This Military Service Page was created/owned by
SSgt Robert Bruce McClelland, Jr.
to remember
Manske, Joseph William, Col USAF(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Gowanda, New York
Last Address San Antonio, Texas
Date of Passing Apr 04, 1998
Location of Interment Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery (VA) - San Antonio, Texas
He was the flight engineer/gunner in crew #5 on the Doolittle Raid. After the raid he flew a few more missions in the CBI Theater, then got commissioned, and later was an aircraft maintenance officer in the Mediterranean Theater. He later served in the USAF until retiring as a colonel in 1973.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Corporal Joseph W. Manske (ASN: 6914440), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Engineer/Gunner of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. Corporal Manske with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service.
Division: Doolittle Tokyo Raider Force Crew #5 (Plane #40-2283, target Tokyo): 95th Bomb. Sq. L-R: Lt. Eugene F. McGurl, navigator; Capt. David M. Jones, pilot; Lt. Denver V. Truelove, bombardier; Lt. Ross R. Wilder, copilot; Sgt. Joseph W. Manske, flight engineer/gunner. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Aircraft/Missile Information
Model North American B-25C Mitchell Length 52.92 ft | 16.13 m Width 67.55 ft | 20.59 m Height 15.75 ft | 4.80 m Engine(s) 2 x Wright Cyclone R-2600-19 air-cooled piston engines delivering 1,700hp each. Empty Weight 20,300 lbs | 9,208 kg MTOW 34,000 lbs | 15,422 kg Max Speed 272 mph | 438 km/h | 237 kts Max Range 1,350 miles | 2,173 km Ceiling 24,196 ft | 7,375 m | 4.6 miles Climb Rate 1,666 ft/min (507.796 m/min) Hardpoints Up to 8 (model dependent) Armament Model-specific armament included:
8 x 12.7mm machine gun array OR 1 x 75mm cannon in forward-fixed nose assembly.
2 x 12.7mm machine guns in forward-fixed lower-left side fuselage position (beneath and behind cockpit position). 2 x 12.7mm machine gun in forward-fixed lower-right side fuselage position (beneath and behind cockpit position). 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in ventral turret (powered turrets in some models). 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in dorsal turret (powered turrets in some models). 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in left waist port position. 1 x 12.7mm machine gun in right waist port position. 2 x 12.7mm machine guns in tail gun position (some models removed). 1 x Torpedo in under-fuselage arrangement (model-specific fitting). 8 x 250lb bombs on 8 external hardpoints (model-specific fitting).
Maximum internal bombload of 3,000lbs (1,361 kg). Accommodations 5 Operators the United States of America
