Toastmaker
March 10th, 2012, 10:25
I have often wondered about some of the details of my father's WWll experiences as a B-24 top turret gunner and subsequent stint as a POW. While he was alive, he told me some stuff but I started investigating a bit for specifics.
Well, lo and behold - I encountered a guy on the internet who does the same thing as a hobby and had a boat load of info and documents that answered most of my questions !
He was in the 15th AF, 451st. BG (heavy), 727th Bomb Squadron, flying out of one of the Foggia, Italy area fields (Castellucia). On October 13, 1944, his crews 18th mission, they went against rail marshalling yards and oil storage just south of Vienna, Austria. Three squadrons participated (about 45 aircraft) and the flak was considered extreme, but few enemy aircraft appeared. Upon comming off the target and in a bank angle, his plane "42 Kay" (previously known as "Weesie") was hit twice in quick succession by flak which fatally damaged the port wing and no. 2 engine. He went out the bomb bay and was captured in Vienna by locals and turned over to German military who were collecting downed aircrew all over the place. Of the 45 planes involved, 12 went down or never returned to base.
This guy on the internet sent me (via the net) a crew picture showing my dad and his crew with names and crew positions, the MACR (Missing Aircrew Report) which details the aircraft, configuration, equipment, crew and synopses from witness statements from other aircraft who saw his plane get hit and go down ! This is marvelous information for me that helps me mentally re-create what he went through at 19 years old !
He was then held at LuftStalag I and shortly transferred to LuftStalag IV for the duration. For some reason, he never saw his crewmates again and learned years later that only three returned home after the war. I bought a large picture book called The 451st Bomb Group in WWll - A Pictorial History which really brought to life the period and the incredible losses sustained by 15th AF bombers between '43-'45. Another nasty trick was played by fate when my mother received a telegram in late Oct. '44 listing my father as KIA ! It took the Red Cross three months to learn about the error based on late German POW reports. Quite an emotional yo-yo she had to experience but better than the original news that so many received correctly.
It's so good to know these minute details of this part of his life, that had such an impact on the kind of man he became. He retired from the USAF in 1972 as a full Colonel and I miss him tremendously -
Well, lo and behold - I encountered a guy on the internet who does the same thing as a hobby and had a boat load of info and documents that answered most of my questions !
He was in the 15th AF, 451st. BG (heavy), 727th Bomb Squadron, flying out of one of the Foggia, Italy area fields (Castellucia). On October 13, 1944, his crews 18th mission, they went against rail marshalling yards and oil storage just south of Vienna, Austria. Three squadrons participated (about 45 aircraft) and the flak was considered extreme, but few enemy aircraft appeared. Upon comming off the target and in a bank angle, his plane "42 Kay" (previously known as "Weesie") was hit twice in quick succession by flak which fatally damaged the port wing and no. 2 engine. He went out the bomb bay and was captured in Vienna by locals and turned over to German military who were collecting downed aircrew all over the place. Of the 45 planes involved, 12 went down or never returned to base.
This guy on the internet sent me (via the net) a crew picture showing my dad and his crew with names and crew positions, the MACR (Missing Aircrew Report) which details the aircraft, configuration, equipment, crew and synopses from witness statements from other aircraft who saw his plane get hit and go down ! This is marvelous information for me that helps me mentally re-create what he went through at 19 years old !
He was then held at LuftStalag I and shortly transferred to LuftStalag IV for the duration. For some reason, he never saw his crewmates again and learned years later that only three returned home after the war. I bought a large picture book called The 451st Bomb Group in WWll - A Pictorial History which really brought to life the period and the incredible losses sustained by 15th AF bombers between '43-'45. Another nasty trick was played by fate when my mother received a telegram in late Oct. '44 listing my father as KIA ! It took the Red Cross three months to learn about the error based on late German POW reports. Quite an emotional yo-yo she had to experience but better than the original news that so many received correctly.
It's so good to know these minute details of this part of his life, that had such an impact on the kind of man he became. He retired from the USAF in 1972 as a full Colonel and I miss him tremendously -