Missions
May 1, 1944 was Wayne's first combat mission, the Sarreguemines Marshalling Yards in France. His aircraft tail number was 231256 and was named the 'KING BEE II' (see image). No aircraft were lost on this mission with fair results on the target so it would seem to be a good start to his combat tour.
His second combat mission was on May 7th to Berlin, Germany. Wayne filled a spot with another crew (aircraft unknown) and there was heavy flak over the target, but no fighters. This was a 9-hour mission and again no aircraft were lost.
He went back to Berlin on May 8 for combat mission #3, this time with his regular crew. He flew aircraft 238047, named 'FEVER BEAVER' (see image). This mission was a little over 8 hours long.
On his fourth mission, the target was the Laon/Couvron Airfield in France on May 9th. He flew with his regular crew on 'FEVER BEAVER' with no reported flak or fighters encountered. This was a 5-hour mission with reported excellent results on the target.
Mission #5 was on May 11 against the marshalling yards in Liege, France. This was a 5-hour mission and reports from some squadron members indicate the bombs missed the target and landed in the city. One aircraft was lost from this group. Lt Proulx's aircraft tail number was 237936 and was named 'THE ALL AMERICAN GIRL' (see image).
Mission 6 was on May 12 targeting the oil refineries in Brux, Czechoslovakia. His aircraft was KING BEE II once again and the bombing results were excellent. Two aircraft were lost from the group on this mission.
On May 19, it was back to Berlin for mission #7 and this time he was on aircraft 231530, named "QUITTIN' TIME" (see image). Three aircraft were lost on this mission.
The target for Mission 8 was the marshalling yards in Brussels, Belgium in "QUITTIN' TIME", on May 20. This mission was recalled, likely due to weather over the target.
Wayne was on his 9th mission when he was shot down. His aircraft was the 'NELSON KING', tail number 231306 (see image).
The following is Wayne's detailed account of his final mission:
"May 24 (Wednesday) - Took off for Berlin with full crew to bomb. One motor was vibrating minute on the minute. Mentioned it to the pilot before takeoff that No.4 didn't look good. Over the Channel, it became very noticeable that the motor was bad and flaps kept creeping down and had to be cranked up by hand. Over the target, No.4 engine quit and wouldn't feather. Lost altitude and formation and at 19,000 feet four 190s attacked us 100 miles West of Berlin on return trip. We did get two fighters but the right wing caught on fire behind No.3 engine."
Sgt Francis Cousins (right waist gunner) was wounded in his right thigh which knocked him back near the rear door of the aircraft, and Sgt Frank Kroczynski (tail gunner) was killed during this attack. The damage to the plane forced the crew to bail out.
"The escape hatch for the forward crew was about 2 feet by 2 feet wide. Wayne was so tall there was a concern that if the crew had to bail out he might get stuck in the hatch and the rest of the crew wouldn't be able to get out, so they put a hatchet under his seat and told him 'If you have to bail out you use this hatchet to cut through the plexiglass and you go out through there.' but when it came time to bail out he did like he was trained and went through the escape hatch like it was 10-feet wide!"
- Wayne's brother, Earl Proulx
"I was first out of the ship. Seconds after I jumped the ship burst to bits."
After bailing out of his plane, Wayne waited until the last moment to deploy his parachute as he had heard the German pilots were shooting at everything in the sky. He landed in a farmer's field and was immediately met by laborers wielding pitchforks and was taken prisoner. His ankle was sprained, though he couldn't recall when or how it happened.
"We were all captured (seven) - Morgan, Padlo, Cousins, Barkman, Scully, Huffer and I. Jake was dead in the same field I landed in. I was taken to a little jail and left in solitary confinement for 4 hours, and then taken to Wittstock to a police station. There I met the other six fellows. We were given first aid by a half-assed horse doctor and then taken to a hospital about 15 miles away. We arrived there in the back of an old truck late at night, about 1 A.M., and were given first aid again by a regular doctor but they still didn't set Cousins' broken leg. They put my ankle in a sort of cast and bandaged it tight. I also had minor cuts which had stopped bleeding and didn't need any attention. We slept overnight there under guard."
