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Exemple : B-17 from 457BG Serial #42-38056Ex

Boeing B-17

 


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The mission of the USAAF


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.


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

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

 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 

42-3136

Boeing B-17F-DL
"No Balls at All"

351 BG 511 BS

DS/P

flak

Schweinfurt
Crash location Zwolle
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 h
is Fw190 was shot down by the bomber's gunners !

Schweinfurt
Crash location Ailly (France)
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)
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
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
Crash Location Talge

Garrett
2KIA, 8POW
MACR 2771

42-31180

Boeing B-17G-5-BO

92 BG 407 BS

fighter

Schweinfurt
Crash location Zwolle
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 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
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 Klooster-Lidlum (Hol)
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
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)
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 Ostrand ?
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
Crash Location Schwerin


Holland
1KIA, 9POW
MACR 2894

42-40047

Boeing B-17G-10-VE

92 BG
407 BS

fighter

Schweinfurt
Crash location Zwolle
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 - - - *


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 blazing torch.

...fuselage is blazing torch...
Ex
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.
...from above the tail ...
Ex














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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