Robert Milton Self

Military

Robert Self was Observer on B-24D #42-51112 on the 31 March 1945 mission to Brunswick, Germany. Hit by a German Me262 jet fighter, the Liberator had one engine out, its Navigator was badly wounded and Pilot Bussell tried to crash-land the ship, with all the crew on board, in a field between Tündern and Hamelin, 45km SW of Hannover, Germany. Navigator Murray D. Robinson and Top Turret Gunner Saul Katz were killed in the crash. The 8 other crew members were made Prisoners of War (POWs) including Bob Self. Missing Air Crew Report – MACR 13735.

Connections

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Units served with

People

Dean Parker Kern

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13146259
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Nose Gunner

Murray D Robinson

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 12177127 at enlistment, then O-2063476
  • Highest Rank: Second Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Navigator

Thomas David Sherman

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18232447
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Radio Operator

Stephen Louis Silvestro

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 33746719
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Tail Gunner

Aircraft

Missions

Places

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

8 June 1918 Woodward, Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States

Enlisted

17 April 1943

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

31 March 1945 After the crash-landing of B-24D #42-51112 between Tündern and Hamelin, 45km SW of Hannover, Germany. NARA WWII POW records : ”Interned in Germany. Returned to Military Control 23 October 1945.”

Other

Re-enlisted

27 October 1945 Key Field, Meridian, Mississippi, as a Staff Sergeant in the Air Corps

Died

2 February 1991
Ensley, Jefferson County, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama

Buried

Robert Self rests at the Crestview Memorial Park, Wichita Falls, Texas

Revisions

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 13735
NARA WWII Enlistment records
WWII Draft card
WWII POW records
Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death file

Date
ContributorED-BB
Changes
Sources

MACR 13735

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

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