P.47 pilot Lt. G.M Dumars 0810336, U.S.A.A.F, 509 8(FB) Squ, 405 Group picked up from channel 22.6.44

[jives11]

Greetings,

I'm doing some research into P/O A.A.Hyde who flew with 278 Squadron RAF air sea rescue . In the squadron ORB there is an entry for the 22.6.44 detailing the recovery of Lt. G.M Dumars 0810336, U.S.A.A.F, 509 8(FB) Squ, 405 Group from the sea North of Cherbourg. His P.47 had crashed in the sea and his comrades circled above him till 278 arrived dropping dinghies, and later he was picked up "in an exhausted condition" by a Walrus (Ten Cents 29 ?).

I wonder if anyone has any information on Lt Dumars ?

All other recoveries listed the ORB give no details of the men who were rescued.


I'm assisting the widow of P/O Hyde in tracing his flying career. he later transferred to 91 "Nigeria" Squadron until very seriously injured in a crash in 1945 near Renne. despite paralysis from the waist down, he went on to live a very full life and passed away in 2004. It would be good to know what happened to Lt Dumars.

[lampie]

Not much information I'm afraid but it may help.
"Thunder Monsters Over Europe" lists 2Lt Glen M DuMars 509th FS with a hometown of Albion Pennsylvania.
Cause of his bail out into the channel is atributed to engine failure, and due to the rough seas the Walrus that picked him up couldn't take off and had to taxi back to England.
There is a very good 405th FG website, even better if you speak/understand French fluently but I'm sure people here will be able to help.
http://wing.chez-alice.fr/USAAF/405th_FG/405th_FG.html

I can't say for certain if its the same person, but found this obituary. There can't have been too many P-47 pilots named Glen M DuMars though, and the birthplace of Greenville in the obituary is only about 40 miles from Albion.

ADRIAN, Mich. —
Glen M. DuMars passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009, at his residence in Adrian. He was 89.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Nina; son, Greg (Debbie) DuMars, of Adrian; four grandchildren, Doug (Kim) DuMars of Glenville, Ill., Amy DuMars of Denver, Colo., Karen (Steve) Dunham of Tecumseh and Michelle (Erik) Koppin of White Lake, Mich.; three great-grandchildren, Alexa and Jonathan DuMars, and Luke Dunham. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Donna DuMars.

Glen was born and raised in Greenville, Pa., where he attended Thiel College. He was a P-47 fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He married Nina in 1945 and returned to college and received his B.A. in accounting from the University of Pittsburgh. He was employed at U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Saxonburg, Pa., where he retired after 35 years of service. He was a 25-year member of the National Association of Accounting where he also served as President. He served as Elder in his Church and was a 32nd Degree Mason.

Glen was also active in his community, in the Boy Scouts and Treasurer of the volunteer fire department in Saxonburg, Pa. He retired and resided in Clearwater Fla., for 30 years where he volunteered as Usher for 24 years at the Ruth Eckerd Hall Center of Performing Arts. He was President of the condo association and an avid golfer. Glen and Nina moved to Adrian in the fall of 2007 to be closer to family.

In accordance with Mr. DuMars’ wishes cremation will take place and there will be a memorial service at a later date. Arrangements by Burden & Son Funeral Home, Jackson.



Hope this is of some help.

Nige

www.56thfightergroup.co.uk

[jives11]

many thanks Nige, I'm sure that's him. I'll see if I can make contact with the DuMars of Adrian, MI.

thanks again

[jives11]

Well a little more googling and I'm now in contact with Glen DuMars son, who I will send the 278 Squadron ORB record to for the 22nd June 1944. He's delighted.


many thanks Nige, entirely down to your efforts

[lampie]

Thats awesome, I'm delighted to have had a small part in this.

All the best,

Nige

www.56thfightergroup.co.uk

[FrankieS]

Hi all !
But what was the serial of his aircraft???
Cannot find any in my database !

ciao,
FrankieS

[lampie]

Originally Posted by FrankieS

Hi all !
But what was the serial of his aircraft???
Cannot find any in my database !

ciao,
FrankieS

In the absence of an MACR ( none issued apparently due to circumstances of the loss), then you'd need to source the massed flight lists for the 405th to be sure which aircraft DuMars was flying that day. Another option would be if he recorded the information in his log book and that survived.

Not quite sure the enquiry needed 3 question marks and an explanation mark though?
While its very nice to be able to tie all details together for a complete record of operations, sometimes, and this particular enquiry is one of those instances, its more about the people than the aircraft.

All the best,
Nige

www.56thfightergroup.co.uk

[Larry]

Jives 11

I was interested in your post as I have written an updated history of the 405th and also was in correspondence with Reg Nolte who wrote Thunder Monsters over Europe. It is a good book written before the age of the internet but since then more info has come to light- such as your post!

My question to you is whether PO Hyde was flying a Spitfire that dropped the dingies or whether he was the pilot of the Walrus?

Was the serial number of the 278 aircraft flown by PO Hyde listed in the ORB?

In the book Aircraft of the Many by Michael JF Bowyers it lists (Page 257-8) all the known serials of ASR aircraft of 3275, 276, 277 and 278 Sqns, which might be of use to you.

I will try to find the serial of DuMars P-47D

[FrankieS]

Yes, sorry, maybe one question mark suffices ...

[jives11]

There is a double thank you to be made to the kind people who helped with this - I received a very nice email from the son of Glen DuMars, emphasising that the fellow airmen from 278 squadron saved his fathers life, and without them , 3 generations of DuMars would not exist today. I will pass this on to the widow of P/O Hyde - I'm know she will be delighted to receive it.


P/O Hyde had a pretty eventful time with 278 through 1944 before moving to 91 Squadron 'Nigeria' in 1945. Looking through the orb entries, they conducted a lot of patrols out across the Wash, for lost airmen or aircraft, initially flying in Ansens , sometimes in a Walrus, a Moth and later in Spitfires. Glen DuMars was the only airmen recovered listed in the ORB by name, but other crews were picked up including some Luftwaffe. There are some telling entries of sweeping for crashed gliders around the time of Operation Market Garden.

I may trace him back through 1943 with 275 Squadron who were also an air sea rescue unit and seemed to share airfields and aircraft with 278.