Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years

Pilot, 603rd Squadron

Rapid City to Nuthampstead

The 398th was part of the Eighth Air Force that was formed in January 1942 and was commanded by General Jimmy Doolittle. There were four squadrons in the 398th and they were the 600th, 601st, 602nd, and 603rd. Ed Jordan was in the 603rd.

By April 1944 the 398th had completed training and was ready to transfer to England. Seventy-two B-17 aircraft and 720 men were to fly over and crews were numbered 1-72. One gunner was bumped from every crew to add various senior officers or key ground personnel. Those bumped along with additional equipment came over on the USS Wakefield. The crewmember bumped from the Hopkins' Crew was Sgt. Roy Nutter and the person added was Major Judson Gray, the 603rd Commanding Officer. Having the Major along in the cockpit was an opportunity for Ed to learn from a higher-level officer. While I initially thought that Judson Gray would have bumped Ed for some flying time, Ed's Individual Flight Record for the flight over did not show any time as "Rated Time non-pilot." Thus, while it is possible Major Gray may have flown, if he did so he must have swapped with Bob Hopkins' thus giving Ed the opportunity to get in as much time as possible in the cockpit.

The first crews left Rapid City on April 7, 1944 with about ten crews flying out per day. The first step was to fly to Grand Island, Nebraska. The Hopkins' Crew left for Grand Island on Wednesday, April 12th. It took them 3 hours and 10 minutes. This appears quite a long time given the distance and perhaps they had trouble along the way. According to Clarence King, "on landing at the airport there was some trouble getting the tower on Hopkins' radio and with this distraction they made a "Hot Landing" and locked up the brakes and flat spotted the tires.

At Grand Island, the Hopkins' crew along with other crews stayed about a week to get organized and equipped. Then they continued with the long flight to England with various stops along the way for gas, food and sleep. Below is my reconstruction of the dates and places for the Hopkins' Crew.

  1. April 12: Rapid City, South Dakota to Grand Island, Nebraska
  2. April 19: Grand Island, Nebraska to Grenier Field, Manchester, New Hampshire
  3. April 21: Manchester to Goosebay, Labrador
  4. April 22: Goosebay, Labrador to Keflavik, Iceland
  5. April 24: Keflavik, Iceland to Nuts Corner, Ireland
  6. April 25: Nutscorner, Ireland to Nuthampstead, England

On Wednesday the 19th, the Hopkins' crew flew from Grand Island to Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire. The flight took them 7:45 hours. Here they rested on Thursday.

On Friday the 21st their last day in the States, the Hopkins' crew flew to Goosebay, Labrador for food, fuel and sleep. The flight took them 6:00 hours.

On Saturday, the 22nd, the Hopkins' crew flew to Keflavik, Iceland. The flight took them 9:15 hours. They then rested for a full day in Keflavik on Sunday.

On Monday, the 24th the Hopkins' crew flew from Keflavik to Nutscorner, Ireland for more food, fuel and another overnight stay. The flight took them 5:45 hours.

On Tuesday, the 25th the Hopkins' crew the final leg from Nutscorner, Ireland to Nuthampstead, England. The flight took 5:45 hours. They had reached their destination and joined the earlier 398th arrivals in their new home. All in all, including the short flight to Grand Island it took them 39:25 hours to reach Nuthampstead from Rapid City.

Nuthampstead was a farming area and town in the East Anglia section of England. The area is relatively flat and an airbase had been built there early in the war and used for American P-38 fighters. The runways were then lengthened in early 1944 to handle the pending arrival of the B-17 heavies. The area is about 20 miles south of Cambridge and about 40 miles north of London. It was to be the 398th's home for the next year from April 1944 to May 1945. It was an exciting time for all with the 398th's arrival and while most would do their duty and return home unharmed, some would become prisoners-of-war, some would be killed in action and some would be injured.

 

See also:

  1. Ed Jordan's Form 5's for Rapid City to Nuthampstead (3.1 Meg pdf)
  2. Lt. Harvey B. Kramer's Diary for April 8-24, 1944 The route is the same and it appears they flew together for part of it on April 19-22, 1944, probably along with a number of others from the 398th on the journey over.
  3. Return to Lt. Edward C. Jordan - The War Years Index

 

Personal History Information
  1. Veteran: Edward C. Jordan
  2. Position: Co-Pilot/Pilot
  3. Squadron: 603rd
  4. Date of Personal History: February 2003
  5. Author: Dave Jordan
  6. Submitted to 398th Web Pages by: Dave Jordan