Walter James Nachtwey
Militaryancestry.com
2nd Lt Walter J Nachtwey Co Pilot Survived his final mission to the synthetic rubber plant located at Hulls Germany on June 22, 1943. Enemy aircraft attacked the formation at approximately 09:15AM just prior to their reaching the IP of their bomb run. His B17F 42-29946 was damaged by 20 mm cannon fire causing the aircraft to spin, tumble and crash. Nachtwey stated that the violent spinning action of the ship forced him onto a “catwalk and down by the emergency hatch located in the nose of the aircraft.” He was able to exit the aircraft, landing in a field immediately beneath their flight path. Captured he remained a Prisoner of War for the duration in Stalag Luft III.
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 22 June 1943
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Other Prisoner of War |
Stalag Luft III | 22 June 1943 - 20 July 1945 |
Revisions
Information provided by Mary Bond, Daughter, and confirmed by POW Record Card
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1294 / MACR 1294; The 379th Bombardier Group Anthology, pg 265 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database