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| Lt. Robert Senff was the navigator on the B-24 nicknamed Bashful on the ill-fated Operation Tidal Wave bombing of the Ploiesti oil refineries. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100660214/robert-jackson-senff#view-photo=112159944 Chillicothe Gazette, 29 May 1944 http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/19122 |
Robert Jackson Senff never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 10, 1919 in Ohio. His parents Roy and Jenevieve were also both born in Ohio. His father worked as an electrical engineer for the Chillicothe Electric Company and later as a store keeper. Robert had one younger sister. By 1940 Robert had completed four years of high school and was working as a clerk while living at home.
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on June 16, 1941, four days before it was renamed the Army Air Forces. He got his wings in February 1943, was trained as a navigator, and later that year in July he became engaged to Mildred Lorraine. He became a second lieutenant in the 567th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, which was equipped with B-24 Liberators. It was sent to England in June 1943. Shortly thereafter many of the planes in the 389th BG were sent to Libya. It flew missions over Crete, Sicily, Italy, Austria, and Romania.
On August 1, 1943 Lt. Senff, navigator of the B-24 41-11776, which had the nose art Bashful on the left side and Jersey-Jackass on the right side, was part of Operation Tidal Wave to bomb the Ploiesti oil refineries. There were 178 planes sent out. The mission came in low, hoping to avoid radar and maintained radio silence to keep their position unknown for as long as possible. The bombers lost formation during the hours it took to get to the targets. During the low level bomb run, Lt Senff's B-24 was hit by debris thrown into the air by previously dropped bombs. It started a fire in the bomb bay that spread to wings. After an engine failed, the pilots made an unsuccessful crash landing near Floresti, Romania. At least seven of the crew, including Lt. Senff were killed.
Only 88 of the planes returned to Libya and 55 of those had battle damage. 440 men were killed and another 220 were captured or missing.
His grave is at Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe, Ohio. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled Ollie Emanuel, 25th Infantry Division and one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor. You can read about Ollie here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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