Date: Aug 19, 43
Dispatched: 42 Aborts: 6
Mission: General Support to 2nd TF 60 B-17s Field Order: 39/107
Time Up/Down: 17.01 hrs 19.24 hrs Leader: Major McCollom
Target: Gilze Rijen
Claims Air: 00-00-01 Claims Ground: 00-00-00 Lost/Damaged: 00-00
Group made landfall at 25,000 ft over Haamstede and made rendezvous with bombers over western tip of Tholens Island, escorted bombers to Gilze-Rijen and thence to Geertruidenberg, out at Noordeval, 26,000 ft. Group was led by Major McCollom with Lts Stafford, Thistlethwaite and Major Duncan from Group HQ participating.
350th: Major McCollom. T/U 17:01 hrs T/D 18:54 hrs. Total flight time 1:53 hrs. Squadron suffered one mechanical abort and a further aircraft acted as escort. Halfway between Woensdrecht and Gilze Rijen Lt. Hurst reported approximately nine Me109s positioning themselves for a head-on attack on the bombers. The flight led by Major McCollom turned into the formation preventing the attack. On the way out heavy flak was seen troubling the bombers far to the left of the course of the Squadron in the general vicinity of Ostend.
| Major | Loren G. | McCollom | (Sqdn Ldr) |
| 1st Lt | Wilford F. | Hurst | |
| 1st Lt | Robert L. | Newman | |
| Major | Glenn E. | Duncan | |
| 1st Lt | Irvin E. | Venell | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Roland N. | McKean | |
| 1st Lt | John L. | Devane | |
| 2nd Lt | John | Zolner | |
| Capt | Stanley R. | Pidduck | (Flt Ldr) |
| 1st Lt | Tom | Lorance | |
| 1st Lt | Wayne K. | Blickenstaff | |
| 2nd Lt | Walter L. | Angelo | |
| 1st Lt | Dewey E. | Newhart | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Francis T. | Walsh | |
| 1st Lt | Charles W. | Dinse | |
| 2nd Lt | Dwight A. | Fry | |
| 1st Lt | William W. | Odom | |
351st: Major Christian. T/U –:– hrs. T/D –:– hrs. Total flight time [unknown]. As the bombers were on their way out from Gilze-Rijen airfield, Capt Walter Beckham’s flight saw five or six e/a attacking the second box of bombers. Capt. Beckham led his flight in a dive on the last two aircraft. The Me109s evaded Beckham’s guns by rolling to the left and he overshot. His wing man, 2nd Lt. Harold Morris, was able to fire and was credited with a 109 damaged.
Two pilots from the Squadron, Lts Emory and Edwards, flew as spotters to cover the return of the Group. They saw a pilot with his chute in the water signaling with a heliograph. Circling the spot, they transmitted for a fix and headed home, finally landing at Metfield at 19.32 hrs. The next morning, however, they were told that German Air Sea rescue had picked up the Allied pilot.
| Major | Shannon | Christian | (Sqdn Ldr) |
| 1st Lt | Gordon B. | Compton | |
| 1st Lt | Charles L. | Stafford | |
| 2nd Lt | William T. | Thistlethwaite | |
| 1st Lt | Vernon A. | Leatherman | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Richard D. | Stanley | |
| 1st Lt | Francis N. | King | |
| 2nd Lt | Benedict E | Kraft | |
| Capt | Walter C. | Beckham | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Harold J. | Morris | |
| 1st Lt | George N. | Ahles | |
| 2nd Lt | Hassell D. | Stump | |
| 1st Lt | Orville A. | Kinkade | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Herbert K. | Field | |
| 1st Lt | Frank N. | Emory | (spotter) |
| 2nd Lt | Francis L. | Edwards | (spotter) |
352nd: Major Bailey. T/U 17:06 hrs. T/D 18:50 hrs. Total flight time 1:44 hrs. 2nd Lt Victor Vogel was flying #4 in Wakeford White flight when he heard ‘Wakeford White 4, Break right!’ Turning right he noticed an unidentified aircraft on his tail, closing in. He half rolled and headed home on the deck. Going out he noticed three small boats in a harbour and fired on these, observing no results. Further on, a flak boat fired on him and put a hole through one of his propellers.
| Major | William B. | Bailey | (Sqdn Ldr) |
| F/O | Maurice | Morrison | |
| 1st Lt | Jesse W. | Gonnam | |
| 2nd Lt | Victor L. | Vogel | |
| 1st Lt | Thomas J. | Forkin | (Flt Ldr) |
| F/O | Glenn C. | Callans | |
| 1st Lt | William F. | Streit | |
| F/O | Earl W. | Perry | |
| Capt | Raynor E. | Robertson | (Flt Ldr) |
| 2nd Lt | Leroy W. | Ista | |
| 1st Lt | James N. | Poindexter | |
| 2nd Lt | Leslie P. | Cles | |
353rdFighterGroup 