Evasion of Lt. Russel Weyland; Memoirs of Helper Maurice Costa

2nd Lt. Russel Weyland was serving as the Bombardier on the B-24 Liberator “VIVIE” when the plane was shot down on August 6, 1944 during Mission No. 305, a raid on Toulan Harbor, France.  The bomber, Serial No. 41-28965 , air craft no. 55, was a part of the 376th B.G.  Of the crew, six were killed and three taken prisoner.  Lt. Weyland was the only member of the crew to not only survive but also to successfully evade.  The “VIVIE” was unusual in that it was photographed from above after a large segment of the starboard wing had been blown away.  My thanks to Bernard Jones for permission to use the two following photos.  Other materials reproduced on this page are thanks to Francene Weyland, Russel’s widow.

Photo of 2nd. Lt. Russel Weyland

Photo from Sloppy Joe’s Bar, Havana, Cuba, March 1943

The remainder of this page consists of the following links and records:

Mission 305 for August 6, 1944

Weyland’s B-24 Liberator with wing damage over Toulon, France

Photo of Weyland’s B-24 As Used in “Stars and Stripes”

War Department Telegram – “The Secretary of War Desires to Express His Deep Regret….”

PDF File, Interrogation and Other Documentation:Interrogation and other documents

Fate of Crew Members and Family Contacts

PDF File (3 pgs.) of Memories of Russel WeylandMemories of Russel Weyland

Reunion of Russel Weyland and Helper Maurice Costa

Evader Russel Weyland (left) holds the key chain that helper Maurice Costa (right) gave him in 1944.

PDF File (12 pgs.) of Memoirs of Helper Maurice Costa: Memoirs of helper Maurice Costa

 

 

6 thoughts on “Evasion of Lt. Russel Weyland; Memoirs of Helper Maurice Costa

  1. My uncle was Alfred Amann, pilot of this plane. I appreciate your sharing the information on this mission. Any further details of Alfred?

    1. Hello M. Amann. As french Riviera aviation ‘historian, I know a deal about your uncle’ship. I written a book in 1994 about the USAAF’heavy bombers loss in southern France during WWII and relate a small passage of the last moment of “Vivie”, the nose art name of this B-24. I meet at this time Joseph Costa. I possed another picture of one wing brocken from “Vivie” in a wine yards at Toulon. Maybe we can exchanges some information together about this story ? Cordially.

    2. Richard Amann,
      I provided the photos above of “The Crew” from Sloppy Joe’s Bar, Havana, Cuba, March 1943.
      My stepfather, George A Tarr, in the pic, center with a drink in each hand gave me his photo album that his then wife put together as his time in the service went on.
      There are some poor quality pics from March 1943 of “The Crew” at Chatham Field, GA and Batista Field, Cuba. They are in flight suits, underwear or playing football.
      I have made individual photos from the group of “The Crew”. If you would like I could send you one of “The Crew” and your uncle.
      Bernie Jones

      1. Would you be able to email the photos you have of the crews from Chatham and Batista? Trying to find pics of my grandpa and I know he was there around the same time. Thanks!

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