Albert E Batich

Military
media-19323.jpeg UPL 19323 * 42-5917 * "The Bouncing Bitch".
Albert Batich, navigator, is standing in the middle of the back row (not wearing a hat).
Eugene Lescarbeau, waist gunner, is kneeling on the far left.

This ship came to the 379th BG in June 1943 & was originally assigned to the 524th BS Fuselage Code WA-Y. After a few missions she was transferred to the to the 526th BS & given two codes LF-Y then LF-L. She had only nine missions.. Pilot: We were flying at 28,000 and were hit by AA fire. The order to bail out was given but only six of the crew were able to do so. I believe the rest of the crew were killed before or during the way down; all controls & communications were out. The ship crashed near Ratzburg, Germany.

Albert Batich was identified in this photo by his son-in-law, Louis LaRusso.

Object Number - UPL 19323 - * 42-5917 * "The Bouncing Bitch". Albert Batich, navigator, is standing in the middle of the back row (not wearing a hat). Eugene Lescarbeau,...

Albert Batich served as a navigator with the 524th Bomb Squadron of the 379th Bomb Group, flying missions out of Kimbolton, England. On 25 July 1943, he was flying in B-17 42-5917 when it crashed near Hamburg. Batich survived and was taken as a Prisoner of War. He was held in Stalag Luft III.

Connections

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Units served with

The insignia of the 379th Bomb Group.

379th Bomb Group

  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

Aircraft

42-5917

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Bouncin Bitch
  • Unit: 379th Bomb Group 524th Bomb Squadron 526th Bomb Squadron

Places

Stalag Luft III

  • Site type: Prisoner of war camp
  • Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Cleveland, Ohio 26 September 1921

Died

31 October 1984

Buried

Callahan, FL 32011, USA

Revisions

Date21 Jun 2017 11:17:09
ContributorLucy May
ChangesChanges to service number, biography, awards, events and place associations
Sources

Research shared by Albert Batich's son-in-law, Louis LaRusso. Sources:
Records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
NARA WWIII POW records (see also: http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=42962)

Date27 Sep 2014 18:03:04
ContributorAAM
ChangesAAM ingest
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 1767

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