Shot down by enemy flak on 20-Mar-44.

Co-pilot, Stuart Barr, said the following about the fateful day the Comanche was shot down: ; - 

 "On 20 March 1944, the crew of The Comanche was on standby in the event one of the aircraft scheduled to fly that day had to abort their mission – it happened. With 12 five-hundred pound bombs aboard, the war-weary Comanche took to the skies and caught up with the formation and filled the empty slot. Flying at 23,000 feet, the ground was clearly visible and the weather unusually clear. The mission was suddenly aborted, so on that day Frankfurt, Germany, was spared eighty-four tons of high explosives. The return to England was interrupted by anti-aircraft fire over northern France. The Comanche was severely hit by 155mm flak at the root of the right wing causing severe fuel loss and oscillation of the controls, crippling her to stay aloft. To gain control, the bombs and other ordinance were released. Capt Wahnee ordered his crew to bail out while he and I remained with The Comanche. Covered with 135-grade fuel, Capt Wahnee remained in the cockpit and ordered me to bail out. Just prior to jumping, I looked and saw Capt Wahnee unbuckle his seat belt. Unable to gain control of The Comanche, he finally decided to abandon his aircraft and bailed out over France. He was carried over the English Channel until a wind caught his parachute and blew him back toward Belgium. Capt Wahnee, already wounded by flak while aboard The Comanche, injured his feet and legs upon landing. He was immediately surrounded and captured by the German SS who, despite his injuries, beat him severely."