Lester Francis Schrenk
Military
Taken at Sheppard Field, Witchita Falls, Texas in 1943.
Caption information from Lester Schrenk.
Object Number - UPL 5635 - Lester F Schrenk. Taken at Sheppard Field, Witchita Falls, Texas in 1943.
Lester F. Schrenk, ("Les") Sgt., U.S. Eighth Air Force, 92nd Bomb Group, 327th Squadron, B-17 Pot O' Gold, POW for 15 months.
Danish Bibliography and Filmography about Les Schrenk (with translator button)
Les has a Chapter in Don Ward's book Minnesota's Greatest Generation of Silver Wings and is in Thomas Saylor's book Long Hard Road: American POWs During World War II.
Les also wrote articles about the Ball Turret position. and his Life Story and his POW experiences. See downloadable attachments (.pdf) at his 8th AFHS-MN webpage at
https://sites.google.com/site/8thafhsmn/pictures/lester-schrenk
See also:
BBC WW II People's War
Shot down by fighters and crashed near Thisted, Denmark on a mission to Aalborg, Denmark on 22 Feb 1944 in B-17 42-31377, nicknamed "Pot O' Gold". Prisoner of War (POW).
The website http://www.airmen.dk contains a lot of detailed information on aircraft
and crew that came down in Denmark during the Second World War.
See this plane http://www.airmen.dk/p271.htm and this airman http://www.airmen.dk/o888186.htm
On 23 April 2012, Les met the German pilot, Hans Hermann Muller, who shot down his aircraft in 1944.
Here are links to some of the pages that tell Les Schrenk's story:
The story of the crash in Lester's own words: http://www.airmen.dk/o888186fi.htm
'How I met the German Pilot': http://www.airmen.dk/o888186-hhm4.htm
The story of the meeting of Lester Schrenk and Hans Hermann Muller in 2012: http://www.airmen.dk/o888186-hhm2.htm
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 327th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Pot O Gold
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 327th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 22 February 1944
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Dulag Luft Grosstychow Dulag 12
![A bomber crew of the 92nd Bomb Group return to Podington following a mission flying B-17 Flying Fortresses to Wittenberg. A B-17 Flying Fortress (NV-K, serial number 42-29994) is visible in the background. Image stamped on reverse: 'Passed for Publication 23 Feb 1945' [stamp]. ' News Chronicle Copyright Picture' [stamp]. Printed caption on reverse: 'Crew back from Wittenberg.'](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-379172.jpg.webp?itok=G7D0FciD)
- Site type: Airfield
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft 4, Gross Tychow, Pomerania
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Long Prairie, Minnesota | 16 November 1923 | BornLong Prairie, Minnesota |
|
Enlisted |
Fort Snelling, Minnesota | 19 November 1942 | EnlistedFort Snelling, Minnesota |
|
Prisoner of war Prisoner of War (POW) |
Stalag Luft IV, Tychowo, Poland | 22 February 1944 - 3 May 1945 | Prisoner of War (POW)Stalag Luft IV, Tychowo, Poland |
Revisions
Amended the POW timeline to state correct dates - source is MACR2750 and Mr Schrenk's recollections.
http://www.airmen.dk/o888186.htm and other connected pages on the website.
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 2750 / MACR 2750, Losses of the 8th & 9th Air Forces / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database
