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Operation: Bomber escort (Mission #541), Peenemúnde, Germany
Date: 4th August 1944 (Friday)
Unit No: 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force
Type: P-51D Mustang
Serial: 44-13924
Code: KI:M
Base: Kings Cliffe (Station #367), Northamptonshire, England
Location: Wansford near Sibson, Cambridgeshire, England
Pilot: Capt. Harry Burtnett Baker II DFC O-733780 Age 25. KiA
Capt. Baker was credited with destroying a Bf-109 (no further details)
Above: Reporting of the claim (Courtesy of The Evening News, dated 17th July 1944)
REASON FOR LOSS:
On the 4th August 1944 the 20th Fighter Group was detailed on a withdrawal escort mission to Peenemúnde in Germany.
Shortly after take off from Kings Cliffe, at 11:20 hrs, Capt. Baker was killed when his Mustang crashed at Wansford, about 3 miles due east of the airfield.
Capt. Baker had experienced engine trouble the previous day on take-off in the same P-51. It is almost certain that the crash was due to an engine failure.
Henry John Tate, a farmer from Sibson, Wansford near Peterborough, was one of eight people commended for bravery in their efforts to rescue the pilot from the crashed aircraft. (London Gazette 19th December 1944).
William Morgan informs us that during his family research he found that Henry John Tate was a relative and owned the farm where the Mustang crashed. The plane caught fire on impact with the ground and with ammunition going off, he was able to get to the cockpit to find the pilot alive. Covering his face from the flames he tried to pull the pilot out of the wreckage, but the straps had not been released which meant that with the flames getting worse and surrounding him, he was unable to pull the pilot out and had to retreat. Regrettably it seems that the pilot may well have survived if there was common knowledge regarding the release of straps. The policeman who attended noted that the pilot was struggling to keep the plane steady and made an effort to avoid buildings before impact.
Burial Details
Above: Capt. Baker as a Lt. (Courtesy of The Evening News, dated 21st August 1944) and grave marker (Courtesy of David McInturff - FindAGrave)
Capt. Harry Burtnett Baker II DFC, Air Medal (4 Oak Leaf Clusters), Purple Heart. He was initially buried in the Cambridge American Cemetery before being repatriated to the United States and laid to rest in Section 34, Site 3902 at the Arlington National Cemetery at Fort Myer in Virginia. Born on the 11th April 1919 in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The son of Harry Balmer and Martha Lenore (née Burtnett) Baker of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Husband to Sylvia (née Gibson) Baker and father to Harry Gibson Baker of Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, USA.
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal (DFC) on the 27th July 1944;
Awarded the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters between the 29th June 1944 and the 23rd February 1945, the last being awarded posthumously.
Memorial service clipping (Courtesy of the Harrisburg Telegraph, dated 4th November 1944)
Researched by Ralph Snape and dedicated to the family of the pilot. Many thanks to William Morgan for the information regarding his relative’s efforts to save the life of Capt. Baker. (Oct 2023)
Other sources listed below:
RS 29.10.2023 - Initial upload
RS 29.10.2023 - Initial upload
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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