April 17, 1943, 6th victory
Archives and notes on my searches concerning this date & victory

Boeing B-17

---

Searches concerning this victory :

---

The mission of the USAAF

---

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES

SATURDAY, 17 APRIL 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 52: 115 B-17's are dispatched against the Focke-Wulf factory at Bremen, Germany the Eighth Air Force's largest mission to date. A mass of fighters attacks during bomb run, shooting down 15 while flak claims another. We claim 63-15-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 39 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 4 WIA and 159 MIA.

---

17 B-17 declared lost on April 17, 1943 :

---

Source : book "The B-17 Flying Fortress Story"

serial number	plane type / name	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot
41-24459	Boeing B-17F-10-BO "Hellsapoppin"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-B	?	Bremen Crash Location : Wundstorf (60km >Bassum)	Wilson, 5KIA, 5POW, MACR 15520
41-24467	Boeing B-17F-10-BO "The Grim Reaper"	306 BG 368 BS	?	?	Bremen Crash Location : Aurich (105km >Bassum)	Lally, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 15525
41-24488	Boeing B-17F-10-BO "Banshee II"	306 BG 367 BS	GY-F	fighter	Bremen Crash Location : Greetsiel (132km >Bassum)	Casey, 5KIA, 5POW, MACR 15445
42-3034	Boeing B-17F-15-DL	306 BG 368 BS	?	fighter	Bremen Crash Location : La Manche	Smiley, 10KIA, MACR 15518
42-5070	Boeing B-17F-30-BO "Invasion 2nd"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-A	flak	Bremen Crash Location : Nikolausdorf (45km >Bassum)	O'Neill, 10KIA, MACR 15519
42-5133	Boeing B-17F-BO	97 BG 342 BS	?	?	Palermo (Ita)	Schirmer, 10KIA, MACR 16527
42-5171	Boeing B-17F-BO	306 BG 368 BS	?	fighter	Bremen Crash location ?	Gillogly, 10POW, MACR 15524
42-5172	Boeing B-17F-40-BO "Thunderbird"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-Z	flak	Bremen Crash location Bruchhausen Bruchhausen-Vilsen is 18kms far East from Bassum	Beasley, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 15521
42-5251	Boeing B-17F-BO "Bodacious Critter"	306 BG 368 BS	?	flak	Bremen Crash Location : North Sea	Jankowski, 3KIA, 7POW.
42-5337	Boeing B-17F-45-BO "Short Snorter III"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-J	fighter	Bremen Crash Location : North Sea	Lindsey, 8KIA, 2POW, MACR 16090
42-5391	Boeing B-17F-BO "Rain of Terror"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-D	fighter	Bremen Crash location Hilgenriedersiel	Walker, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 15222
42-5394	Boeing B-17F-50-BO	306 BG 367 BS	?	fighter	Bremen Crash Location : Benthullen (45km >Bassum)	Fortin, 4KIA, 6POW, MACR 15516
42-29574	Boeing B-17F-60-BO "The Sky Wolf II"	91 BG 401 BS	LL-G	?	Bremen Crash Location : Fiebing (90km >Bassum)	Stoffel, 5KIA, 5POW, (92 BG) MACR 6574
42-29625	Boeing B-17F-BO	306 BG 369 BS	WW-B	flak ?	Bremen Crash location Bremen ? or near Bremen ?	Harwood, 3KIA, 7POW, MACR 15517
42-29631	Boeing B-17F-60-BO "Unmentionable"	306 BG 423 BS	?	fighter	Bremen Crash Location : Wiesen (100km >Bassum)	George, 2KIA, 8POW, MACR 15444
42-29643	Boeing B-17F-BO	306 BG 367 BS	?	flak ?	Bremen Crash location Bremen ? or near Bremen ?	Miller, 10POW, MACR 15523
42-29658	Boeing B-17F-65-BO	306 BG 367 BS	?	flak	Bremen Crash Location : Stotel (70km >Bassum)	Watson, 5KIA, 5POW, MACR 15446

The report of mission gives lost 16 B-17. In the table above there is 17 but one of them was not a part of 8th Air Force and was lost above Italy. This table is complete.

- - - Thanks to Jean Secardin for his help - - -

---

Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information : Crash Location : South West of BREMEN in a field near BASSUM

	Heinz Knoke Informations	Personal comments
Source	I flew for the f... page 97
Date	April 17, 1943
Type of claimed plane	B-17 Flying Fortress
Place of the interception	Over Bremen
Crash Location	South-West of Bremen near Bassum	SQUARE ES-5/7 No crash location in the sea.
Presumed Mission USAAF	Bomb Bremen
Schedule		No datas
Weather report
Knoke's Unit	5./JG11	All Bf 109G are slung with a 500-lb. high-explosive bomb equiped with a fifteen-second time fuse.
Description of the fight	"...We take off with our bombs, which we have a chance to drop when the Flight is in close formation over the heart of Bremen. Not a single bomb registers. We immediatly go in to attack with our guns. I make three runs at a Fortress, and it finally catches fire. South-west of Bremen, in a field near Bassum, it crashes. Four memebers of the crew parachute to safety."	Crash location is very accurate.
Detail 1	One salvo bombs with fuse was drop.	The explosion of these bombs, seen from B-17s can be likened to the flak. It's necessary so to be careful with B-17 lost for flak reason and which could have been claimed by the German flak. The American report of mission gives moreover only a single device lost because flak for 15 shot down by the fighters.
Detail 2	Knoke mention 4 parachutes.	There is probably 4 men alive. Crew with no survivor are not from KNOKE's B-17.
Detail 3	Knoke say that his Flight is credited with three more victories.

---