William L Roche

Military

9 missions flown. Missing in Action (MIA) spent 3 months in Poland. Shot down over Berlin 26 February 1945 in A/C #42-32083 'Flatbush Floogie'. Returned. Retired USAF Colonel 1 December 1979.



TWO EMERGENCY LANDINGS



1) Had a crash landing on 6th February mission, target was Chemintz, near Liepzig. They got hit and they tried to make it to Brussels and the pilot decided they would try to make a landing in a field, got rid of all excess weight and as they ran out of fuel the pilot picked a field that was supposed to be level - it wasn't really - but he brought it down okay - engineer had to crank the flaps down manually, they skidded up the hill and mud was shooting up into the waist but plane was in good shape. This was 60 km south of Orleans, at a village called Assigny.



This was in liberated France and they got in touch with a Troop Carrier Group and they came and picked us up and dropped them at a base near London - the Troop Carrier guys went into London for the evening but they couldn't go into the city looking so rough - so they had to wait there until the next night for a lift back to Deopham Green - pretty sore about that. The C-46 they got a lift in was in such good nick, they couldn't believe how pristine the flak suits were!



2) Had to make an emergency landing after an engine was shot out over Berlin and they made it as far as Liszki, Poland 14km from Kracow. Kept for a few days at first in the Catholic Church at Liszki. They were invited to a party that first night where there was plenty to drink - but not much to eat. But they had been warned that their reception might be less than friendly and later orders came from Moscow that the airmen were to be locked up.



On 1 April they were surprised to be put under armed guard! It was Easter Sunday and they were visiting a Polish family for the celebrations but they didn't get to enjoy it - they were interrupted by Soviet soldiers. The men were locked up at Bielany near Krakow and kept there for about a week and then put them on a Douglas into the camp near Kiev. Had men with them who had been shot down by the Russians. There were 75/76 of them including British airmen and two Tuskegee airmen. Kept under armed guard for a couple of weeks.



A RETURN VISIT



Bill went back to Liszki with his son a couple of years ago. Was taken to the crash site and was told that an engine had been salvaged from the aircraft. At the time, they had thought that they might have got the plane back in the air and they had hoped to get back to their aircraft so they could pick up their parachutes for barter - as they weren't getting fed so much!



While he was there, Bill looked for Noushka Kalishinka as she had helped the downed airmen but he found out that she had been shipped out by the Soviets after the war - she'd been accused of collaborating with the Germans as she worked in an office that issued ration coupons to the Poles during the war. She had not collaborated but Bill thinks she was probably shipped out because of her association with the Americans. She had been the local piano teacher before the war. He was shown the fine piano that used to be hers.



William went back to England in 1998 and it was quite an event! A lot of officials were there, it was quite something.



Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), JS Commendation Medal, AF Commendation, Air Medal, ETO 3 Stars.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 452nd Bomb Group.
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Flatbush Floogie
  • Unit: 452nd Bomb Group 731st Bomb Squadron

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Lexington, Kentucky, USA 24 November 1924

Other

Made an emergency landing

Liszki, Poland 26 February 1945

Other

Returned to Allied control

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
ContributorLucyMM
Changes
Sources

Added 'Made an emergency landing' to Event field.

Date
ContributorLucy May
Changes
Sources

As told to me by Bill Roche.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 12772 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, MACR 12772