Operation: Rouen (Mission #25, BG Mission #6), France

Date: 12th December 1942 (Saturday)

Unit No: 360th Bombardment Squadron (H), 303rd Bombardment Group (H), 1st Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17F Wulfe Hound

Serial No: 41-24585

Code: PU:B

Location: Provins, France

Base: Molesworth, (Station #107), Huntingdonshire, England

Pilot: 1st Lt. Paul Frank Flickinger Jr. O-430992 AAF Age 24. PoW * (1)

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Jack E. Williams O-662228 AAF Age 23. Evader (2)

Navigator: 1st Lt. Gilbert Theodore Schowalter O-724073 AAF Age 25. Evader (2)

Bombardier: 2nd Lt. Beverly Robert ‘Bob’ Polk Jr. O-726071 AAF Age 23. PoW * (1)

Radio Operator: S/Sgt. Iva Lee Fegette 38036701 AAF Age 24. Evader (3)

Engineer: T/Sgt. William Alexander ‘Whit’ Whitman 18035875 AAF Age 22. Evader (3)

Ball Turret Gnr: Sgt. George Nathaniel Dillard 19003449 AAF Age 20. PoW ** (5)

Right Waist Gnr: Sgt. Norman Peter Therrien 11030761 AAF Age 24. Evader (4)

Left Waist Gnr: T/Sgt. Frederick A. Hartung Jr. 11020638 AAF Age 23. Evader (4)

Tail Turret Gnr: S/Sgt. Kenneth Joseph Kurtenbach 19071326 AAF Age 21. PoW ** (5)

* Stalag 7A Moosburg, Bavaria (Work Camp 3324-46 Krumbachstrasse and Work Camp 3368 Munich).

** Stalag 17B Krems-Gneixendorf near Krems, Austria.

Above: original Paul F. Flickenger crew assigned to the 360 BS, 23rd June 1942. Photograph dated 14th October 1942. B-17F “Wulfe Hound” in background. (Courtesy of the American Air Museum and Cliff D. Wright)

Standing left to right: 1st Lt. Flickenger, 2nd Lt. Williams, 2nd Lt. Schowalter, 2nd Lt. Polk. Front: 2nd from left; T/Sgt Whitman, 3rd from left; S/Sgt Fegette. Others not in order; Sgt. Joseph R. Sunderlin, S/Sgt Arnold H. Schlotfeldt, Sgt. Lincoln T. O’Connell.

S/Sgt. Joseph Russell Sunderlin DFC 13047686 and S/Sgt. Lincoln T. O’Connell DFC 12030885. Both became PoWs after being shot down aboard B-17F 41-24602 'Yardbird II" on the 29th May 1943 (2 KiA, 8 PoW).

S/Sgt. Arnold H. Schlotfeldt only flew on one combat mission on 18th November 1942 - No further information found regarding his service.

REASON FOR LOSS:

B-17F Wulfe Hound took off from Molesworth at about 10:30 hrs on the 12th December 1942, on a mission to bomb the airfield at Romilly-sur-Seine, the primary target, but attacked the last resort target of the marshalling yards at Rouen/Sotteville in France.

Before reaching the target the left flank of the formation was attacked by German Bf109s and Fw190s. The Wulfe Hound was hit in the first attack which knocked out #4 engine. A second attack knocked #3 engine. The Wulfe Hound dived into cloud for cover and turned for home with only #1 and #2 engines operational. They then salvoed their bomb load to lighten the aircraft. The fighters followed the aircraft and knocked out #2 engine.

With only a single operational engine the aircraft lost altitude and the pilot ordered the crew to proceed to the Radio Room and prepare for a crash landing. The dumped some of the guns overboard and destroyed films, maps, flimsies and other material.

The crew estimated that they had destroyed six enemy fighter planes during the attack and while their aircraft was descending.

At about 12:30 hrs the aircraft made a perfect wheels up forced landing ending up in a muddy field near Provins, some 76 km (47 mls) ESE of Paris, with the nose and engines buried in the mud.

It has been widely reported in a number of publications that this particular B-17 landed intact at Leeuwarden airfield in the Netherlands and fell into German hands.

However, the feat of flying NNE across enemy held territory in a crippled B-17 with only a single operational engine for almost 550 km (340 miles) to Leeuwarden airfield is highly improbable.

Furthermore, given the descriptions and level of detail provided in the Escape an Evasion reports from each of the six airmen from this crew who successfully evaded the Germans and returned to England does not give any credence to this claim.

The crew crawled out of the aircraft none the worse for wear. About fifteen French people came running up and surrounded the crew. Sgt. Therrien, who could speak French, asked them which direction would be advisable to escape to which they replied any direction but north.

They then ran about 300 yards toward some woods to talk over the situation and remove their extra clothing. They discussed how to dispose of the aircraft and could not find a way to do so. The crew then decided to split up into pairs, they shook hands and started off in different directions.

B-17F 41-24585 Wulfe Hound was the first B-17 captured by the Germans with minimum damage. The aircraft was recovered and repaired using parts from a stock of components salvaged from crashed B-17s. After it was made airworthy it was given the identification DL+XC and flown to Rechlin where it was used for fighter affiliation assessments and demonstration duties.

The name and nose art for ‘Wulfe-Hound’ were added during its service with the USAAF so the claim in some publications that this name was given to the B-17 by the Germans is also incorrect albeit it appears to have been amended to read ‘Wulfe-Hund’.

Rechlin Fliegerhorst (airfield) was the Erprobungsststelle der Luftwaffe (Main Testing Ground for the German Air Force) and is immediately SE of the village of Rechlin at the SE end of the Müritz See (Lake) in Northern Germany.

In September 1943 the aircraft was re-assigned to I./Kampfgeschwader (Air Combat Wing) 200 (I./KG 200) and it has been reported that it was given the German identification of A3+AE.

Note: The “A3” designation identifies aircraft assigned to KG 200.

Research conducted by Mario Schultze determined that a B-17 had been photographed by reconnaissance at the Oranienburg airfield during the last days of the war. This B-17 had been severely damaged during a raid on the 10th April 1945 in which the 303rd Bombardment Group (H) took part which ultimately turned out to be ironic.

Oranienburg airfield was also a factory airfield for Heinkel which was located in Brandenburg 27½ km NNW of Berlin and 3¼ km SSW of Oranienburg itself. On the 10th April 1945 it was bombed by 139 B-17 Fortresses and strafed by 8th Air Force P-47s. 46 aircraft belonging to II./KG 200 were destroyed on the ground, the airfield heavily damaged and runway so thoroughly cratered that operations were indefinitely suspended. (Luftwaffe Airfields 1935-1945 Germany by Henry L. deZeng IV.)

However, it was not until the Russians left the airbase in 1994 and its runway was being used in the construction of a new highway that parts of a B-17 came to light. The first parts came into his possession in 2000. At that time he had no idea of the identity of the B-17 but clues began to emerge that narrowed the possibilities to two B-17s due to the yellow paint discovered on some parts. In August 2008 a fellow researcher came into the possession of numerous parts recovered from a clearance of a site for a new building on the former airfield which provided final confirmation that the B-17 was in fact B-17F 41-24585 Wulfe Hound.

The full story of the research by Mario Schultze can be found on the 303rd Bombardment Group (H) website.

B-17F 41-24585 Wulfe Hound in Luftwaffe markings after being captured by the Germans. Handwritten caption on reverse: “303BG lost 12/12/42”. (Courtesy of the Roger Freeman Collection - American Air Museum)

B-17F 41-24585 Wulfe Hound at Leeuwarden Air Base.Handwritten caption on reverse of original photograph: “Picture illegally taken at the German-occupied Leeuwarden Air Base, summer 1943 (?). It shows a B-17 shot down in the Northern part of Friesland, made ready for flight by the Germans and with Luftwaffe Insignia. Shortly afterwards the B-17, being flown over to Germany, was shot down definitely by an RAF fighter near Nieuweschans, on the Dutch-German frontier”. Second handwritten caption on reverse: "124585?” (Courtesy of the Roger Freeman Collection - American Air Museum)

Note: Much of what was written has subsequently proven to be inaccurate. However, if as stated the image was taken illegally at the Leeuwarden airfield then this statement is probably the source of the claim that it was flown there by the American crew.

B-17F 41-24585 Wulfe Hound. Handwritten caption on reverse: "B-17 in Deelen, Holland, 1944". (Courtesy of the Roger Freeman Collection - American Air Museum)

(1) It is assumed that 1st Lt. Flickinger Jr. and 2nd Lt. Polk Jr. teamed up together as both were reported in a German document to have been captured later that day.

(2) 1st Lt. Schowalter and 2nd Lt. Williams teamed up and headed off together in a westerly direction.

Note: 2nd Lt. Williams served for 12 months in the RCAF before transferring to the USAAF.

The following description is a combined story of the events leading to their return to England.

"We crossed a barbed wire fence, a highway and then a railroad. Then we went under a bridge and continued west along a creek, where we found patches of thick underbrush. We went through these, continued on to a large wood and there ran into T/Sgt. Whitman and S/Sgt. Fegette from our crew. We told them to choose a course and we would take another. We got out of the woods, crossed a stream, and, seeing a large woods 2½ km (1½ mls) away, made for it. At this time we saw some Germans on the highway, which we had previously crossed. They were mounted on motor-cycles, going apparently to where we had crashed. We hid in a field until the Germans had passed and then went for the woods.

We stayed in these woods until dark and then set out on a South-West course through a field. We crossed a railroad running due East-West. Coming to a small village, we walked around it and stayed on this same course until 22:00 hrs. We were tired out, and found an old abandoned farmhouse. I still had my torch which proved to be very useful. We found a hay-loft above a pig pen and slept there all night and until dark next day. There was a farm house 450 m (500 yds) down the road which we had been watching all day through the cracks of the loft. When it got dark we decided to go over there and look in. There was a light coming out of one window. We saw that they had just finished supper. There were four or five men and women and children. There were no Germans around.

We knocked on the door and told them we were American airmen. There were five grown people and two children. They stared at us for a few minutes and then started jabbering. One large man just looked and then came up and said he was Swiss. He made a great fuss over me. I showed him the US on my clothes and the man showed them all around the room. They invited us to come in and sit down and have something to eat. We had wine, meat and bread. They gave us civilian clothes and took our army clothes and buried them.

They offered us their bed but we said we would rather sleep in the barn, and, after much argument we went to bed. Well, we slept about two hours and when we awoke we found the house full of French people. Two elderly French people told us to get up and follow them. We walked about 10 or 12 miles through towns and past German camps until we came to a small town. Another Frenchman took us to his house and we stayed there a day and a night. A car came for us and took us a further 6 or 19 km (10 or 12 mls) to another small town, He took us to his home and we stayed there all day and all night. Then the same car took us to a farm about 10 miles away and we stayed at this farm about 3 days, during which time they took very good care of us. Then one night the car pulled up again and one Frenchman took us to the station and bought our tickets. We met someone in Paris that he knew who took us to the home of a former Captain in the French Army. Early the next morning we got on the subway and travelled around. We stayed at this man's house a day and a night. The following morning a man came and took us to a lady's house in Paris and we stayed there one night. This lady took us to another place and we stayed there a week and a half and spent our Christmas there. These people got identity cards for us.

They took us on a lot of sight-seeing trips around Paris. On New Year’s Eve they were joined by four other evaders on a train to Bayonne. One of them being":

1st Lt. John R. McKee O-435689. Pilot aboard B-17F 41-24495 'Rose O’Day' (306BG, 367BS) which was shot down on the 20th December 1942. (2 KiA, 6 PoW, 1 Evd);

"We were stopped once on the train about 02:00 hrs in the morning and there was a check on our identity cards by a French Control Officer who seemed to have a good idea who were but passed us and just went about his business without comment.

After arriving at Bayonne the next morning we were met by a man and two ladies who took then to a café for a meal after which the party was split up with guides for the crossing into Spain".

1st Lt. Williams went on to describe their situation after arriving in Spain:

"When we arrived in Madrid we were taken to the British Embassy and were quartered in a small building to the rear of the Embassy which had several cots for sleeping, There was also a small building where two Spanish women cooked our meals, The British Red Cross gave us clean clothes, soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste and shaving articles. We were also paid 55 pesetas a week for buying things we wanted such as wine and coffee. We were interviewed by the Embassy officials who wanted our names, rank, squadron and the names of the personnel in our plane for future identification. We stayed at the Embassy several days until it was arranged for us to leave by train for Gibraltar.

The night we left we were taken to a hotel in Madrid where we had our supper after which we proceeded to the railway station. There were about 76 men leaving with us who had been released from Miranda prison camp. We had compartments on the train and after a very long journey we arrived at a small Spanish town just North of the border of Gibraltar. We were put in buses and taken to a town on the border of Gibraltar. At the British Vice-Consulate we filled in forms giving false names, birthplace and fathers name, mothers name and rank. I was given the name of Sgt. Jack Roger of the Canadian Army at Madrid by a Maj. Haslan and told to make up false answers for everything else they asked me. After waiting for an hour we were driven across the border into Gibraltar".

Note: Miranda de Ebro prison camp was the central camp in Spain for foreign prisoners. There were three main categories, international brigadiers (captured during the Civil War); male prisoners who illegally crossed the border (women were not held in military camps, but provincial prisons); and German military personnel and German collaborators interned in the so-called Campo Aleman. Some of the inmates were Jews.

"We were taken down to the docks and interviewed by British officers after which we were taken out to the SS Ormonde, which was lying at anchor in the harbour. After being on board for a day and a night we realized we weren't being treated as we thought we should be. The British authorities would not let us go ashore to communicate with the American authorities and we did not have clean clothes or money. After doing a lot of complaining to the CO of the ship, they sent out an American finance officer who gave us $100 uniform allowance and took back word to Lt Col. Carl W. Holcomb, the military observer at Gibraltar, to do everything he could to get us off the ship, which he did, and we left the ship at about 18:00 hrs the same day.

When we arrived in the town we were issued with British battle dress and taken to an officers camp called Laretto Camp. The next day I was admitted to the Military hospital in Gibraltar with acute tonsillitis".

1st Lt. Schowalter flew back to England aboard a C-47 which left Gibraltar at 03:00 hrs on the 26th January 1943 which landed at RAF Portreath in Cornwall at 10:00 hrs the same morning. The others known to be aboard this flight were:

1st Lt. John R. McKee O-435689. Pilot aboard B-17F 41-24495 'Rose O’Day' (306BG, 367BS) which was shot down on the 20th December 1942. (2 KiA, 6 PoW, 1 Evd);

2nd Lt. Robert E. Smith O-885110. Pilot of Spitfire IX BS447 (4FG, 336FS) which ran out of fuel and who bailed out on 26th September 1942;

2nd Lt. Forrest D. Hartin O-660490. Navigator on board B-17F 41-24491 (306BG, 423BS) which was shot down on the 9th November 1942. (6 KiA, 3 PoW, 1 Evd). Note: 2nd Lt. Hartin was the first American airman, and the 80th, “Comet Line” evader.

"I stayed in the hospital nine days and after I was released I got in touch with the American Operations officer, a Capt. Gable, who told me there was an American B-24 bomber leaving for RAF Portreath that night. I then made arrangements with the pilot of the B-24. Late in the afternoon a Mrs. Carole Landis Wallace arrived by plane from Algiers. She also received permission to go on the B-24 to England if the weather permitted".

Mrs Carole Landis Wallace was Carole Landis, an American Actress and Singer, who at that time was married to USAAF Capt. Thomas Wallace.

"At 02:00 hrs on 29th January 1943 we took off and after an uneventful flight landed at RAF Portreath at 08:30 hrs. We had breakfast and were then told we were to go on to London on a small De Haviland plane. After testing the plane it was found unfit to fly, so being very anxious to get to London, Mrs. Landis and I motored over to another airfield, 20 miles from RAF Portreath where a government C-47 cargo plane was waiting to take off for London. We took off at 14:00 hrs and landed at RAF Hendon 15:30 hrs. I then took a bus to London and reported immediately at HQ ETOUSA, where I was identified".

HQ ETOUSA was the Headquarters of the European Theatre of Operations US Army located at 20 Grosvenor Place, London.

1st Lt. Williams was the 84th “Comet Line” evader and 1st Lt. Schowalter the 85th.

Above 1st Lt. Schowalter reported safe (Courtesy of the The Capital Times, dated January 28th 1943)

(3) T/Sgt. Whitman and S/Sgt. Fegette teamed up and headed off together.

The following description is a combined story of the events leading to their return to England

"After walking in the weeds for an hour we ran into 1st Lt. Schowalter and 2nd Lt. Williams and after discussing options we went off in different directions.

Just at dusk we went into a barn and stayed that night and most of the next day. In the afternoon of the 15th December after walking south we saw some woodcutters and tried to get some information and help from them by sign language. They were not very friendly so we walked on to a house occupied by a Polish family. The man in the house pointed out to us on the map that we were near Nelun. He took us to the home of another Pole where we managed to get some civilian clothes.

After spending the night in the barn the next day we walked approximately 16 km (10 mls) to a town where we approached a man grinding meal in a barn. He began jabbering and ran out into the road gesturing wilding as we hurried off as fast as possible. That night we sneaked back into his barn and slept there until shortly before daylight. As we were entering the nearby town we saw a lorry load of Germans and immediately left the road to get back into the fields.

It started to rain but we continued and walked across fields, arriving at a canal which we followed in a south-easterly direction. After 3¼ or 5 km (2 or 3 mls) we came to a road that crossed the canal. A gate which opened onto the road had a German sign which read "VERBOTEN". For no particular reason we went back a few hundred yards, circled through the fields and got onto the road about a mile from the bridge. Then we walked down the road and across the bridge. Very soon after this we stopped at a Frenchman’s house and after we managed to communicate that we were American airmen we were fed and allowed to sleep in the barn.

The next morning at daylight we left the barn and were walking across a field when a Frenchman came running towards us seemingly angry that we were trespassing. Using sign language we managed to communicate that they were American airmen and he quietened down after which he took us quickly into the nearby woods. Later he came back with food and cigarettes and after dark took us to his home. We had a much needed bath and were given a new set of civilian clothes. After 2 days the remainder of our journey to Spain was arranged".

They crossed the border into Spain on the 3rd May 1943, into Gibraltar on the 21st May 1943 and eventually arriving at RAF Portreath in Cornwall, England on the 25th May 1943 at 14:00 hrs aboard a B-17 Fortress. They were instructed to report to 20 Grosvenor Place, London without delay.

HQ ETOUSA was the Headquarters of the European Theatre of Operations US Army located at 20 Grosvenor Place, London

Above: Sgt. Whitman reported safe (Courtesy of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, dated July 1st, 1943)

Above: S/Sgt. Fegette report safe (Courtesy of The Waco News Tribune, dated May 20th, 1943)

S/Sgt. Fegette was the 94th “Comet Line” evader and T/Sgt. Whitman the 95th.

Additional information from the 303rd BG website records that after returning to Molesworth S/Sgt. Fegette flew on 26 additional missions between the 7th October 1944 and the 14th April 1945 as a Radio Operator (7 missions) and then as a Voice Interpreter (19 missions). He completed his combat tour on the 14th April 1945.

(4) Sgt. Therrien and T/Sgt. Hartung Jr. teamed up and headed off together.

Above: Photograph of Sgt. Therrien from the certificate in lieu of a passport issued by the US Embassy in Madrid on the 11th February 1943.

Above: T/Sgt. Hartung from crew photograph of 41-24559 BU:C "Oooold Soljer" (303rd BG, 360BS) lost on the 31st March 1943.

Sgt. Therrien described how he and T/Sgt. Hartung managed to evade the Germans and escape across the country by themselves and a lot of good fortune:

"We left the forest and walked about a 2½ km (1½ mls) to another wooded area and stayed hidden until dusk.

We then started south and arrived at a small farmhouse at about 20:00 hrs. After we explained that we were American airmen we were provided with food and told that there were no Germans in that immediate vicinity.

We continued walking and at about 22:00 hrs, saw a French Chateau in the distance at Villeneuve-les-Bordes which we approached with a great deal of caution. The family here took us in, after we explained who we were, and gave us clothing and food. They permitted us to stay for three days, allowing us to stay in their attic during the day and in their barn at night.

On the morning of the 16th December we left for Nangis and there we bought tickets for Paris. We were accompanied by the nephew of the couple who lived in the Chateau. He was almost 18 years of age and we were asked to take him with us as they feared he might be sent to Germany to work in a prison factory. We had agreed to do this and he acted as a guide for us.

We arrived in Paris and found we had a few hours to wait for a train that could take us to Tours, so we went to the movies to pass the time. We left Paris at 17:45 hrs, travelling Third Class, arriving in Tours at about 22:00 hrs and being told there were no more trains that night we started looking for a place to stay.

The curfew was at 23:00 hrs and as there was little time left we stopped an ordinary French civilian and asked him where we could stay. He took us to a house where they gave us food but refused to keep us but told us that there was a train for Bordeaux leaving at 01:30 hrs so we hurried back to the station and bought our tickets. Since Bordeaux was in the Red Zone the train did not go all the way".

The Red Zone is an area in France that was and is still so dangerous after WW1 that it is a “No-Go” zone.

"We left the train at Libourne and bought tickets to Perigueux. We decided this after discovering we could get a though train from Perigueux to Foix. We left Libourne at about 07:40 hrs on the 17th December. Just before the train arrived at Montpon a Frenchman who was in our compartment, must have seen though our disguise and he told us that the Germans were checking all travellers through Montpon which was on the line of demarcation".

The line of demarcation was the border between German occupied France and the Vichy controlled “Free Zone” of France.

"We went to the rear of the train, jumped off and started walking in a semi-circle so as to cross the demarcation line and find another railway station. We walked for a while and finally arrived at Beaupouyet at about 15:30 hrs. We approached the station-master and told him who we were and our intention to cross the frontier. He said he would sell us two tickets to Foix and from there we could walk across into Spain.

At about 16:30 hrs two French Gendarmes asked us for our identification papers. Not having any we had to tell them who we we were and what we were trying to do. They let us go and told us to hide in the woods until train time which left at 20:15 hrs. Our train went to Perigueux where we separated from the French boy who had been travelling with them. He thought, and so did we, that we going to be caught. We had been riding in a compartment with two French Gendarmes and a German officer and we felt they knew who we were. Apparently they did not because after we arrived in Limoges they left the train and we caught another train at 03:00 hrs.

The train was was very crowded, in fact, all French trains seemed to be very crowded at night. We arrived in Toulouse at 08:30 hrs on the 18th December and found we had to wait for another train until 12:45 hrs.

We went to a barber shop and had a shave. Sgt. Hartung, who could not speak French, play the part of a deaf and dumb man. We found we had to have food tickets for practically all food, although we did manage to get two cookies which were not fit to eat.

We caught the train from Toulouse arriving in Foix at 15:00 hrs and immediately started to walk towards Spain. We stopped at a home in Ferrières and asked for food, which was given to us. We told the people what we we were trying to do and the man of the house told us that he was a German. We asked him what he was going to do and he said he was not going to turn us in because he was a German refugee.

He fed us and gave us a map, which turned out to be very useful. He also told us to go to the village of Ussat. We left his house at about 09:00 hrs on the 19th December arriving at Tarasconsur-Ariége about 12:00 hrs. From there we continued to Capoulet-et-Junac arriving about 15:00 hrs.

After leaving there we were stopped by a French Gendarme and asked for identification papers. He did not let us go on without them but told us to go back and think out some answer to this problem. We turned back and decided to seek the counsel of a Priest who we found in the village of Miglos. We asked him if he knew of a guide who could take us across the mountains.

He did not know of such a person but allowed us to sleep in his barn that night and gave us some fruit and bread. The next morning, the 20th December, being Sunday, we attended Mass. There we found a French family who took us in, fed us and gave us a bed. We arose at 02:00 hrs and started on a route they advised us to follow.

We were well supplied with food as almost everyone in the village had brought food and wine the previous afternoon. We walked out of the village to an intersection of the road and took the one that lead to Siguer. We walked through this town which had many German troops stationed there, but, due to the hour, none were seen. We went to the end of this road, where there was a large wireless station, turned back and took a path which branched off on the left side of the road 100 yards back.

After going a short distance we stopped by two French Gendarmes and we had a very hard time convincing them that we were Americans. We showed them everything we had and finally I was able to convince them by producing my GI comb which had “US Army” printed on it. They told us to hurry on as a German patrol started about 07:00 hrs every morning and went up to Etang de Peyr [believed to be Etang de Gnioure] and back. We started to climb at 04:00 hrs and reached the snow line at 06:00 hrs. We lost our way, but eventually reached the summit of the mountains and were debating whether or not to go on when we discovered that we were standing next to a frontier marker for Andorra, which was mostly covered by snow, as it was about waist deep.

We went down the mountains, arriving at the village of El Serrat, some 3½ km (2¼ mls) over the border. The people here were not very friendly so we went to Llorts about 2½ km (1½ mls) further south, where one family allowed us to dry our cloths for about an hour, and also gave us some food. We then continued on to La Cortinada, about 2½ km (1½ mls) further south, where we found a hotel. We had 1650 French Francs and the hotel exchanged these for Spanish Pesetas; at an exchange of 1 Pesetas for 17 Francs.

The police arrived at about 20:00 hrs that evening and arrested two Contrabandists (smugglers) staying in the hotel. They also questioned us and when we explained who we were and they gave us until morning to get out of the country. We left about 22:00 hrs that night and went to Sant Julià arriving at the Italian frontier about 02:30 hrs.

The frontier was well guarded, but we slipped past the guards by crawling through a field which lay along the side of the road. We went to La Seu d’Urgell and were picked up by two civil guards and put in jail. This was the 2nd December and we stayed in jail for ten days. We were moved to a prison at Lleida, some 68 miles further south, and spent fifteen days there.

Then we told the story that we had escaped from German hands. We were released into custody of other officials. This was arranged through the Military Attaché in Madrid after we had been allowed to send him a telegram from Lleida.

A Spanish officer took us to the Grand Hotel at Alhama de Aragón. We stayed here until 10th February and then went on to Madrid and stayed in the Hotel Common until 20th February. We arrived at Gibraltar on the 21st February and left by plane on 3rd March arriving in London early on the morning of 4th March. We then reported to 20 Grosvenor Place, London at 09:30 hrs that day".

HQ ETOUSA was the Headquarters of the European Theatre of Operations US Army located at 20 Grosvenor Place, London.

(5) A number of documents report a difference in which airman was the Ball-Turret Gunner on this mission. Maureen Buick has informed us that in personal writings by S/Sgt. Kurtenbach that it was Sgt. Dillard who was the Ball-Turret gunner and not T/Sgt. Hartung Jr., as reported in the various Escape and Evasion reports. Maureen has kindly provided a few sentences that Kurt Kurtenbach wrote for his family 50 years later:

“Dillard reached a point where he could undo the hatch levers and opened it as far as he could, perhaps four or five inches. I took the emergency handle, which was wired to the upright post that held the entire assembly of the ball turret, and put it on the ratchet in an attempt to manually bring the ball to the point where the hatch could open completely and Dillard could exit. This took two or three minutes of furiously cranking and each rotation slipping on the teeth of the ratchet. The ball rotated just enough that the hatch came to the position where most of the door opened sufficiently that Dillard was able to squeeze out through the hatch”.

As Sgt. Dillard and S/Sgt. Kurtenbach had been reported in a German document dated the 8th January 1943 to have been captured together it can be assumed that they had teamed up together. Additional information from the 303rd BG website records that they were captured by the Gestapo at the Dijon railroad station in France on Christmas Day 1942.

Burial details:

None. 6 Evaders and 4 PoWs survived the war

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of this crew (Oct 2022). Updated with new information of the fate of the aircraft (Feb 2024). Many thanks to Maureen Buick for her information and observations which have been added to the reviewed and updated report (Jul 2024).

Other sources listed below:

Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt