26 February 1945
Strike Photo - Berlin, Germany 26 February 1945 The top of the photo is almost directly due east. To the right are the Rummelsberger See (top) and the River Spree (bottom). The target was the railroad sheds and facilities located just past the head of the Rummeslberger See.
43-38823 JD-H, 545th Bomb Squadron, 384th Bomb Group. On the 26 February 1945 mission to Berlin, the crew was reported missing on MACR 12760. Their aircraft had a run-away prop and lost oxygen at 32,000 ft, possibly due to flak. They made a wheels-up forced landing in Rawa Ruska, Poland. The crew were met by Russians (allies at that time) and taken to Lvov, Poland for two weeks until "rescued" by a U.S. Salvage crew in a stripped-down B-17, who flew them to Poltve [Poltava?], Russia. ATC returned them to Grafton Underwood via Tehran, Iran, Athens, Greece, Cairo, Eqypt, Tunisia, Naples, Italy and Brighton, England.
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Narrative - Official Air Force Mission Description
Mission : 1,207 bombers and 726 fighters are dispatched to make H2X radar attacks on three Berlin rail stations; they claim 6-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-17s and 3 P-51s are lost:
1. 377 B-17s are sent to hit the Schlesischer rail station (363); 1 hits Osnabruck, a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 21 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 18 MIA. 214 of 244 P-51s escort claiming 4-0-0 aircraft in the air.
2. 446 B-17s set out to hit the Alexanderplatz rail station (418); 4 others hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-17s is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 9 MIA. Escorting are 232 of 240 P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (2 pilots MIA).
3. 361 B-24s are dispatched to hit the North rail station (285); 37 hit Eberswalde, the secondary target; 4 hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 26 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 3 MIA. The escort is 20 P-47s and 190 P-51s.
4. 17 B-17s and 6 B-24s fly screening missions.
5. 31 of 32 P-51 fly a scouting mission.
Source: The Eighth Air Force Historical Society - http://www.8thafhs.org/new/incl_missions.php
Source: THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by Carter / Mueller, the Office of Air Force History
BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
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RAIL STATION
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Group
The 447th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses on strategic bombardment missions out of Rattlesden, Suffolk. With their first mission coming on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1943, their main focus was hitting sites that would weaken enemy forces...
Squadron
RAIL STATION
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RAIL STATION
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RAILROADS
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MARSHALLING YARDS
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Military | Sergeant | Nose Gunner; Togglier | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned 358BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Mechanical problems en route Berlin, left them for the return journey 26-Feb-45 force landed at Zolotonosha, Russia, after a short stay at Poltava they were flown out by Air Transport Cmd. RTD
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot, Co-pilot | 384th Bomb Group
Assigned to the 384th Bomb Group, 544th Bomb Squadron on AAF Station 106 Special Orders #208 dated 20 October 1944, Joseph Zink Crew. Immediately placed on Special duty with the 545th Bomb Squadron, 35 combat missions.
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Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 303rd Bomb Group
Assigned 358BS, 303BG, 8AF USAAF. 23 x combat missions. Mechanical problems en route Berlin, left them for the return journey 26-Feb-45 force landed at Zolotonosha, Russia, after a short stay at Poltava they were flown out by Air Transport Cmd. RTD
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Military | First Lieutenant | Bombardier | 466th Bomb Group
Military | Flight Officer | Bombardier | 447th Bomb Group
June 1, 1922: Edward Aloysius Blattner (Nickname: "Buddy") was born in Chicago Illinois
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Military | Captain | pilot | 96th Bomb Group
Assigned Jan 1945
Military | Captain | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 447th Bomb Group
Damaged 34th BG aircraft (#43-38971) mid-air collision with Ol' Scrapiron (#42-31582). Ol' Scrapiron broke apart at the waist on 23 Mar 1945. Seven crewmen of Ol' Scrapiron killed in Action (KIA) including Bruckman. Two survived (Schlag and Shibble).
Military | First Lieutenant | Navigator | 447th Bomb Group
John McKale Burk was born 30 November 1924 in Ventnor, Atlantic County, NJ to Frederick Grater Burk (20 April 1891 Philadelphia, PA -19 June 1948 Philadelphia, PA) and Mary Cunningham McKale Burk (21 February 1895 Philadelphia, PA - 20 October 1990...
Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 93rd Bomb Group
B24 41-29456 damaged by flak on 26 Feb 1945 mission against Berlin. Pilot John Cadle flew a/c east and crew bailed out five miles inside of Soviet lines near Mansfelde, Germany. Crew returned to England in March 1945.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 28/2/44; Kearney 16/3/44; Dow Fd 5/4/44; Assigned 711BS/447BG Rattlesden 11/4/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 9/7/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 21/10/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA)...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Lincoln 26/9/44; Grenier 7/10/44; Assigned 545th Bomb Squadron/384th Bomb Group [JD-H] Station 106, Grafton Underwood on 23 October 1944; Missing in Action on a mission to Berlin, 26 February 1945 with Jack Barnett, Robert McCord Jones, John...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Kearney 10/8/44.
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B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Hunter 3/1/45; Grenier 15/1/45; Assigned 863BS/493BG Debach 22/1/45; Returned to the USA Bradley 3/7/45; Sth Plains 4/7/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman 19/12/45.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Kearney 10/8/44; Grenier 27/8/44; Assigned 358BS/303BG [VK-C] Molesworth 25/8/44; Mechanical problems en route Berlin with 2Lt Morton Perkins left them short of fuel for the return journey 26-Feb-45 landed at Zolotonosha, Russia [10 x RTD];...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 12/10/44; Hunter 5/11/44; Grenier 3/12/44; Assigned 562BS/388BG Knettishall 16/12/44; RetUS, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Walnut Ridge 8/1/46. JUST JOYCE.
B-24 Liberator
B24 41-29456 damaged by flak on 26 Feb 1945 mission against Berlin. Pilot John Cadle flew a/c east and crew bailed out five miles inside of Soviet lines near Mansfelde, Germany. Crew returned to England in March 1945.
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 06 September 2018 01:19:29 | jhuck | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; p. 281 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 06 September 2018 01:18:09 | jhuck | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; p. 281 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 September 2018 00:44:55 | jhuck | Changes to description, person associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner Source: The Eighth Air Force Historical Society - http://www.8thafhs.org/new/incl_missions.php Source: THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by Carter / Mueller, the Office of Air Force History |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 05 September 2018 00:42:02 | jhuck | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner Source: 447 Bomb Group Website - http://www.447bg.com |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:09 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
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