Crew 06
Sixth plane to take off from the USS Hornet on 18 April 1942
Datasheet plane
- Aircraft Squadron: | 95th Bombardment Squadron |
- USAAF Serial number plane: | 40-2298 |
- AAN manufacturer's serial number: | |
- Name of the plane: | The Green Hornet - no individual markings - name only |
- Take off date: | 18 April 1942 |
- Take off time: | Take off @ 08.40 am ship time USS Hornet |
- Place in line to take off: | 6th |
- Bombs on board: | 1 cluster incendiary + 3 demolition bombs |
- Bombed area in Japan: | Kawasaki |
- Bombing of Japan - local time: | 12:40 pm |
- Fate crew - 18 april 1942: | Crash landing in the South Chinese Sea in front of the Chinese coastline - 9:55 pm |
- Fate plane - 18 april 1942: | Crash landing in the South Chinese Sea between Ningbo and Taizhou, China |
The Crew
Target
The story of Crew 06
Bombed Fuji Steel Mill (now a shrine) @ the location of 35 32 14 N 139 44 06 E Second bomb was an incendary
The incendiary bomb on the plane fell in Horinouchi, Yokohama, but before that, the gunner of Hallmark’s plane gunned with his machine gun aboard the plane, the town of Uchikoshi, Yokohama. This gunfire killed a child, probably giving Japan an excuse for the death penalty against Hallmark and his crew that was captured in China after bailing out above the part by Japan occupied China.
Bombardier Sergeant William Dieter and gunner/engineer Sergeant Donald Fitmaurice drowned by crash landing in the East Chinese Sea. Lieutenant Hallmark and the remaining two officers managed to swim to shore and locate each other at daylight, they met at a local Chinese garrison. With the help of friendly Chinese, they buried Sergeant Dieter and Corporal Fitzmaurice on a small slope above the beach.
The rest of the crew was captured on 18 April 1942 by the Japanese in a hut @ Shipuzhen 29°12'11.0"N 121°55'53.4"E near Ningbo, China. They were betrayed by a local Chinese man.
As POW co-pilot Lieutenant Robert Meder died from malnutrition, beri-beri and dysentery in a Japanese POW camp. Pilot Lieutenant Dean Hallmark was executed by the Japanese at he cementary of Kianwang prison in Shanghai, China on 15 October 1942.
Hallmark was cremated and his remains were taken into the International Funeral Home in Shanghai, China. His ashes were discovered after the war in Shangai. He was reburied after the war in Arlington, Virginia. So the crew never arrived in Chongqing, China
The only crew member of crew 6 that survived World War 2 was navigator Lieutenant Chase Nielsen.
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Pictures : POW Camp Kiang Wan in Shangai. These days named Changwan, it seems this place is a police station now. Thanks for the pictures to some habitants of Shangai China. Crew 16 and Hallmark, Nielsen and Meder - crew 06 - where torturd and foltered here.
Crew picture : copyright @nara-usa - public domain - colored by : Our colorful history @ https://www.facebook.com/historyrestored - used with permission - Thank you so much for the wonderful crew pictures.
