Delivered Tulsa 12/11/42; West Palm Beach 12/12/42; Assigned 401BS/91BG [LL-J] Bassingbourn 8/1/43; Missing in Action 10m Bremen 17/4/43 with Nathan Lindsey, Co-pilot: George Slivkoff, Flight engineer/top turret gunner: Seb Scavello, Radio Operator: Larry Brandenburg, Ball turret gunner: Joe Rekas, Waist gunner: Vic Hamrick, Waist gunner: Alvin Schipping,Tail gunner: Anthony Roy (8 Killed in Action); Navigator: Rocco Maiorca, Bombardier: Albert Dobsa (2 Prisoner of War); enemy aircraft, ditched North Sea, 11 miles NW of Isle of Norderney, Ger. /15807. SHORT SNORTER III.



17 April 1943, Target: Bremen, Aircraft Plant

No. 337 made it through the fighter attack and flak over the target without being hit. On the way out to the coast, however, she was hit by fighters that inflicted heavy damage. Still, No. 337 remained in formation. At about 1326 hours, as the aircraft passed 3 miles east of Emden, No. 337 took direct flak hits that knocked out the No. 3 engine and set the No. 4 engine afire. Lt. Lindsey, feathered No. 3 engine. Almost immediately afterward another anti-aircraft shell burst into the cockpit killing both Lt Lindsey and the copilot, 2Lt George Slivkoff. Other flak hits smashed into the aircraft. No. 337 began slowly circling downward in the direction of Norden and the North Sea.



The bombardier, 2Lt Albert Dobsa, was hit in the stomach by one of the flak bursts. The navigator, 2Lt Rocco J. Maiorca, was uninjured. Lt Dobsa sensing the plane was out of control went up into the cockpit to see what was wrong. There he saw both pilots dead in their seats. He looked back into the fuselage and saw crewmen lying on the floor, also apparently dead. Lt Dobsa knew it was time to bail out and went back down into the nose. Lt Maiorca was standing above the nose hatch, hesitating to jump. Lt Dobsa simply pushed him out the hatch and dropped through after him. Lt Dobsa came down in the shallow water on the Frisian Islands beach where he was captured immediately by German troops. Lt Maiorca drifted about a mile out to sea off the Frisian Islands from where he swam ashore. He was in the water three hours and was captured by German troops upon reaching the shore. No. 337 went on out to sea where she crashed, taking the rest of the crew with her.

(The First of Many: First crews of the 8th Air Force by Lowell L. Getz)