Ray and the crew of Hell's Fury certainly had the 'Right Stuff"...
Hell's Fury, 41-31625, B-26B-4MA, 555th BS, 386th BG, Captain R. P. Sanford, Boxted, England, 1943
Excerpts From Official Mission Reports of 386th BG
Mission 1, 555th BS/386th BG
The Me-109 circled back and passed through the center of the bomber formation where it was fired upon by ship number two in the low flight, “HELL’S FURY” 131625 YA-R flown by Lieutenant Raymond Sanford. His tail gunner Staff Sergeant Herbert M. King raked the enemy plane with a burst of fire. The enemy went out between the lead and high flight; it was last seen diving in smoke and flames!
Mission 3, 555th BS/386th BG - SILVER STAR MEDAL -
Raymond Pape Sanford, First Lieutenant, Army Air Forces, United States Army. For gallantry in action, while serving as pilot of a B-26 Airplane on a combat mission over enemy occupied territory, 2 August 1943. En route to the target, Lieutenant Sanford was painfully wounded when the airplane sustained a direct flak hit. With complete disregard for his wounds, Lieutenant Sanford courageously maintained his position in the formation and continued on to successfully bomb the target. Though his airplane was severely damaged, he made an excellent landing returning to home base. The courage, skill and devotion to duty displayed by Lieutenant Sanford on this occasion reflect highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of The United States.
Mission 23, 555th BS/386th BG
Black bursts of flak came up to torment the bombers - a ship called, "HELL’S FURY" 131625 YA-R flown by Captain Ray Sanford was number four ship serving as deputy lead, and carried a Norden Bomb Sight. His bombardier caught a shadowy glimpse of the target as he released his ten 300 pound bombs which were soon swallowed by the restless clouds. None of the other bombardiers in the lead box of eighteen planes followed his cue!
Mission 55, 12/13/43, 555th BS/386 BG
All eighteen ships were from the 555th Squadron, however they had came up one crew short prior to briefing time. At that point Captain Sanford and crew although not scheduled, volunteered to fill in the vacancy. Captain Sanford was in the process of running up his engines when his airplane was approached by a man from Group, he was waving a handful of papers. The pilot pulled his throttles back and slid open the side cockpit window to find out what this was all about! The man said, "These are your court-martial papers." The pilot waved the man away as he released his brakes—it was time to taxi out. The man shouted, "Just wait until you get back!" Captain Sanford had a few brief moments to reflect upon his predicament. The previous month an order came down requiring all flight personnel to turn in their American type parachute equipment. In return they would receive British quick release type harnesses with detachable chute packs. He had refused to obey that order, and was now the subject of court-martial action! Is this what is meant by the fortunes of war? Just nineteen days ago he was spirited away from base by a bird colonel and two M.P.’s—with an envelope marked "SECRET!" His destination was Buckingham Palace to meet the King and Queen who were honoring the three hundred top award airmen. Captain Sanford had previously received our nation’s third highest award, the "SILVER STAR MEDAL" for, "Gallantry in action!"
Captain Sanford pulled "HELL’S FURY" up close behind his leader so close he was looking straight up at Beaty’s tail gunner. Both of Sandford’s wingmen moved in closer. Captain Sanford’s airplane sustained a direct hit which appeared to be on the left main fuel tank, the plane burst into flames immediately! Lieutenant Burger, number five man stated, Sanford ship had a direct hit on a wing, and lost wing when it folded over fuselage and burning. It went straight down and exploded. Staff Sergeant E.O. Stensrud was tail gunner on the lead ship and looking down on the Sanford plane. He related—direct hit, the plane nosed up and the left engine burst into flame. Then it nosed down with a half twist to the left, and headed straight to the deck!
Sanford, pilot of the doomed aircraft picks up the narration, "The ground gunners all concentrated on our box. They already had altitude and speed from the first boxes. The flak was so thick you could have walked on it! All I really remember was the hit and immediate loss of control. I think I radioed, "We’re going down, but I’m not sure, it all happened so fast. I was knocked out apparently, so I don’t know if Jackson had time to hit the salvo button. We were so close to bomb release point, everyone was eager to get the hell out of there! I revived in mid air still strapped in my seat, with my right arm just floating free; I had no use of it. I didn’t know then but my right shoulder must have struck the airplane structure that separates the pilot and co-pilot hatches—my collarbone was broken. Discipline is a strange thing, I wasn’t scared. The first thing I thought of was some jump instructor telling the class, if you turn your head you roll—put out your legs for control, etc. I was going to try it out until I could see the ground closing in. I tried to drop the seat left handed but my jacket was over the belt, so I had to pull the rip cord left handed, some trick! I leaned forward in the seat so the back pack would open, it did and the seat really put a jerk on my legs. While dropping I released the seat and I just seemed to hang there after the sudden loss of the extra 300 plus pounds of pilot seat and armor plate."
Captain Sanford survived because he was wearing an illegal parachute when his aircraft, "HELL’S Fury" blew to pieces!
The Sanford Crew: Captain R.P. Sanford, Flight Officer R.C. Roberts, Lieutenant C.A. Jackson, Tech Sergeant S.B. Peterson, and Staff Sergeants H.M. King, W.E. Turner, and F.J. Becker.
Photos below show a sketch of Hell's Fury done by Sanford while a POW, and him front and center the day his camp was liberated:
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