Highest scoring B-29

[RSwank]

I believe his middle name was Eugene. One correction to a previous post, when he joined the AAF he flew with the 2nd BG (then with the 12th AF) in North Africa. He flew some 58 missions according to one newspaper article from 1943 and in October 1943 came home with his crew and his plane, the B-17F 42-29611 "A-Merry-Can".


(Osborne's FortLog on 42-29611 does not quite match up date wise, not sure why).

In the photo Lt Col Haynes appears to be standing, 2nd from the right. There are 58 mission bombs on the plane, including a "battleship". The photo may have been taken just prior to or during the war bond tour.
Haynes went from Captain to Major to Lt Col in the 2nd BG. He was the 49th Squadron Commander.

http://www.2ndbombgroup.org/images/U...and%20B-17.jpg


There are a couple of on-line pdf books on the 2nd BG website ( http://2ndbombgroup.org/ ). They are "The Second was First" and "Defenders of Liberty" Haynes is mentioned many times in them e.g.:

"Lt. Col. Robert E. "Pappy" Haynes, Commander,
49th Squadron was awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross on September 18, (1943) the first
member of the Group to be so honored."

Haynes was born 29 April 1908 in New York and died on 1 December 1996 in California. His body was cremated.