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

Colonel Larry Thomas of the 453rd Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Col Larry Thomas 453BG.'

453rd Bomb Group

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

People

Richard Gordon Berger

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 37574497
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Richard Chester Bussell / Busse

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 18076336 at enlistment, then O-758532
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot

Ernest Armand Flores

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 39277648
  • Highest Rank: Technical Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

John Obie Hubbard

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 13063119 at enlistment, then O-2059523
  • Highest Rank: Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Co-Pilot

Saul Katz

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: 38387437
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Top Turret Gunner

Aircraft

42-51112

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 733rd Bomb Squadron

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