Far Flung Gliders

Hi Sean,

It could indeed be the missing Waco.

I would assume that British ground troops would not be that familiar with the Waco and might, in passing, refer to it as a 'crashed plane'. What document is this sketch map from?

Thanks,

Pat

 

Thanks Niels,

Yes, looks to be a good match for #1 and #2 on Philippe Esvelin's map shown on post 3 of page 1 of this thread.

Still looking for Shimko's Waco in the British Sector and still no cover found for these 8 western strays.

Regards,

Pat

 

Hi All,

Got a bit excited today as I thought I had found one of the 'far flung' Wacos we are looking for here on this thread. I was going through the 440 frames from sortie NCAP_ACIU_US7GR_1730 flown on the 6th June and noticed many of them have a location description cited Un-Locatable in their 'Description' fields. See the full 440 frames on the NCAP site here.

Sortie NCAP_ACIU_US7GR_1730 was flown on D-Day by a Lockheed P-38/F-5 Lightning aircraft from the 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), USAAF. The pilot flew right across all five invasion beaches as can be seen from the NCAP GE marker plot showing the frames with known locations below:

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The marker off to the east at Pont Audemer appears to be an error as that frame, P/0091, clearly was shot much closer to one off the invasion beaches.

The lack of locations for many of the frames intrigues me and it was this which brought me to frame 8031 today:

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Image Credit: RCAHMS/www.aerial.rcahms.gov.uk​

I was immediately drawn to the Waco glider in the yellow box, zoomed to below:

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Image Credit: RCAHMS/www.aerial.rcahms.gov.uk​

The location was quickly found by looking at some of the adjoining frames with descriptions stating 'Bancs du Grand Vay' which is the curving corner of the coast just south of Utah Beach. I also found a great oblique frame, P/0009, from the same sortie showing the Waco just in front of the prop and arrowed yellow below:

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Image Credit: RCAHMS/www.aerial.rcahms.gov.uk​

Trust me, it's there when you zoom the image Below is the GE finder chart for the location, indicated thereon with a red Waco icon:

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Note the distinctive 'L' shaped house as a tie and Pouppeville at lower left.

Not one of the Wacos we seek, but still a new addition, which I think we can safely classify as 'far flungish'

One for the Glider Map John

Regards,

Pat

 

Thanks John,

Will do; initially I thought we had the Waco which took T/Sgt Shimko and his men to the Caen sector but that one remains elusive. I presume this new find can only be a 'Chicago' or 'Detroit' glider unless sortie 1730 was flown very late in the evening which seems unlikely.

Regards,

Pat

 

Hi All,

Done a quick Google on 'glider utah beach' just now and I see Paul Woodadge posted a query on TT back in 2008 which might fit the new discovery:

See his thread here.

The famous 'red roofed house' at Utah Beach might have been mistaken for the 'L' shaped house beside the new discovery.

If anyone can contact Paul today, please do as I cannot log in to TT until I get home.

Thanks,

Pat

 

Hi Guys,

Does anyone have a list of names for T/Sgt Shimko's squad?

Thanks,

Pat

 

Hi All,

The reason I am trying to track down the names of T/Sgt Shimko's squad is that I found a short sequence on this British Pathe clip titled 'D-Day Plus Invasion Scenes' (BP Film ID No. 1954.07) shot by Dick Hoar, one of George Stevens 'Hollywood Irregulars' of the Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU):

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This is part of the film which Hoar shot of the 82nd squad, almost certainly Shimko and his men, walking through Courseulles sur Mer. (I just noticed that we have not carried over the image ties for that scene from the old Battlebus Forum).

As far as I know Dick Hoar was assigned to the British and Canadian sectors and did not take any footage on the Cotentin. So, where did he film this craps game?

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Obviously, at least two of the four players are 82nd Airborne and the guy wearing the helmet appears to have a name tag which ends in 'S' - hence the quest for a list of squad members.

I'll track down the stills we used to place the squad in Courseulles sur Mer and post them here.

Any help with the names very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Pat

 

...is the 'S' upside down???

 

Thanks John,

That 'E' might be the clincher if we can find a squad roster

Hopefully I can remember how the Courseulles sur Mer stuff fitted together, having finally located the images on my hard disk. The footage screenshots I used on the Battlebus thread are from Tyler Alberts's 82nd Airborne Division DVD - the old one from the 'Normandy' series - it should be on one of the newer ones here too.

First two screenshots from the square:

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Note the round column standing on the plinth in the square. It is extending to the top of the frame just to the left of the two oval windows. I recall putting great weight on the 'Canadian helmets' which I though were exlusive to the Canadians in Normandy but have since learned that this type, called the Mark III 'turtle' helmet, was worn by both the British and Canadians in Normandy.

The same 'street view' today - minus the column:

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In the second screenshot from the square, the squad leader turns to check his men - I like to think this is Shimko as you can see from the multiple labels

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The screenshot below shows the corner shop where he turned - note the same design of plasterwork on the wall:

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There is another shot on Tyler's DVD of a British or more likely, a Canadian MP at the same corner. The corner shop is just out of shot on the right:

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OK, lets' have a look at where we are so far, via an extract from 1947 IGN cover (the column and plinth are still in place):

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Now onto the next sequence, which strangely confirms the squad traveling east, not west towards American lines:

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This location turns out to be down the street behind the MP - see 1947 IGN aerial extract above:

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T/Sgt Shimko does make reference to Courseulles sur Mer in his statement following their return to American lines:

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The full statement is located in NARA - if anyone is going there this year, I would be very grateful for a copy please

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Finally, an old postcard showing the corner shop and roughly the same view as we see in the MP scene. There appears to be a door into the corner shop on the angled corner, to the left of the canopy; I am pretty sure this door is behind the squad leader (Shimko?) as he turns to check his men in the second screenshot above:

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The quality of the footage is not great, but does anyone recognise any of the craps game guys in this footage?

Regards,

Pat

Edited @ 11:25, 01/01/15 to fix a broken image link and typos.

 

Hi All,

Dominique Potier's invaluable 325th GIR roster gives T/Sgt Shimko's ASN as 35289535, which in turn leads me to this Fold3 record.

Edward William Shimko appears to have been born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio in 1917.

I also wonder if we have a surviving son, Robert Dale Shimko, as per this birth record?

Now to do Ctrl+F on Dominique's PDF to search for any surnames ending in 'es' from 1st Battalion Head Quarters Company...

Regards,

Pat

 

Thanks Patrick,

Ibanez must have been wounded or injured in some way as they left him with a British hospital at 'a spot west of Barnieres sur Mer' where the two glider pilots were also taken back to England.

I have tracked down a full copy of Shimko's report which readers can view below:

<iframe seamless="seamless" src="https://docs.google.com/viewer?embedded=true&url=http://www.normandy.whitebeamimages.ie/gliders/far_flung_wacos/shimko_report_full.pdf" width="800px" height="500px"></iframe>​

It seems strange that it was signed by Lt. Col. Charles A. Carrell, the officer who was relieved of command of 3/325th (2/401st) GIR at La Fiere Bridge on the 9th June. T/Sgt Shimko was 1st Battalion 325th.

Regards,

Pat