256608 T/Sgt. Joseph Amana USAAF 339th Squadron 96th Bomb Group from:Bronx, New York (d.7th May 1944) T/Sgt Joseph Amanna was assigned to the 96th Bomb Group, 339th Squadron, and, when a staff sergeant, was the right waist gunner on B-17F Rikki Tikki Tavi #42-3324, coded QJ-H, flying from Station 138, Snetterton Heath Airbase near Attleborough, England.
He was promoted to Tech Sergeant after completing a number of missions, and on the May 7th mission when he was killed, he was the radio operator of the Fortress. The pilot's name was Lt. Neil H. Behrens. The complete crew who flew with my uncle on the fateful day was as follows:
- Pilot 2/Lt Neil H. Behrens. PoW
- Co Pilot 2/Lt Gordon N Spring. Killed
- Navigator 2/Lt Robert A. Dulaney. Killed
- Bombardier 2/Lt Thomas J. McRae. Killed
- Radio T/Sgt Joseph J. Amanna. Killed
- Eng. T/sgt Carrol W. Taylor. PoW
- Ball Turret S/Sgt Joseph R. Neuhuettler. Killed
- Waist Gunner S/Sgt Dinno Armanini. Killed
- Waist Gunner S/Sgt Willis A. Bryant. Killed
- Tail Gunner S/Sgt Charles E. Douglas. Killed
The Missing Air Crew Report #4565, and the accounts of the pilot, Lt. Behrens, and the engineer, T/Sgt Taylor, provide the following account of the mission:
7th of May 1944 had brought a milestone in combat for the 8th. For the first time the significant figure of 1,000 bombers (B-17s and B-24s) was dispatched for missions. The main target for this mission was a day attack on Berlin. Despite problems with the valves of the Tokio tank, which had frozen, the Rikki Tikki Tavi had completed its' mission and successfully released its bombs over Berlin. On returning from the target, the pilot reduced the altitude in an attempt to defrost the hydraulic fluid, which operates the valves to the Tokio Tanks, which had frozen up making it impossible for the crew to obtain the fuel in the tokio tanks. The official army accident reports states that three of the engines failed. Basically, the plane ran out of gas just after it left the target, because of the hydraulics failure. Lt. Neil Behrens, the pilot, crawled back to the bomb bay area to try to adjust it. He was unable to open the valve. After getting to lower altitude, the pilot gave orders to bail out. The navigator and Sgt Taylor were the first out. Lt. Neil Behrens, the pilot, jumped separately and by his account was thrown out of the bomb bay doors from the extreme G forces. After their jumps the plane sustained a direct hit by flak, exploded and crashed. Only Lt. Behrens and Sgt Taylor survived.
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