There were also times when the number of men available might have been more than what was needed to crew the available aircraft and these men would have undoubtedly been tasked with filling in on a "volunteer" basis. Case in point if a ball turret gunner had a busted plane he might volunteer to go on a mission, in another plane, to replace a ball turret gunner who was sick or wounded. Now if there was more than one "extra" ball turret gunner I can see the Op's situation developing.
A little twist to this thread. The father of a good friend of mine volunteered to go on a mission and it was his first mission ever. He was a ball turrent gunner. If I remember it was the first or one of the first daylight bombing raids over Berlin. They were shot down over Holland.... He was hit by flack while parachuting down and spent the rest of the war as a POW.... The name of the bomber was the "Role Call".
Correcting my post. The name of the bomber was the "Roll Call"..... Also, In Holland this bomber was well respected by the locals. The "Roll Call" was hit by flack returning from their mission over Berlin. The last thing Captain Geisler did before bailing out was to turn the plane around so it would crash in hostile territory verses Holland. A local farmer sheltered the Captain for 3 days in his barn. He was then returned to the Allies thru the underground. Captain Geisler found the farmer after the war and they were lifelong friends....
In keeping somewhat in topic, I received my Uncle's final payment roll that I started the post about. I am having a very hard time reading it partly due to bad quality and lingo I do not know. On one of the lines it says, "Trfd as Pvt fr 232 AAFBU, Dalhart, Tex." I was able to find out what AAFBU meant. However, I am not sure where to go from here. Anyone know what to do? I know this Air Field is not around anymore and they did have heavy bombing training there. So my assumption is that my Uncle was a heavy bomber or flew in one. What does 72nd FW mean? Forward wing? "Combat Crew Training Station-Fighter (72nd FW) Dalhart Army Air Field, Tex" 2nd Air Force.
Good guess! Still cool out there? Here's a link with a few tidbits about the 72nd. Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation - Wendover, Utah