April 17, 1943, 6th victory

Boeing B-17

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Searches concerning this victory :

progress of the search

4

Last update

March 25, 2003

Evaluation quality of information

2

The mission of the USAAF

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COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES

SATURDAY, 17 APRIL 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command

Mission 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.

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4 B-17 over 16 declared lost on April 17, 1943 (short list containing probably Knoke's B-17) :

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

serial number	plane type / name	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot
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
42-29625	Boeing B-17F-BO	306 BG 369 BS	WW-B	flak ?	Bremen Crash location Bremen ? or near Bremen ?	Harwood, 3KIA, 7POW, MACR 15517
42-29643	Boeing B-17F-BO	306 BG 367 BS	?	flak ?	Bremen Crash location Bremen ? or near Bremen ?	Miller, 10POW, MACR 15523

The planes which are a part of this short list are those that answer the following criteria :
near (or susceptible to be) of Bassum,
crew having survivors (Knoke saw 4 parachutes)

What I look for concerning these planes :

42-5171	The exact crash location of the plane
	German documents concerning Knoke's victory or falling point
	The contents of the MACR 15524
	Testimonies of the crew
42-5172	German documents concerning Knoke's victory or falling point
	The contents of the MACR 15521
	Testimonies of the crew
42-29625	Is the exact crash location of the plane to Bremen or around of Bremen (in the South for example, towards Bassum) ?
	The contents of the MACR 15517
	The confirmation that the plane was well shot down by Flak
	Testimonies of the crew
42-29643	Is the exact crash location of the plane to Bremen or around of Bremen (in the South for example, towards Bassum) ?
	The contents of the MACR 15523
	The confirmation that the plane was well shot down by Flak
	Testimonies of the crew

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

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Photo of the Lead crew of the 360th BS during the mission #31 on April 17, 1943, on Bremen.

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Yardbird #42-5260 (360BS) PU-A
102nd PBCW #2 (360BS) - Pilot Maj L.E. Lyle / CoPilot Capt J.W. Farrar

(Back L-R) S/Sgt J.R. Sunderlin (BT), Capt A.W. Dieffenbach (B),
Capt J.W. Farrar (CP), Maj L.E. Lyle (P),
Lt R.N. Auman (N), Lt S.H. Anderson (N)

(Front L-R) S/Sgt L.T. O'Connell (TG), T/Sgt E.K. Lindewall (R),
T/Sgt K.G. Hassler (E), S/Sgt M.A. Semonick (WG), Sgt G.A. Murray (WG)

[photo from the 303rdBGA Archives]

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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 members 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.

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