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Operation: Bomber escort (Mission #623) to Merseburg, Germany
Date: 11th September 1944 (Monday)
Unit No: 369th Fighter Squadron, 359th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force
Type: P-51D
Serial: 44-14307
Code: IV:P
Base: East Wretham (Station #133), Norfolk, England
Location: About 1 km (1100 yards) NW of Meiches, Germany
Pilot: 1st Lt. Frank William ‘Bill’ Holliday O-701758 USAAF Age 22. KiA
1st Lt. Holliday was officially credited with the destruction of an Me109 on this mission approximately 15 mins before being shot down himself.
On earlier missions he was credited with damaging an Me109 and damaging 2 railroad coaches.
REASON FOR LOSS:
The 359th Fighter Group took-off on the morning of the 11th September 1944 from East Wretham (Station #133) in Norfolk, England on a Bomber escort mission to the Leuna Oil Refinery at Merseburg in Germany.
Above: Capt. Wilbur C. Ziegler, base Chaplain, leads pilots of the 359th Fighter Group in prayer at East Wretham during January 1944 (Source Wikipedia)
The following is a statement made by 1st Lt. John E. Keur, DFC O-701685, who was leading the element in Yellow Flight with 1st Lt. Holliday as his wing man:
“The flight saw a formation of about 20 or 25 Me109s. We bounced them and after my first burst I saw the Me109 to the left of me have his belly tank blown off. That was the last time I saw my wing man, Lt. Holliday. This was just north of the town of Erfurt towards Kolleda”.
John Bramwell, a nephew of 1st Lt. Holliday, has determined from his research and eye-witness accounts that it appears that 1st Lt. Holliday chased or was chased westward for some 10-20 mins and was engaged by 1 to 3 German fighters above the low cloud over Meiches. German pilot Ofhr. Gerhard Piel was shot down, parachuted and landed some 3¼ km (2 mls) from the crash site of 1st Lt. Holliday’s P-51. Another German fighter also crashed nearby, all three with a few minutes of each other.
Note: Ofhr. Piel was from 5./JG 300 and he was flying a Fw190A-8. He was KiA on the 27th November 1944 when his Fw190A-8 Werk # 681524 ‘Red 5’ was engaged by Allied fighters over Halle. He was credited with destroying 5 Allied bombers. (The Kracker Luftwaffe Archive - Aircrew Remembered)
German documents confirm that the P-51 crashed at 11:00 hrs on or adjacent to Storndorfer Straße (today numbered L3162) about 1 km (1100 yards) NW of Meiches in the district of Lauterbach and about 40 km (25 mls) east of Giessen. The Germans determined that 1st Lt. Holliday had been killed by being hit by gunfire during aerial combat.
The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) (German Air Force High Command) Fighter Claims for the Reich, West & Südfront for the 11th September 1944 lists a Fw. Konrad Bauer from 5./JG 300 (Stab II./JG 300) flying Fw190A-8 Werk # 681469 ‘Red 1’ claiming a P-51, at 50 m. at 11:58 hrs in the Schwarmstädt - Arsfeld area.
Notes: This P-51 was one of three P-51s claimed by Fw. Bauer with the first two SE of Kassell at 11:52 and 11:53 hrs. All three were later confirmed.
Arsfeld is the most southerly extent of the Schwarmstädt - Arsfeld area and within 13 km (8 mls) of where 1st Lt. Holliday’s P-51 crashed.
Records show that Fw. Konrad Bauer was shot down during this engagement, losing two fingers on his right hand. He was wounded seven times but survived the war as an Oblt. and was credited with destroying 57 Allied aircraft. (The Kracker Luftwaffe Archive - Aircrew Remembered).
There is a disparity, yet to be resolved, between the reporting times in two German documents. The times are normally reported as Central European Time (CET) but the time in the OKL listing appears to be CET+1. Therefore, although it is probable, it has not been possible to definitively attribute Fw. Konrad Bauer ‘s claim to 1st Lt. Holliday’s P-51.
Burial Details
1st Lt. Frank William ‘Bill’ Holliday. Air Medal (3 OLC), Purple Heart. Recovered from the Meiches Cemetery and reinterred in the Netherlands American War Cemetery in Plot H, Row 9, Grave 22. Born on the 7th May 1922 in Denver, Colorado. Son of Frank and Grace Helen (née Padgett) Holliday of McCook, Red Willow, Nebraska, USA.
Originally researched by Michel Beckers and dedicated to the relatives of this pilot. With thanks to Pete Stevens, Des Philippet, Loren Bender for photographs (Nov 2016). Reviewed and updated by Aircrew Remembered with thanks to John Bramwell, a nephew of Frank Holliday, for his information (Jul 2024).
Other sources listed below:
RS 10.07.2024 - Reviewed and updated
MB 11.2016 - Original upload
RS 10.07.2024 - Reviewed and updated
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