February 24, 1944, 21th victory

Boeing B-17

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The mission of the USAAF

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COMBAT CHRONOLOGY

THURSDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS :
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force) :

Missions 233, 234, 235, 236 :

"Big Week" continues, Doolitle despastched 867 bombers to a wide rage of targets in Germany and Polish Baltic coasts ; 11 bombers and 10 fighters are lost.

The 1st division attacked Schweinfurt, losing 11 B-17s, while the 3rd Division struck at targets on the Baltic coast without any loss.

These missions are escorted by 20th, 55th Fighter Groups P-38s, 4th, 56th, 78th, 352nd, 353rd, 355th, 356th, 359th, 361st Fighter Groups P-47s, and 357th Fighter Group P-51s;
the P-38s claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircrafts, 4 P-38s are lost, casualties are 3 KIA, 1 MIA ;
the P-51s claim 6-1-0 Luftwaffe aircrafts, 2P-51s are lost, 2 pilots are MIA ;
the P-47s claim 28-3-13 Luftwaffe aircraft, 4 P-47s are lost, 4 pilots are KIA.

Missions 237, 238 and 239 are flown today against targets in France; 7 B-17s are lost. Heavy clouds cause over half the bombers dispatched to return without bombing.

Mission 237 :
49 of 81 B-24s hit the Ecalles sur Buchy V-weapon sites; 1 B-24 is damaged. Escort is provided by 61 P-47s.

Mission 238 :
258 B-17s are dispatched against V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais; 109 hit the primary target, 10 hit a road junction E of Yerville, 7 hit a rail siding SW of Abbeville and 6 hit targets of opportunity;
7 B-17s are lost and 75 damaged; casualties are 5 WIA and 63 MIA.
Escort is provided by 81 P-38s, 94 P-47s and 22 P-51s;
1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair;
the P-51s claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.

Mission 239 :
5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Amiens, Rennes, Paris, Rouen and Le Mans, France at 2023-2055 hours without loss.

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B-17 (Eighth Air Force) declared lost on February 24, 1944 (current result of my works) :

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

				Reference Point for crash location : Hamelin		Refer to Heinz Knoke Informations
serial number	plane type / name	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot /crew
42-3136	Boeing B-17F-DL "No Balls at All"	351 BG 511 BS	DS/P	flak	Schweinfurt Crash Location in a polder Haarlemmer meer (Western Holland)	Lt. Walter B. LeClerc P Lt. James W. Ellis Lt. George T. Kilduff Lt. Arthur W. Starratt S/Sgt. Ralph A. Grooms S/Sgt. Bruce M. Stone Sgt. Archie L. Stinebaugh Sgt. John L. Taylor Sgt. Howard W. Kramer Sgt. Harold H. Hay . 10POW MACR 2772
42-3517	Boeing B-17F-75-DL "Happy Warrior"	351 BG 508 BS	YB/O	Fw. Wilhelm Mayer from 7./JG26 claimed a B-17 on 15.50 at 12 kms South of Amiens. Mayer bailed out as his Fw190 was shot down by the bomber's gunners !	Schweinfurt Crash Location Ailly (Fr) Probably Ailly-sur-Somme.	Lt. Richard B. Caughman P EVD Lt. John V. Boehm POW Lt. John B. Avery EVD Lt. Richard E. S. Perkins POW S/Sgt. Eugene C. Strassburger KIA T/Sgt. John C. Mattilia EVD S/Sgt. Howard M. Lander POW S/Sgt. Eugen A. Colbert EVD S/Sgt. Paul B. Young EVD Sgt. James McGinty EVD MACR 2773
42-30661	Boeing B-17F-115-BO "Veni Vedi Vici"	388 BG 562 BS		Mechanical problem	Posen Crash Location Rinkaby (Sweden)	Montgomery, 10INT MACR 3080
42-30662	Boeing B-17F-115-BO "Clarissa Jean"	385 BG 550 BS	K	fighter	Rostock Crash Location Demmin	Terrace, 1KIA, 9POW MACR 2778
42-31139	Boeing B-17G-5-BO	306 BG 423 BS	RD/L	fighter	Brunswick Crash Location Talge	Garrett 2KIA, 8POW MACR 2771
42-31180	Boeing B-17G-5-BO	92 BG 407 BS		fighter	Schweinfurt Crash Location Zwolle (Hol)	Clayton 8KIA, 2POW MACR 2854
42-31239	Boeing B-17G-10-BO	303 BG 358 BS	VK/N	Me 110	Schweinfurt Crash Location Hungen	Lt. Marshall L. Smith 8KIA, 2POW MACR 2763
42-31308	Boeing B-17G-10-BO	305 BG 364 BS		flak	Schweinfurt Crash Location Geißelhardt	Patterson 6KIA, 4POW MACR 2766
42-31349	Boeing B-17G-15-BO "Stars and Stripes "2nd Edition"	385 BG 550 BS		?	Rostock Crash Location ?	Capt Mclveen 2KIA, 8POW MACR 2777
42-31561	Boeing B-17G-20-BO	95 BG 335 BS	OE/Z	flak	Rostock Crash Location Løgumkloster (Den)	Lt Elmer J. Costales P POW 2Lt Steve A. Kish CP POW 2Lt Cliford D. Sahner Jr N KIA 2Lt Lars E. Skoug B POW T/Sgt Lester W. Seeling R POW T/Sgt George F. Peckacek TT KIA S/Sgt Edwin W. Hays TG POW S/Sgt Leaman E. McCulloch LG POW Sgt Norman M. Camie RW POW S/Sgt Robert J. Joyce BT MACR 2644
42-31562	Boeing B-17G-20-BO	303 BG 358 BS	VK/A	flak	Schweinfurt Crash Location Boppard	1Lt John F. Henderson P 2Lt Calvin S. Brothers CP 1Lt Warren S. Wiggins N 1Lt Woodrow W. Monkres B T/Sgt Robert E. King R T/Sgt William H. Simpkins, Jr. E S/Sgt Mike C. Milliff TG S/Sgt Stanley J. Moody WG Sgt Norman L. Shuhart WG S/Sgt Richard C. Miller BT 10POW MACR 2762
42-32034	Boeing B-17G-35-BO	92 BG 407 BS		fighter	Schweinfurt Crash Location ? Sweden	Rapp 3KIA, 7INT MACR 2759
42-38060	Boeing B-17G-25-DL	457 BG 750 BS		Hit by flak over the target	Schweinfurt Crash Location Ostsrand ?	Lt. Max R. Morrow P POW, Lt. Thomas G. Davis CP POW, Lt. Daren A. McIntyre N KIA, Lt. Robert G. Horn B POW, Sgt. George B. Lee E POW, Sgt. David E. Wallace R POW, Sgt Everett M Tyler LWG POW, Sgt Bernardo E Harris RWG POW Sgt. Italo Stella BTG KIA, Sgt. Merton R. Cattanach TG POW, MACR 2917
42-38074	Boeing B-17G-25-DL	306 BG 367 BS	GY/K	fighter	Schweinfurt Crash Location Herdake ?	page 6KIA 4POW MACR 2770
42-39917	Boeing B-17G-5-VE "Lady satan"	452 BG 728 BS		fighter	Rostock Crash Location Schwerin	Holland 1KIA, 9POW MACR 2894
42-40047	Boeing B-17G-10-VE	92 BG 407 BS		fighter	Schweinfurt Crash Location Zwolle (Hol)	Scarborough 1KIA 9POW MACR 2753

92BG lost 3 planes : 3 B-17s in table above.
351BG lost 2 : 2 B-17s in table above.
457BG lost 1 : 1 B-17 in table above.

This table is still incomplete : there should be at least 17 planes .
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 an error (like for date 24 in place of 22) is possible...

  - - - Very Special Thanks to Yvonne Moofy for help - - -

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Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information :

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	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	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 blazing 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, there'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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