B-17G-30-DL
'Sleepy Time Gal', 42-38211
B-17G-30-DL
'Sleepy Time Gal', 42-38211
Heinz Knoke's victim on March 8, 1944
Sgt William J. Valigura, Jr. Ball Turret Gunner at Moses Lake, WA
He was shot down with "Sleepy Time Gal" victim of Lt Heinz Knoke (5./JG11) on March 8, 1944
and became a prisoner of war.
[Photos courtesy from Alan Foreman]
Extacts from messages from: ForemanA@MLHS.ORG
To: fruffino@club-internet.fr
Sent: during August, 2003
Subject: B-17: "Sleepy Time Gal"
Franck,
...Have Interviewed 4 of the 5 surviving members of Sleepy Time Gal and have obtained mission report of
452nd Bomb Group from 8 March 1944 mission.An interesting note, the ball turret gunner, William J. Valigura, met Knoke on the day he was shot down.
Apparently Knoke went to Valigura's cell at the Wunstorf air base and introduced himself as the pilot that
shot down Valigura's B-17 (Knoke even provided the tail number to Valigura to legitimize the claim).
Valigura didn't know the pilot's name until just recently when he found your website and placed the face
in his memory to the face and name in the photos on your website.
I wrote a short article on this encounter entitled "The Last Piece of the Puzzle."
Mr. Valigua has developed an interest in Knoke and has done a bit of research recently...
THE LAST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE
By
C. Alan Foreman
The German army truck ground to a halt. Inside the canvass-covered back sat a wounded and frightened Staff Sergeant William J. "Tex" Valigura, the former ball turret gunner of the B-17G Sleepy Time Gal and now a P.O.W of the German government. Just a few hours earlier, Valigura had been captured by a farmer and turned over to the German military. He could hear the sound of aircraft nearby and surmised that the Germans had taken him to an airbase. His suspicions were confirmed when he was taken out of the truck and into a nearby building.
Escorted by guards, he was taken to a prison cell within the building. A small, grate-covered window in the upper corner of the cell offered his only glimpse into the outside world. Below the window was a wooden table that served as a bed. Standing on the bed, Valigura peered out the window. The base of the window was at ground level, indicating that most of his cell wasunderground.
The door to the cell opened, and standing next to the guard was a German officer. The officer was a pilot. Valigura was just twenty years old and this German pilot seemed to be only a few years older than he.
Clad in flight gear, to include a very American-looking fleece lined leather flight jacket, the German pilot appeared tired. Despite his apparent fatigue, the officer still managed to maintain an arrogant attitude in front of the frightened American airman. Valigura could tell that the German pilot had just recently been in the air as the imprint of the pilot's oxygen mask was still evident on his face.
Speaking in English, the German pilot identified himself as the fighter pilot that had shot down Valigura and the crew of Sleepy Time Gal. To confirm his statement, the pilot provided Valigura with the plane's tail number. He continued to listen in silence as the German issued a warning. The arrogant, young fighter pilot told him that other Allied airmen would suffer a similar fate should they continue to fly over the Fatherland. The German officer turned and exited the cell. The guard pulled the heavy door closed, leaving the young Texan, once again, alone in his cell.
Tex Valigura carried the memory of his encounter with the nameless German pilot over the next 59 years. Just recently, while researching his own war memoirs over the Internet, Valigura made a discovery that provided some closure to his encounter on 8 March 1944. The web site covered the life of Hauptmann Heinz Knoke, Squadron Leader of 5 Group/JG 11 (Me-109's). The victories claimed by Knoke, as indicated on the website, included the B-17G 42-38211 (Sleepy Time Gal), shot down on 8 March 1944. Viewing the website photos of Knoke, Valigura was convinced that this was the same pilot that had visited him in his cell 59 years earlier. Valigura has since spent many hours researching the life of Heinz Knoke. To Valigura, learning about the pilot that shot him down over Nazi Germany was like "finding the last piece of the puzzle."
Article written in August 2003.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT: The author is greatly indebted to ... Without his help, this story would not be what it is, and I wish to express my sincere thanks for his fine cooperation.
Data courtesy of C. Alan Foreman
clic on photo to enlarge it.
- - - Special thanks to Alan Foreman (nephew of Sgt Charles R. Batdorf) for his help - - -
serial number
plane type or name
squadron
code
reason
mission lost on
pilot / crew
42-38211
B-17G-30-DL
"Sleepy Time Gal"
452 BG
731 BS
Heinz Knoke Bf 109 &
fighters
Berlin.
Crash Location
Nienburg
25 km North/West of Wunstorf 415 / I112nd Lt. Theodore J. MacDonald P POW,
2nd Lt. John T. Godsey CP KIA,
2nd Lt. Jacob Moskowitz N POW,
2nd Lt. Anton L. Harris B KIA,
T/Sgt Mearl I. Cline TTG POW,
T/Sgt Wilburn C. Rowden R POW,
Sgt Charles R. Batdorf RWG POW,
Sgt Wendell E. Dowell LWG POW,
Sgt William J. Valigura, Jr. BTG POW,
Sgt Robert L. Allen TG POW,
MACR 3193
