| 1st Lt |
William H. Fletcher |
P |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| 2nd Lt |
Richard M. Roper |
CP |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| 2nd Lt |
George A. Browning |
NAV |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| 2nd Lt |
Howard D. Venzie |
BOM |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| T/Sgt |
James H. Whitton |
TTE |
IIC |
4-Dec-43 |
Landing Accident |
| T/Sgt |
George A. Reid |
ROG |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| S/Sgt |
Pietro J. Giaquinto |
BTG |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| S/Sgt |
John J. Seman |
RWG |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| S/Sgt |
Alexander (NMI) Sosik |
LWG |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
| S/Sgt |
David V. Robb, Jr |
TG |
POW |
21-Feb-44 |
Brunswick |
350th Sqdn. Crew, as above, joined 100th Group in early Oct.1943 - MACR
#276l Micro fiche #924
A/C #42 37796
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress S/N 42-37796
This aircraft was assigned to the 100
th
Bomb Group - 350
th
Bomb Squadron and crash-landed after losing three engines. The aircraft
came down near Spaarndam, (Five miles north east of Amsterdam) The
Netherlands at 1449 on 21 February 1944 while returning from a bombing
mission against Brunswick GR. The pilot was Lt. William Fletcher who, at
the request of the crew, crash-landed the aircraft rather than having the
crew bail out! None of the airmen were injured. The ten crewmen were taken
prisoner and were held in various Stalag Luft camps until released by the
Allies.
Crew:
| Pilot |
Fletcher, William H |
1st
Lt. |
0-798998 |
| Co-pilot |
Roper, Richard M |
1st
Lt. |
0-804508 |
| Navigator |
Browning, George A |
1st
Lt. |
0-685316 |
| Bombardier |
Venzies, Howard D |
2nd
Lt |
0-676983 |
| Radio Opr |
Reid, George A. |
T/Sgt |
13104047 |
| Engineer |
Callahan. Leo T |
T/Sgt. |
31120291 |
| Ball Turret Gnr |
Graquinto, Pietro J. |
S/Sgt. |
32499257 |
| Right Waist Gnr |
Seman, John J |
S/Sgt. |
33293830 |
| Left Waist Gnr |
Sosil, Alexander (NMI) |
S/Sgt |
32330322 |
| Tail Gnr |
Robb, David V. Jr |
S/Sgt |
33339685 |
Witness Statements:
"Ship #796 in our formation at 5230-0515 E at 1449 hours called on DHF
and said two engines were out and that a landing in Holland would be
attempted." -- Lt. Van Steenis
"A/C #796 peeled out of formation at 1430 at 23,000 feet with two
engines out. The location was approximately 5210-0630 E. Pilot called on
VHF and said he was going to try to get to Holland. Went down through
heavy cloud. There were many friendly fighters around." -- Lt. Valesh
Captains Report:
"All members remained with the plane for crash-landing. Crew scattered
upon landing to evade. Bombardier, left waist gunner, top turret gunner
and I were captured immediately. Other members evaded form 4 hours to 4
days. Saw co-pilot, Nav., tail gunner and Bomb. at Stalag Luft 1,Gr."
And
In information received from C.L. Kroon, Machineweg, 7 Halfweg, The
Netherlands, a witness to the crash landing, mention is made of the fact
that the crew attempted to destroy the a/c by setting it on fire. The
evidence of that attempt is clearly visible in the photograph. C.L. Kroon
also provided a photograph of the remains of the photograph to the
American Embassy in The Hague, the Netherlands which was forwarded to the
Army Air Force on the 9
th
June 1947.
Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) number 2761 from:
Department of the Air Force
Air Force History Support Office
AFHSO/HOS (library)
200 McChord Street Box 94
Bolling AFB DC 20332-111
100
th
Bomb Group www.100thbg.org (Future home for the
Photograph?)
Saved: (A) 4237796
On the 7
th
of April 2001 I contacted Mr. Fletcher, the
captain of the aircraft when it crashed. I told him the story of how I
came into possession of the photograph and that I sent the original to the
100
th
Bomber Group Archives. I also told him that if he was
interested I had extra prints for him. He was very very pleased so I sent
them off posthaste.
He took the time to tell me a few more details of the crash-landing.
The substitute aircraft 44-237796 was actually quite a wreck and had
never completed a mission given one mechanical problem after another. He
flew it on this particular mission; as his usual aircraft Fletcher’ s
Castoria III was unserviceable. They completed their mission and as they
flew over the North Sea lost two engines due to oil loss. The navigator
advised him they were 130 miles from the English coast. Then they lost a 3
rd
engine and their speed fell to 60 odd miles an hour – and failing. They
would never make it back to base at that speed and ditching in the North
Sea in February would have spelled certain death for the crew. He turned
back to the Dutch coast and broke out of the low cloud over Amsterdam. As
he put it: "All hell broke loose." at that point as the German
anti-aircraft flak opened up. He dove to roof top level and crash-landed
the B-17 on the first large field he saw. He stated that there were no
German bullet holes in the a/c it was simply a matter of mechanical
failure – three of them!
Dr. William Fletcher
343 Fletcher Drive
Nicolson, GA
USA 30565
1-706-757-2412 |
