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An pathfinder B-24 Liberator of the 853rd Bomb Squadron, 491st Bomb Group goes down after a direct flak hit during a raid on Harburg, 17 January 1945. Handwritten caption on reverse: '853rd BS, 491st BG, 17 Jan 1945. Harburg Refinery - Germany. Lead ship going down, pilot [illegible] strain.'
Second handwritten on reverse: '17-1-45, 334.' "On 17 January (1945) a single shell dealt the 491st another severe blow. B-24 #42-51481, the Wing Lead aircraft for the mission, took a flak burst between the #3 and #4 engines. The wing broke off immediately and the bomber spun down carrying seven officers and five enlisted men to their deaths. The pilot, Capt. Dean B. Strain, was one of the last original Group pilots still flying missions. Cameras being readied for the strike photos followed the spinning aircraft down to the hard ground of Harburg."
This contains information written on the back of the original print and some of it may be inaccurate.
An pathfinder B-24 Liberator of the 853rd Bomb Squadron, 491st Bomb Group goes down after a direct flak hit during a riad on Harburg, 17 January 1945. Handwritten caption on reverse: '853rd BS, 491st BG, 17 Jan 1945. Harburg Refinery - Germany. Lead ship going down, pilot [illegible] strain.' Second handwritten on reverse: '17-1-45, 334.'
Group
The 491st Bomb Group flew B-24 Liberators in bombing missions over northern France and Germany from June 1944 until April 1945. Missions over Germany included bombing the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen. The Group was awarded a DUC...
Squadron
Squadron
Military | Captain | Pilot
Killed in Action (KIA) at Meckelfeld (Harburg, Luneburg, Niedersachsen, Lower Saxony Germany) in B-24 #4251481. Buried at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas, USA. A collection of pictures from local artists was dedicated to the La Junta...
B-24 Liberator
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 08 March 2015 13:45:09 | Timothy McKeown | Changes to caption and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 08 March 2015 13:38:26 | Timothy McKeown | Changes to person associations |
| Sources | ||
C. Timothy McKeown |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 02 February 2015 10:00:07 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
IWM, Roger Freeman Collection |
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