< The victories February 24, 1944, 21th victory o
Alternative Searches concerning this date & victory

Exemple : B-24Ex

? Consolidated B-24 Liberator ?

 

As none of B17's crash location (for the moment) correspond to Heinz Knoke's claim,
I must search in the list of B-24 losses because another error (like for date 24 in place of 22) is possible...
B-24 (8th Air Force) declared lost on February 24, 1944 (current result of my works) :

Source : MACR

 Reference Point for crash
location :
Hamelin

Crash location : Hameln
Refer to Heinz
Knoke Informations

serial number

 plane type / name

squadron

 code

 reason

mission lost on

pilot /crew 

42-40807

B-24D-100-CO
"U - Bar"

389 BG
567 BS

U -

Fighters

Gotha

Crash Location
Massbach

1Lt. John E. Gold P KIA
2Lt. John F Poma CP KIA
2Lt. Clark S. Smith N POW
2Lt. Stanley Corrington B POW
S/Sgt Milton L. Graalum E KIA
T/Sgt Benjamin Cioacchino R POW
S/Sgt Joseph L. Brockway BT POW
S/Sgt Francis H. Smith WG KIA
T/Sgt Rosslyn E. Dicks WG KIA
S/Sgt Kenneth J. Buchholtz TG KIA
 MACR 2940

41-24225

B-24D-25-CO


44 BG
68 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2922

42-40619

B-24D-80-CO

389 BG
567 BS

N -

Fighters

Gotha

Crash Location
near Gotha

Carlton
3 KIA, 7 POW
MACR 2938

42-40733

B-24D-90-CO

389 BG
 564 BS or 567BS

V -

Crash Location

McMullin
MACR 2939

42-52364

B-24H-15-FO

445 BG
701 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2558

41-29117

B-24H-1-CF

445 BG
? BS

Crash Location

MACR 2555

41-29130

B-24H-1-CF

445 BG
701 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2556

41-29148

B-24H-1-CF

44 BG
66 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2923

41-29149

B-24H-1-CF

445 BG
700 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2557

42-64440

B-24H-1-CF

445 BG
701 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2559

42-7496

B-24H-1-FO

392 BG
577 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2946

42-7511

B-24H-1-FO

392 BG
576 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2947

42-7515

B-24H-1-FO

445 BG
701 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2550

42-7517

B-24H-1-FO

445 BG
702 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2551

42-7527

B-24H-1-FO

392 BG
576 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2948

42-7566

B-24H-1-FO

445 BG
702 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2552

42-7567

B-24H-1-FO

445 BG
700 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2553

42-7579

B-24H-1-FO

445 BG
702 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2554

42-7606

B-24H-1-FO

488 BG
714 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2955

42-7658

B-24H-1-FO

392 BG
577 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2949

41-29192

B-24H-5-CF

392 BG
577 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2945

42-109828

B-24J-105-CO

389 BG
566 BS

M +

Crash Location

Nowak
5 KIA, 6 POW
MACR 2927

42-73504

B-24J-50-CO

389 BG
567 BS

Y -

Crash Location

Belanger
8 KIA, 3 POW
MACR 2941

42-99978

B-24J-55-CO

446 BG
706 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2953

42-100102

B-24J-70-CO

392 BG
576 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2950

42-100236

B-24J-85-CO

93 BG
409 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2906

42-100280

B-24J-85-CO
"Lil Audrey"

389 BG
565 BS

X

Crash Location

Brown
1 EVD, 9 POW
MACR 2942

42-100282

B-24J-85-CO

446 BG
704 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2954

42-100312

B-24J-90-CO

445 BG
703 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2960

42-100335

B-24J-90-CO

445 BG
703 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2961

42-100338

B-24J-95-CO

389 BG
567 BS

W -

Crash Location

White
8 KIA, 2 POW
MACR 2943

42-100344

B-24J-95-CO

392 BG
577 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2951

42-100374

B-24J-95-CO

445 BG
700 BS

Crash Location

MACR 2962


Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information :
 

Heinz Knoke Informations

Personal comments

 Source

 I flew for the f... page 141
  

 Date

 Februar 22 , 1944
In fact Februar 24, 1944

Type of claimed plane

 B-17 Flying Fortress
As none of B17's crash location (for the moment) correspond to Heinz Knoke's claim, maybe it was a B-24 ?

 Place of the interception

"By a strange chance, I got into action directly over the familiar hills and mountains just west of Hamelin [my old home-town]."

 Crash Location

"Hamelin is directly below.
The blazing Fortress dives ever more steeply, ans soon ii is in a vertical spin. It crashes in a pasture beside the river at the south end of my old home-town.
...The pasture directly across the river was the one from which as a boy I had taken off for my firstflight during that air display so long ago."

south end of Hamelin

Presumed Mission USAAF

Presumed route USAAF  

Central Germany, Hamelin.

 Schedule

Take-off from Wunstorf : 12.54
"With my last drop of fuel Iland again, after ninety minutes, at Wunstorf .
Landing : 14.24

 Weather report

Knoke's Unit

 
II./JG11 5./JG11
 5 Bf 109G of II./JG11

 Description of the fight

 "In a frontal attack on the heavy bomber I place my first salvo directly in the control cabin. I come in again, this time diving upon my victim from above the tail until a collision is imminent. The Fortress tries weaving out of my line of fire and swerves sharply round to the left. Yet my shells continue to plaster the left wing and left side of the fuselage.
...Flames come belching out of the tail. I pull in close beneath the monster fuselage and continue basting away with all I have in the magazines.
...Then the crew of my Fortress bale out. The fuselage is balzing torch. It makes a wide sweep round to the left and begins to go down, its passage marked by a long trail of black smoke."
Pilotes probably killed or wounded.









If crew could bale out, ther's probably survivors.

 Detail 1

"Accompagnied by Corporal Kreuger, who was posted to the flight only two days ago, I attack a Fortress in a formation of about thirty heavy bombers."  

Detail 2

"Hamelin is directly below.
The blazing Fortress dives ever more steeply, ans soon ii is in a vertical spin. It crashes in a pasture beside the river at the south end of my old home-town.
...The pasture directly across the river was the one from which as a boy I had taken off for my firstflight during that air display so long ago."

A sure victory. Crash location is a precise one.

Detail 3
"At the moment a second aircraft comes hurtling down out of the sky. It crashes in a lumber-yard at the south end of Hamelin, on the premises of the Kaminski wagons-manufacturing and repair workshops. It was my wingman, the young Corporal [Kreuger]. This was his first mission."
A very precise crash location.
But identity of the young pilot is not the good one. Named Kreuger by Knoke, it does' nt exist a declared loss for 5./JG11 on february 22, 1944. By the way in the book "JG1 et JG11" from Prien & Rodeike a loss for 5.JG11 is registered february 24 ,1944 with a crash location "Ortsrand von Emmern, Süddlich Hameln".
Pilote was killed : Gefreiter (Corporal) Oswald Kubisch.

 Detail 4

"More than 1000 ennemy aircraft are reported. Américans no longer fly in massed formations; but come over in groups of thirty or forty at a time."
800 aircrafts were engaged on february 24, 1944, numerous targets were affected to groups of bombers.
Detail 5
"...Then the crew of my Fortress bale out."
Knoke didn't mention parachutes but if the crew bale out it must have some survivors because the crash location is far inside german territory.

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