Erwin Darold Wissenback
MilitaryShot down 9 October 1942 in B-17 #41-24510 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner. Evaded to Spain. Aircraft attacked by fighters which killed pilot Olsen and copilot Gates. Assigned target Lille I/A, France. Plane crashed near Nechin, Belgium. His story was published in Time Magazine, September 6, 1943.
His twin brother Erwin was in the 367th BS and flew on John Olson crew. Darwin's most unusual experience: 'was when I saw my twin brother shot down on our first combat mission. Their plane was flying to the right side of ours. We were attacked by German fighter planes and their plane was the first plane hit. It seemed to me that the whole top part of the plane blew off in an explosion and then the airplane went into a spin falling towards the ground. I watched until it was out of sight and did not see any parachutes come out. That evening when back to England a gunner from a plane behind our squadron came to me and said he saw two parachutes from the plane my brother was in. Somehow I knew Erwin was one of them. One day, several months later while I was a Prisoner of War (POW) at Stalag 7A, a group of American airmen who had just been shot down were broght to the Prisoner of War (POW) camp where I was. Two of them saw me and said 'Erwin, how did you get here?' It was then I learned Erwin had returned to England alive. I learned he had managed to get into the French underground and with their help made his way to Gibraltar. There he hitched a ride to Engalnd on a B-17 bomber which was later shot down on a mission over Germany. These two men who thought I was Erwin were part of the bomber crew who gave Erwin the ride back to England.'
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 19004598
- Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
- Role/Job: Waist Gunner
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Snoozy II
- Unit: 306th Bomb Group 367th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 9 October 1942
- Official Description:
Places
- Site type: Airfield
- Known as: Bedford
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Hunters, Stevens County, Washington, USA | 21 June 1920 | |
Other Evaded Capture |
9 October 1942 - 20 February 1943 | Evaded capture and returned to England on 20-Feb-43. His evasion is recorded on Escape & Evasion Report #11 and may be viewed at: http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-11.pdf | |
Died |
Walla Walla County, Washington, USA | 3 November 2002 | aged 82 |
Buried |
Twin Falls, Idaho, USA | Ascension Episcopal Church Cemetery |
Revisions
Added middle name, nickname, Died and Buried events per Find-a-grave Memorial ID 183067995.
Added a "#" to the A/C serial number in the "Summary biography" for clarity.
Added a connection to the mission of 9-Oct-42 mentioned in the "Summary biography".
Lee Cunningham 14-Nov-2014. Evasion record added http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-11.pdf and minor edit to summary biography for format. Reconciling for duplicate entry by ingest.
Lee Cunningham 24-Oct-2014, Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 6706; National Archives Records Administration (NARA) Escape & Evasion Report # 11 http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-11.pdf
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 6706, Losses of the 8th and 9th AF by Bishop and Hey p.37, First Over Germany pg. 3-4 & 56; Combat Crews pg. 135,
http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-11.pdf">http://media.nara.gov/nw/305270/EE-11.pdf>,
http://www.306bg.org/Missing_Air_Crew_Reports/9oct42macr.pdf">http://www.306bg.org/Missing_Air_Crew_Reports/9oct42macr.pdf>