Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years Pilot, 603rd Squadron

Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years

Pilot, 603rd Squadron

Lt. Edward C. Jordan's Combat Tour

As follows is an overview of Lt. Ed Jordan's B-17 combat tour with the 398th in Nuthampstead during WWII. As Ed did not write a diary or a book and the family didn't write down his stories, I had to collect the information from a number of sources. To do this, I talked to 398th veterans and my mom, researched the 398th Maxwell records, organized and reviewed his WWII papers, read several books by 398th authors, all the 398th diaries, and every issue of the 398th's Flak News. I hoped in this way to obtain an overview of what was happening in a broader sense to him and the 398th. The result follows.

Overview

On January 7th, 1944, 2nd Lt. Ed Jordan became a newly minted Army Air Force pilot having graduated that day with the Cadets of 44-A at Lubbock, Texas. Shortly thereafter, in early February of 1944, he was assigned to the 398th at Rapid City and specifically to the Bob Hopkins' crew. Ed flew the B-17 for the first time that month and accumulated 74:35 hours of B-17 flight time before he left Rapid City on April 12, 1944 to begin the journey to England. That flight would total 35:35 hours from Rapid City to Grand Island and on to Nuthampstead, England, all as co-pilot hours for Lt. Jordan.

To shake down the crew in England and to give Ed additional B-17 training, Ed and Bob went up many non-mission days during May and June of 1944. By late May, Ed began flying on non-mission days as "Qualified Pilot - Dual" the next step in his training toward first pilot status. On June 21st, Ed began sharing 1st pilot duties on missions and on June 23rd, 1944 Major Wagner and Captain Hopkins concurred in a formal letter that Lt. Ed Jordan had satisfactorily passed his flight check for "day and instrument flying, including emergency procedures." Ed was thus promoted to first pilot effective July 1st, 1944. Even so, Ed continued to practice on off-mission days, for example making 20 touch-and-go landings on July 1st and another 18 landings on July 3rd.

Captain Bob Hopkins was a flight command pilot, which meant that they were in the lead or near the front in the squadron formations. Because of the higher risk of loss, Flight Commanders and their crew had a lower mission allocation didn't fly as frequently per week. Many times a high ranking squadron or group officer would take the role of CA (Commander of Aircraft) and flew with a flight command pilot. In these cases, the bumped co-pilot would perform formation control in the tail gunner position. Basically formation control required the co-pilot to watch the squadron and group formations and relay information to the CA - Commander of Aircraft. In Ed's case, this occurred at least three times, the 28 May mission to Ruhland when Major Simeral was the CA, the 5 June 1944 mission to Trouville, France again with Major Simeral was teh CA, and the 12 June 1944 mission to Lille-Nord with Captain Wagner as CA.

To gain more experience and because Captain Hopkins felt Ed was a gifted pilot, Bob recommended that Ed fly with other crews. He first flew with Lt. Sleaman on June 21, 24, and 25. Lt. Sleaman had just arrived and it is possible Ed flew with him because it appears Sleaman's co-pilot was not available or a permanent one not yet assigned. In early July, Lt. Jordan flew with Captain Davidson and then two flights with Lt. Spitzer and on August 1 with Lt. Magnan. A letter from John Hobbs indicated that he and Ed were both assigned to fly with new combat crews, a process whereby the crew's co-pilot was bumped for the 1st mission and an experienced pilot or co-pilot sat in the co-pilot's seat. It is possible this took place with Lt. Magnan, but Lt. Spitzer had been the co-pilot for the Scott crew. So the only new crew, Ed might have broken in during July would have been the Magnan crew. Further research is required to verify this. On 8 August, Lt. Jordan flew as the experienced pilot with the Newman crew on their first mission.

After Ed's return from his August 1st mission, he was assigned to take over the Lt. Spitzer crew, formerly the William (Willard) F. Scott's crew. It appears that Lt. Spitzer became hospitalized for an extended period and Ed was assigned that crew. Later Lt. Spitzer returned to duty. On August 12, Ed was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Thus Ed finished out his August and September missions with his own crew something he had been long hoping for.

In his tour, Lt. Ed Jordan completed 28 combat mission with 225 hours of combat flying from 22 April to 28 September 1944. He had accumulated 400 hours in the B-17 and 625 hours total flying time in his one year and four months of flying. During his 28 missions, he flew in six squadron leads.

Lt. Edward C. Jordan's Mission Information

As follows are short explanations of various missions and events in Lt. Edward C. Jordan's combat tour while based in Nuthampstead, England from late April 1944 until mid-September 1944. Additional information about 398th missions can be found on the 398th Missions and Descriptions page.

Practice: 4 May 1944 - Spaulding, England

2nd Lt. Ed Jordan flew as co-pilot with 1st Lt. Bob Hopkins on aircraft 42-102508 N7-J for a practice mission to Spaulding, England. Spaulding is about 50 miles north of Nuthampstead. The 398th had just arrived in April and before they joined the 8th Air Force as part of the 1st Combat Wing on missions over the continent, they went on a formal practice mission. Accompanying them were P-38s, P-51s and Spitfires and some took on the role of enemy aircraft as part of the simulation. At one time 2 P-51s completed a slow roll through the formation. And three P-38s made one head on attack then breaking down. One Spitfire followed a pursuit curve on the right side.

The Hopkins crew left Nuthampstead at 08:30 a.m. and returned at 14:00 p.m. Lt. Jordan logged 5:30 hours as co-pilot. Though flight time on the fuel Consumption Report was shown as 4:40 hours with 925 gallons of fuel expended. Perhaps these reports measures time differently.

There were two 18 aircraft groups on this mission. One designated Lead, the other Low. The formations chart is very hard to read, but it appears that the Hopkins crew flew in the Lead Squadron as High Element Lead. The simulated bomb run was at an altitude of 9000’ on a magnetic heading of 32 degrees at 11:46 1/2 a.m. with a low ceiling. Two ships collided in mid-air due to turbulence and returned to base. On the return, the formation headed to Oxford before returning to Nuthampstead.

Spare: 8 May 1944 - Berlin, Germany

2nd Lt. Ed Jordan flew as co-pilot with 1st Lt. Bob Hopkins on aircraft 42-107188 K8-G Ramp Rooster for a mission to Berlin, Germany. The target that day was a bridge and underground railway.

However, the 398th Flight Log and Interrogation Report indicate the Hopkins as "spare" as does Ed’s small personal calendar. Several ships were designated "spare" that day and the Hopkins crew was not needed and returned to base.

On a mission day one or more extra B-17s would take-off and be part of the Bomb Group while they assembled, even flying to the enemy coast before turning back if they were not needed. If one of the ships in the squadron had mechanical difficulty such as a faulty oil pressure, engine not operating properly, etc. and had to turn back, the “spare” would take its place.

The Hopkins crew took off at 06:13 a.m. and landed at 9:38 p.m. Lt. Jordan logged 4:00 hours as co-pilot. Thus the Hopkins' crew flew for about four hours during assembly and then retuned to base. As a result, there was no credit for a mission.

Mission 1: 9 May 1944 - St. Dizier, France

2nd Lt. Ed Jordan flew as co-pilot with 1st Lt. Bob Hopkins on aircraft 42-107103 K8-A Marie Notre Dame for a mission to St. Dizier, France. St. Dizier is about 120 miles east of Paris and about 350-400 miles southeast of Nuthampstead on a direct route. However they did not follow a direct route, but instead first flew in various circular patterns around England while they assembled and then zigged and zagged on the way to avoid giving away the intended target. The target was a twin-engine airfield.

The Marie Notre Dame took off at 05:52 1/2 a.m. and landed a little over 6 hour later at 12:06 1/2 p.m. Lt. Jordan logged 6:30 hours as co-pilot. The Fuel Consumption Report indicated 1500 gallons used and 6:54 hours flight time. I’m not quite sure how to interpret these differences in flight time between the various reports, but perhaps there are some differences between starting the engines, taxiing, and takeoff that apply to different situations.

The K8-A Marie Notre Dame was a 602nd aircraft, but perhaps in these early days of the 398th there was more interchangeability of squadron aircraft.

The 398th sent up 28 aircraft, seven of which were part of the 1st A Combat Wing and 21 were the Low Group of the 1st B Combat Wing. This Low Group was lead by Major Simeral as CA (Commander of Aircraft) with 601st Willis Frazier as the lead pilot. Hopkins flew in this Low Group as a Low Element Lead. Three spares returned as not needed and one spare filled a vacancy in the 3rd Bombardment Division, leaving 24 aircraft.

The aiming point, referred to as Maximum Point of Impact (MPI) was the dispersal area SW center of the airfield. The bomb run was at an altitude of 19000’on a magnetic heading of 313 degrees at 09:53 1/2. The Indicated Air Speed (IAS) was 150 mph and the weather was clear and the visibility very good. Eighteen ships in the main group and five in the composite group dropped 875 100 lb bombs on the primary target and one ship attacked a target with the 3rd division. One aircraft reported fuel dump blown up over target. On the return, at 10:56 hours, 20 miles off of Dunkirk, large fires were reported by four crews. No aircraft were attacked in the 398th group.

Mission 2: 11 May 1944 - Bettembourg, Luxembourg (Sarreguemines)

Ed flew with the Bob Hopkins' crew on aircraft 42-107053 N7-M. They took off at 14:45 and landed at 21:29. Lt. Jordan logged 6:30 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 3: 19 May 1944 - Berlin, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 11:15 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 4: 23 May 1944 - Woippy, France (Saaarbrucken)

Lt. Jordan logged 7:30 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 5: 25 May 1944 - Nancy, France

Lt. Jordan logged 7:00 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 6: 28 May 1944 - Ruhland, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 9:00 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 7: 3 June 1944 - Manihen, France

Lt. Jordan logged 4:30 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 8: 5 June 1944 - Trouville, France

On this mission, the pilot was Lt. Bob Hopkins and Major Simeral was aboard as the CA - Commander of Aircraft. They had responsibility today as 398th Low Group Lead. Lt. Ed Jordan flew in the tail gunner position to provide formation control to Major Simeral. Lt. Jordan’s time was listed as 5:45 hours "TG Rated Personnel, non-pilot." They flew B-17 44-6083 N7-V, the Betsy Ross.

Mission 9: 12 June 1944 - Lille, France

Lt. Jordan logged 5:15 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 10: 15 June 1944 - Bordeaux, France

He logged 8:00 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 10: 21 June 1944 - Berlin

Lt. Jordan logged 9:55 total hours, 5:00 as co-pilot and 4:55 as 1st pilot. With both pilot and co-pilot they would many times take 15 minutes turns flying the plane.

Mission 12: 24 June 1944 - Crepy, France (Belloy-sur-Somme)

Lt. Jordan logged 5 hours total, 2.5 as co-pilot and 2.5 as 1st pilot.

Mission 13: 25 June 1944 - Toulouse, France

Lt. Jordan logged 10:10 total hours, 5:05 as co-pilot and 5:05 as 1st pilot.

Mission 14: 6 July 1944 - Cauchie D'Ecques, France

Lt. Jordan logged 4:15 hours at 1st pilot.

Mission 15: 7 July 1944 - Leipzig, Germany

The 398th part of the 7 July 1944 mission to Leipzig, Germany consisted of 37 aircraft. Of these, 36 were able to reach the target and then two aircraft were lost; the bombing results were considered good. 2nd Lt. Jordan flew as co-pilot with 2nd Lt. Spitzer’s crew this day. Lt. Jordan logged 8:45 hours total, 4:00 as 1st pilot and 4:45 as co-pilot.

An excerpt from the July 1990 Flak News for this mission is as follows:

The target was an oil refinery at Leipzig and the 398th led the Division with Gen. William M. Gross commanding the massed formations from the right seat in Captain Gene Douglas' lead 600 aircraft.

In the deputy lead plane was Col. Frank P. Hunter, 398th CO, and pilot Norm Rudrud.

The flight to the target was more or less uneventful, but as expected the flak became intense as we approached the target.

Just after the bombs were dropped and they were turning for home, the Robert Folger crew was hit under the top turret platform and a fire started in the bomb bay. The Folger crew was eventually forced to land in enemy territory near Halle and crew members were taken to German Prisoner of War camps.

All the missions to Leipzig and the Leipzig area are discussed in the January 1992 Flak News. An excerpt is as follows.

But for the 398th this little suburban city to the west of Leipzig will forever epitomize all that was fearful, and dangerous, and deadly on those combat tours.

Merseburg was usually a 10-hour mission, up to seven hours on oxygen, and fraught with simple dangers like fatigue, cold, hunger, fear and anoxia. And these compounded by hundreds of 88 and 120 mm. flak guns on the ground and the Luftwaffe elite in the air.

In 13 group missions to this area over a period of eight months, 13 B-17's were shot down with a loss of 43 men killed in action. The most frequent target of the bombardiers was the Leuna petro-chemical works to the south of downtown Merseburg. This sprawling series of factories was the leading producer of oil and gasoline products for Hitler's war machine. And people like Luftwaffe Gen. Adolph Galland readily admit that it was this denial of fuel that hastened the war to a merciful conclusion.

It was the 603rd that was hit the hardest, losing no less than 10 of the 13 that went down. Five came on one mission - November 21, 1944.

And it was not only in the air that danger lurked. Captured air crewmen were not popular either with German civilians and with at least some elements of the military. The co-pilot on the Robert Folger (603) crew, Raymond C. Hopp, was reportedly shot by a SS officer after bailing out. Two crewmen, John Quinn and John Paris, eventually managed to escape while on a forced PW march.

Additional details for the various missions to Leipzig and Merseburg can be found in the July 1990 and January 1992 Flak News and on the 398th Missions and Descriptions page.

Mission 16: 8 July 1944 - Fresnoy, France

Lt. Jordan logged 4:30 hours total, 2:15 at 1st pilot and 2:15 as co-pilot.

Leave: July 23 – July 29, 1944

Captain Robert Hopkins and 2nd Lt. Ed Jordan were granted a 7 day Leave of Absence beginning July 23, 1944. This is when Ed, probably Bob Hopkins and some of the original crew visited Scotland and in particular Edinburgh. Ed stayed at the Red Cross Hotel.

Mission 17: 1 August 1944 - Melun/Villaroche, France

Lt. Jordan logged 5:45 hours, 3:00 as 1st pilot and 2:45 hours as co-pilot

Mission 18: 3 August 1944 - Saarbruken, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 6:10 hours total, 3:05 as 1st pilot and 3:05 hours as co-pilot.

Mission 19: 4 August 1944 - Peenemunde

The 398th made two missions to Peenemunde, Germany. These were on July 18 and August 4, 1944. 1st Lt. Ed Jordan's mission there was on the August 4, 1944. Lt. Jordan logged 8:30 hours as 1st pilot. His co-pilot was 2nd Lt. F. J. Kushera, Jr.

An excerpt from the Flak News:

The V-2 was 46 feet long and weighed 13 metric tons. It carried a half-ton of high explosives. Launched from Peenemunde, Germany, its rocket engines carried it 65 miles into space before its guidance system directed it to its target.

Germans sent their V-1 Buzz Bombs over East Anglia toward London and quite often these bombs came over the 398th Station 131. One of the Buzz Bombs came down about a mile from the field in the summer of 1944 and on December 14 a V-2 hit the base only 200 yards from the 603rd bomb dump and left a tremendous crater.

Additional details for these missions can be found on the 398th Mission: 18 July 1944 page and the 398th Mission: 4 August 1944 page.

Mission 20: 6 August 1944 - Brandenberg

The 398th August 6th 1944 mission was to Brandenburg. Lt. Ed Jordan logged 9:40 hours, 4:50 hours as 1st pilot and 4:50 hours as co-pilot.

For this mission Lt. Edward Jordan was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross. See also 398th Bomb Group DFC Citation List - transcripts of some 398th DFC and OLC for DFC citations.

Headquarters 1st Bombardment Division
Office of the Commanding General
APO 557

4 September 1944

GENERAL ORDERS
No. 304

Awards of Distinguished Flying Cross Section I
Awards of an Oak Leaf Cluster to Distinguished Flying Cross Section II

I. Under the provisions of the Army Regulations 600-45, 22 September 1943, as amended and pursuant to authority contained in letter, HQ Eighth Air Force, File 200.6, 4 August 1944, subject, “Awards and Decorations”, the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS is awarded to the following named Officers and Enlisted man.

EDWARD C. JORDAN, 0-706190, Second Lieutenant, Air Corps, United States Army. For extraordinary achievement while serving as Pilot of the leading airplane of a bombardment squadron of B-17 aircraft while on a bombing mission over Germany, 6 August 1944. On this date an engine of the airplane which Lieutenant Jordan was piloting almost completely lost its power due to mechanical failure. All attempts to regain maximum efficiency of the engine failed. Demonstrating great determination, Lieutenant Jordan maintained his lead position in the formation and continued on the flight to the important objective. Upon reaching the Initial Point, the bombing run was initiated and bombs were released with a high degree of success. The return journey was accomplished and Lieutenant Jordan expertly landed his plane in England without further damage or injury to the crew. The courage, coolness and devotion to duty displayed by this officer reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States. Entered military service from Illinois.

We are fortunate that Lt. Charles J. Mellis who flew with Lt. Jordan that day wrote about this mission in his diary. See 2nd Lt. Charles J. Mellis, Jr.'s Diary for August 6, 1944.

Additional details for this 398th mission can be found on the 398th Mission: 6 August 1944 page.

At Ed's February 9, 1981 funeral mass I read the above for Distinguished Flying Cross citation awarded for his August 6th mission to Brandenberg. It moved us all, especially the pilots in the front pew. I also shared that years later, as a commercial pilot for United Airlines, that he would pray on those long night flights above the clouds with the sun coming up when all was quiet and peaceful. My then brother-in-law, Robert Roth followed me with the poem, High Flight by John Magee, which opens, "Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth."

Mission 21: 8 August 1944 - Cauvicourt

Lt. Ed Jordan flew on the August 8th mission to Bretteville, Le Rabet & Cauvicourt France, frequently just referred to as the Cauvicourt mission. It was a very difficult day for the 398th.

The following excerpt is from a Mission Report by Colonel Frank Hunter. See Flak News October 1987, page 2.

August 8, 1944 - The wing commander turned into the bombing run and the Group took proper interval. Intense, heavy and accurate flak was encountered on the bombing run and continued for the entire run. This flak was more intense than any which has been encountered by this Organization [398th]. One hundred percent of the airplanes in the group suffered battle damage, seventy percent being serious and many were men were wounded.

This was apparently a very difficult day. According to the Flak News February 1987.

While flying in close support of Allied landing troops that day and the B-17s were forced to make their long bomb run over occupied territory instead of over liberated territory, therefore the heavy and accurate flak fire. This long run over enemy territory and its consequences happened shortly after General McNair and many other Americans were killed by B-26 bombs dropped during their bomb run near the front lines.

On this mission:

Captain Major Wagner, Jr. who had been the 603rd CO for only two months and his lead crew piloted by Bob Hopkins were shot down. Those two along with F. J. Kuskera, V. Wernecke, Tom Stitz, W. J. Germiller, R. C. Gibeau, and J. I. Werner survived the bailout and did Prisoner of War time. Killed in their chutes were C. Arnold and J. F. Hochadel.

Several of this crew were part of Bob Hopkins' Rapid City crew of which Ed Jordan was an original member. Ed felt very bad about Bob and his friends getting shot down and also that Jimmy Hochadel was killed.

Ed wrote in his August 8th letter to Jeanne:

...Honey I want you to remember this date and someday I will tell you all about it. I […] a souvenir from the Jerries. It isn't much but I'll never forget it. … I didn't fly my own crew today but went out with a new crew to check them out.

Lt. Jordan flew that day with the Newman crew in the co-pilot seat for that crews’ first mission. This was part of standard 398th procedure to bump a new crews' co-pilot and put a combat experienced pilot there instead to guide them through all the steps of the mission their first time out. Lt. Jordan logged 4:40 hours as 1st pilot with none as co-pilot. Thus it appears, that while he was in the co-pilot seat, he was in effect performing as 1st pilot that day.

We are fortunate that Bill Frankhouser of the Newman crew wrote about this incident in his book, World War II Odyssey in Chaper XIV. The First Combat Bombing Mission - Bretteville Le Rabet, France, August 8, 1944.

Additional details for this 398th mission to Cauvicourt can be found in the February 1987 Flak News and the October 1987 Flak News and on the 398th Mission: 8 August 1944 page.

Mission 22: 11 August 1944 - Brest, France

Lt. Jordan logged 5 hours total, 2:30 as 1st pilot and 2:30 as qualified pilot dual.

Mission 23: 16 August 1944 - Delitzch, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 8:30 hours total, 4:15 as 1st pilot and 4:15 hours as co-pilot. The Jordan Crew official photograph was taken after this mission. In the National Archives the photo is mislabeled the JORDON crew.

Mission 24: 24 August 1944 - Kolleda, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 9:45 hours total, 4:55 as 1st pilot and 4:50 as qualified pilot dual.

Mission 25: 25 August 1944 - Neubrandenburg, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 9:50 hours total, 4:55 as 1st pilot and 4:55 as qualified pilot dual.

Mission 26: 26 August 1944 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 6:15 hours total, 3:15 as 1st pilot and 3:00 as qualified pilot dual.

Mission 27: 30 August 1944 - Kiel, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 8 hours total, 4:00 as 1st pilot and 4:00 as qualified pilot dual.

Mission 28: 3 September 1944 - Ludwigshafen, Germany

Lt. Jordan logged 8:50 hours, 4:25 as 1st pilot and 4:25 as qualified pilot dual.

Return to Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years Index

Personal History Information

Veteran: Edward C. Jordan
Position: Co-Pilot/Pilot
Squadron: 603rd
Date of Personal History: February 2003, updated October 2008
Author: Dave Jordan
Submitted to 398th Web Pages by: Dave Jordan