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B-25 Crew With "Niagra's Belle"

An air crew of the 491st Bomb Squadron posing with B-25J, "Niagra's Belle" combat id #439, at their home base, Yangkai, China, in 1945.  Back row (l-r); Lt. Emory L. Wofford (copilot), Lt. Fred J. Latham (pilot), Lt. Clifford L. Barr (nav-bombardier).  Front (l-r); Center is S/Sgt Manfredo L. Pascarelli (flight engineer). On his right is likely S/Sgt Ray V. Yeager (gunner), and his left is likely Cpl Rosendo B. Rosas, Jr. (radio).

An air crew of the 491st Bomb Squadron posing with B-25J, "Niagra's Belle" combat id #439, at their home base, Yangkai, China, in 1945.

Back row (l-r); Lt. Emory L. Wofford (copilot), Lt. Fred J. Latham (pilot), Lt. Clifford L. Barr (nav-bombardier).

Front (l-r); Center is S/Sgt Manfredo L. Pascarelli (flight engineer). On his right is likely S/Sgt Ray V. Yeager (gunner), and his left is likely Cpl Rosendo B. Rosas, Jr. (radio).

During July 1945 Lieutenants Wofford and Latham were trained in flying the Douglas A-26 'Invader', but the war ended before they could fly combat missions in the new aircraft.  In October 1945 they joined thirty other officers and sixteen enlisted men to ferry the 16 A-26s to Germany. Due to confusion related to their orders the men in that ferry group would not reach the US mainland until April and May of 1946.

(Information provided by Tony Strotman; amendment by F. Shirra)

drupal_ready
Y
collection_name
Eugene T. Wozniak Collection
collection_seq
192