494th bomb squadron flew K9-A in position 2-2-4 of the formation. Four 1000lb bombs were dropped from an altitude of 11,000 ft at 11:04 am. Results of the bombing were not observed even though the skies were clear. K9-A experienced moderate, accurate flak.
September 11, 1944 mission 2
The second mission of the day targeted a fortification in Metz, France.
Sgt. Smith flew in K9-A again, believed to be 42-95890 named Mary Sue III and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 1-2-4.
According to the load list, Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith flew as an tailgunner along with 1st Lt. Comstock, pilot; 2nd Lt. Orth, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Neal, bombardier; S/Sgt. Johnson, turret gunner; S/Sgt. Reilly, radio/gunner. They flew in 42-95890 Mary Sue III (K9-A) in the 1-2-4 position of the formation. They took off at 4:25 pm and landed 8:25 pm after dropping their bombs as briefed.
36 aircraft participated on the mission. The formation encountered moderate but inaccurate flak at the target. The third flight first box made two runs on the target. The bombs were dropped from 6:35 to 6:41 pm from an altitude of 10,000 to 12,500 feet. Seven planes received Cat. A damage.
Comstock and the crew of the 494th bomb squadron flew K9-A in position 1-2-4 of the formation. Four 1000lb bombs were dropped from an altitude of 12,000 ft at 6:34 pm. Results of the bombing were not observed even though the skies were clear but hazy. K9-A experienced moderate flak on the East end of Metz.
Sept. 12, 1944 Strong Points Foret de Haye
Sgt. Smith flew in K9-W, believed to be 42-107838 named The Hearse and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 2-3-4. The target was strongpoints in the Foret de Haye. There is no crew list (load list) available for this mission. Since Sgt. Smith flew with Comstock on ensuing missions it is assumed he flew as tailgunner on this mission.
36 aircraft participated on the mission. The formation encountered no flak. Several flights made two runs on the target. The bombs were dropped from 6:02 to 6:13 pm from an altitude of 10,500 to 12,500 feet. No planes were damaged.
Comstock and the crew of the 494th bomb squadron flew K9-W in position 2-3-4 of the formation. Eight 500 lb bombs were returned to base due to mechanical failure of the lead ship. K9-W experienced no flak.
Sept. 14, 1944 Gun Positions Brest
Sgt. Smith flew in K9-T, 42-96214 named Coral Princess and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 2-2-4. The target was gun positions in Brest, France.
According to the load list, Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith flew as an tailgunner along with 1st Lt. Comstock, pilot; 2nd Lt. Orth, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Neal, bombardier; S/Sgt. Johnson, turret gunner; S/Sgt. Reilly, radio/gunner. They flew in 42-96214 named Coral Princess K9-T in the 2-2-4 position of the formation.
Comstock and the crew of the 494th bomb squadron flew K9-T in position 2-2-4 of the formation, taking off at 2:00 pm and landing at 6:15. Four 1000 lb bombs were dropped from an altitude of 2,100 ft at 4:23 pm., but fell short of the target. K9-T experienced no flak.
Sept. 19, 1994 Marshaling Yards Duren, France
On September 19, the Duren, France marshaling yards were attacked, the bombs wrecking tracks and goods wagons to a considerable extent.
Sgt. Smith flew in K9-W, believed to be 42-107838 named The Hearse and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 1-1-4. The target was Marshaling Yards in Duren, France. There is no crew list (load list) available for this mission. Since Sgt. Smith flew with Comstock on ensuing missions it is assumed he flew as tailgunner on this mission.
Comstock and the crew of the 494th bomb squadron flew K9-W in position 1-1-4 of the formation, taking off at 12:40 pm and landing at 6:15. Eight 500 lb bombs were dropped from an altitude of 12,500 ft at 4:29 pm., Five of them were on target but three bombs were stuck in the rack mechanism and were returned to base. K9-W experienced no flak.
23 September 1944 – Venlo Marshaling Yards, Holland.
According to 344th BG Silver Streaks: “We were to attack the Venlo marshaling yard but we were unable to attack our objective. This mission was hotly contested by the enemy and three of of the 36 planes dispatched were lost to enemy action, 18 of the personnel in these planes placed on a missing status and 16 planes damaged, causing minor repairs to be made.”
Sgt. Smith flew in the un-named K9-D 43-34406 and piloted by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680. They were assigned position 2-2-4. The target was Venlo Marshaling Yards, Holland. There is no crew list (load list) available for this mission. The MACR of the crash of their plane included the crew of: 1st Lt. Comstock, pilot; 2nd Lt. Orth, co-pilot; 2nd Lt. Neal, bombardier; S/Sgt. Johnson, turret gunner; S/Sgt. Reilly, radio/gunner.
35 aircraft participated and encountered moderate but accurate flak from slightly past the initial point through the target. One ship was seen to leave the formation at the target under control but losing altitude. Two parachutes were seen leaving the aircraft. The flak was believed to be radar controlled because of 8-9/10 cloud cover. “Window” was dropped but the affectiveness was doubtful. The second box attempted to go around for a second bomb run and flew over what is believed to be Dusseldorf where they encountered intense and accurate flak. There was considerable break in the clouds there and believed to have been “seen” fire. Two ships were destroyed here. One had the left wing blown off and spun in and the other shop exploded in the air. One parachute was seen from the last ship.
Bombs were dropped at 5:47 pm. Planes carried 16 – 250lb bombs that were intended to drop from 10,000-12,500ft. The cloud cover was 8/10 at the target. 15 planes received Cat. A damage. One received Cat. B damage. Three planes were missing and one plane was forced to land in Brussels.
Sgt. Peter Orth was the only crewman to survive. The above is the report he filed once returning to at war’s end.
Orth reported that he was hit on the head by flak and was in a semi-conscious state that limits his memory. His German captors told Orth that they had found the bodies of the rest of the crew located in the plane or nearby. All the men were ok before the plane was shot down.
344th MISSING CREW REPORT– Summary
DATE – 23 September 1944 17:58
MISSION – Venlo Marshalling yards, Holland.
HIT BY FLAK OVER TARGETPLANE# 43-34406 K9-D344TH BG 494TH BS Station 169-S Stansted
PILOT – 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock 0-669680 (killed)
COPILOT – 2nd Lt. Peter Simon Orth 0-822527 (POW)
BOMBARDIER- 2nd Lt. Maurice Joseph Neal 0-765712 (killed)
RADIO/GUN – S/Sgt. Albert John Reilly 38-377041 (killed)
ENG/GUN – S/Sgt. Algoth William Johnson 31-103116 (killed)
TAIL/GUN – Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith 37-480433 (killed)
344th Spread Sheet Info: Shot down by flak on the 23/9/44 mission to the Venlo Marshaling yards, Holland. The aircraft flown by 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock took a direct hit on the bomb run and burst into flames. It went down in a straight dive, exploded in mid air, and crashed at Rheinsberg, 15 km NE of Gelde. The only survivor was the co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Peter Simon Orth, who was wounded on the head by flak and had no knowledge of bailing out. He was captured as a POW. The MACR says this was a new aircraft and carried no name.
From 344th BG history edited by Austin Lambert: On September 25 [23] we were to attack the Venlo marshaling yard but we were unable to attack our objective. This mission was hotly contested by the enemy and three of the 36 planes dispatched were lost to enemy action, 18 of the personnel in these planes placed on a missing status and 16 planes damaged, causing minor repairs to be made.
[One plane} lost this day[was] crewed by the following: 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock, Pilot; 2nd Lt. Peter Simon Orth, Co-Pilot; 2nd Lt. Maurice Joseph Neal, Bombardier;
S/Sgt. Algoth William Johnson, Engineer Gunner; S/Sgt. Albert John Reilly, Radio Gunner; and Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith, Tail Gunner.
MACR Statement: Witnesses of crash John R. Dziedzig, Albin E. Lindquist, Charles M. Werner. Saw no chutes leave the ship or walk away from scene of the crash. Plane was seen to go down in a ball of fire and explode.
Result of interrogation: In the vicinity of the target area plane was hit by flak, plane was seen to go down in a ball of fire and seen to explode on the way down. No chutes were seen to leave the aircraft.
Individual Casualty Questionnaire (by 2nd Lt. Peter Simon Orth): Regarding 1st Lt. Jack Bingham Comstock, Pilot; 2nd Lt. Peter Simon Orth, Co-Pilot; 2nd Lt. Maurice Joseph Neal, Bombardier; S/Sgt. Algoth William Johnson, Engineer Gunner; S/Sgt. Albert John Reilly, Radio Gunner; and Sgt. Henry Clayton Smith, Tail Gunner.
Due to being only semiconscious at the time, Orth had no conversations with cremates during the incident and had no knowledge regarding the conditions of the others and if they bailed out.
Casualty Questionnaire: By Peter Orth 344th BG CO Col. Vance 494th BS CO Lt. Col. Hale
Sept 32, 1944 Mission to Venlo, Holland no knowledge of the target.
Time 17:00 Alt: 11,000 FT
Bailed out.
“I was hit in the head by flak and was in a semi-conscious state. I do not remember what occurred after I was hit.” “ I was told by the German soldiers that captured me thet they had found all ofd the rest of the crew’s bodies in the airplane or somewhere in the vicinity.” “All were ok before we were hit.”
German ReportKU 3010:
Sept 23, 1944 Crash left of the street from Rheinsberg – Camp – Lintfort
Shot down by A.A. Marauder B26 98% destroyed by burning after crash. Parts scattered on the place. 5 men dead (Johnson, Neal, Reilly, Comstock, Smith) and one taken prisoner (Orth). Orth sent to Gulag Luft West
Remains of dead found with documents such as SS Card, personal letters, instrument flight test, driver’s license, certificate of piloting.
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