The Raymond H. Buthe crew: 708th Squadron
Drew Field, FL, Sep 44
| Standing, L-R: | |
| Sgt John M. Flynn | Engineer |
| Sgt Anthony R. Demarco | Radio Operator |
| Sgt Charles R. Agnatovich | Ball Turret Gunner |
| Sgt Douglas Aldrich | Waist Gunner |
| Sgt John W. Lafferty, Jr. | Waist Gunner |
| Sgt Ralph B. Corning | Tail Gunner |
| Kneeling, L-R: | |
| Lt Charles O. Norris | Co-Pilot |
| Lt Raymond H. Buthe | Pilot |
| Lt Marvin L. Brawer | Navigator |
| Lt Curtis G. Chapman | Bombardier |
| 07/16/44 – 09/10/44 | Drew Field, FL |
| 09/11/44 – 10/16/44 | Hunter Field, Savannah, GA |
| 10/17/44 – | 10/19/44 In Transit (by air) |
| 10/29/44 | 708th Squadron, Rattlesden, UK |
| Missions flown: 3 | |
Flights with Raymond H. Buthe listed as Pilot
These lists are NOT limited to officially credited Combat missions, and may include Aborts, returns and non-takeoff occurrences as well.”
| 447th Mission (Date) | Target | Plane Number | Notes |
| #178 (26-Nov-44) | Hamm, Germany | 42-97400 | |
| #180 (30-Nov-44) | Lutzkendorf, Germany | 43-38725 | MISSING |
Excerpt from MACR 11149:
Aircraft 43-38725 was hit by flak at instant of bombs away. A large hole was observed between #3 and #4 engine. Entire right wing burst into flames and aircraft peeled off to right and lost altitude rapidly. Aircraft was not out of control and some crews report 1-2 chutes, though the majority saw no chutes. Incident was at 27,800 feet at 1318 hours over the target. Heavy contrails prevented further observation of this aircraft or its crew.
The following information was shared by John Flynn, engineer. Interviews were conducted from October to December, 2002 by Amy Baker.
John remembers that his plane was hit right before bombs away. He was in the top turret and saw flak hit the tail and explode. He thinks it tore the tail off. John was knocked out of the top turret and landed below the pilot and co-pilot. The plane turned almost completely upside down and started to spin downward. He looked up and saw the pilot and co-pilot struggling to get out of their seats, but since the plane was in a spin, the force made it almost impossible to move. John was able to clip his chute on and throw himself out the open bomb bay doors. He looked up and saw the plane explode. After a while he looked up and noticed two chutes and knew only two of his crew probably survived.
On the ground, John was picked up by Germans and reunited with John Lafferty and Curtis Chapman. John Lafferty, the waist gunner, was able to jump out the waist window before the plane exploded. Curtis Chapman, bombardier, was still in the nose of the plane and was blown out in the explosion. He was knocked unconscious but came to in time to pull his ripcord and float to earth.
Curtis Chapman |
Curtis Chapman and Charles Norris |
Raymond Buthe and Curtis Chapman |
Curtis Chapman |
All taken Sept. 1944 at Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia
The Crew
| Lt. Raymond H. Buthe | Pilot | KIA 11/30/44 |
| Lt. Charles O. Norris | Co-Pilot | KIA 11/30/44 |
| Lt. Marvin L. Brawer | Navigator | KIA 11/30/44 |
| Lt. Curtis G. Chapman | Bombardier | POW: Stalag Luft I |
| Sgt. John M. Flynn | Engineer | POW: Stalag Luft IV |
| Sgt. Anthony R. Demarco | Radio Operator | KIA 11/30/44 |
| Sgt. Douglas Aldrich | Waist Gunner | Reassigned to another crew |
| Sgt. John W. Lafferty, Jr. | Waist Gunner | POW: Stalag Luft III |
| Sgt. Charles R. Agnatovich | Ball Turret Gunner | KIA 11/30/44 |
| Sgt. Ralph B. Corning | Tail Gunner | KIA 11/30/44 |
Excerpt from a letter written by Curtis Chapman, dated 10/25/44:
The pilot’s name is Raymond H. Buthe – he is from Elgin, Ill. That makes three of the officers on the crew from Ill. Good old Ill. He’s a tall blond and has a little moustache, really quite a handsome chap. He has a very nice looking wife and a baby girl about four mo. old. He is only 23 himself and what a gift of gab. He’d put most women to shame for rattling on and on but yet not saying anything.
Charles R. Agnatovich; Ball Turret Gunner
AAM connects the plane 43-38725 with this photo.
S/Sgt. John Flynn; Engineer
Lt. Ray Buthe (Pilot) and Lt Marvin Brawer (Navigator) can be seen in the background with parachutes.
Sgt. John W. Lafferty, Jr.; Waist Gunner
John Flynn (standing right) and a group with a P-40 Warhawk.
Bomber crew lead by Lt. Raymond Buthe.
| Standing L-R: |
| Lt Raymond Buthe |
| Lt Marvin Brawer |
| Kneeling L-R: |
| Lt Charles Norris |
| Lt Curtis Chapman |
Raymond H. Buthe |
Raymond H. Buthe |
Portage High School 1938 yearbook photo of Ralph B. Corning; Tail Gunner
Lt Charles O. Norris; Co-Pilot
Combat Missions (previously compiled)
The Buthe crew was shot down on its third combat mission.
| No. | DATE | TARGET | AIRCRAFT | COMMENTS |
| 176 | 11/21/44 | KOBLENZ | unknown | Orientation mission, first pilot(s) unknown |
| 178 | 11/26/44 | HAMM | 42-97400 Fuddy Duddy | |
| 180 | 11/30/44 | LUTZKENDORF | 43-38725 | See MACR 11149 extract below |
Some photos/information provided by:
- Amy Baker
Some information and/or images sourced from the American Air Museum database