Oddly, sometimes the computer just "burps", so for no reason what-so-ever, Jacob has been captured as… "J/cob/h / S S Cordes". 321st Bomb Group, 446th Bomb Squadron, Lt Jacob Cordes was a Lt. (Commissioned) Bombardier/Navigator and flew Combat in the B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber.

"SEA SWEEP" A Combat Mission over water, Target; German Troop and Supply Ships in the Mediterranean Sea out of N. Africa.

We now know that the Germans discovered how to point their cannon down at the water and shoot, causing an enormous Water-Spout that could and did swallow a B-25 whole. Some descriptions said the B-25 simply vanished. Losses were very heavy and soon (not soon enough) Sea-Sweeps were stopped! God Bless our brave men.

Jacob was declared "Missing In Action" when his B-25 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea out of Tunisia, N. Africa.

_** 446th BS Special Account: On April 5, 1943 we lost Lt. Lovingood and his crew on a Sea Sweep. His crew was made up of: Lt. Cleary, co-pilot; Lt. Cordes, bombardier-navigator; S/Sgt. Kralicek, engineer; S/Sgt. Belser, turret gunner; and Cpl. Brooks, radio operator, in addition to Lt. Lovingood, the pilot. The following narrative is an eye-witness account of that mission and the loss of the plane:
Belser, Oscar L., S/Sgt, turret gunner Brooks, George C., Cpl, radio-gunner
Cleary, Philip B., 2Lt, pilot Cordes, Jacob H., Jr., 2Lt, bombardier, navigator
Kralicek, Frank C., S/Sgt, engineer-gunner Lovingood, Willard J., 2Lt, pilot
On April 5, 1943 we took off in the early morning on an anti-shopping sweep over the Mediterranean Sea. After cruising for about an hour at an altitude of fifty feet or less we sighted a convoy about eight miles away and almost directly ahead.
As the top cover flight climbed in a spiral to gain sufficient altitude we six who were previously assigned to the low element, circled at a radius of about three miles which was just out of range of the flak. Upon reaching bombing altitude the top flight of twenty four planes made a run on the convoy and released their bombs. Immediately we turned in toward the convoy at our 50 foot altitude for our attack. We could see many ships and we knew that this was indeed a choice target.
Our run began at about 240 miles per hour and we opened fire with our forward guns at extreme range hoping to disturb the enemies’ aim. Glancing to the left to be sure that I did not fall behind the other planes I noticed one plane beginning to trail the others slightly, indicating that it had probably been hit. This plane was number two over from my own so I could tell that it was Lt. Lovingood’s plane. By this time my plane had passed over one gun boat and we were headed straight for a destroyer so all my attention was drawn toward the front. That was the last I saw of Lt. Lovingood’s plane.
Lovingood, Willard J., 2Lt, pilot
I had been advancing the throttles constantly and when, after passing over my target and dropping my bombs into it, I glanced at the airspeed indicator it showed 280 plus. At this time the gunner, S/Sgt. E.V. Mitchell called on the interphone and I looked back to see a very large splash which he explained was Lt. Lovingood’s plane. Sgt. Mitchell said a large explosion resulting in a water spout had hit the left engine of the doomed plane, wrenching it from its mounting. Having only one power plant and at the terrific speed the plane twisted into a half-roll and crashed into the water upside down. This was when he called me on the interphone and I observed the splash.
Lovingood, Willard J., 2Lt, pilot Mitchell, Edgar V., S/Sgt, gunner
For the loss of one of our planes the enemy suffered the loss of four ships sunk, three sinking, and others damaged. The plane flown by Lt. Bradley was so severely hit by shell fire he was forced to make an emergency landing at Bone. All the other planes, though hit, returned safely to the Base.
Axson, Ralph L., Jr., 2Lt, pilot R.L. AXSON, Jr
Bradley, James L., Jr., 1Lt, pilot 1st Lt., A.C.

He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart.**_

(KIA 5 Apr 43)(FOD, per WWII mem - N Africa Amer Cem, Carthage, Tunisia)

57th BW Historical Research Team; Patti Johnson, John T Fitzgerald and Barbi Ennis Connolly PrincessbarbiB25@msn.com 321st BG Historian_