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Operation: Warnemunde Germany
Date: 29th July 1943 (Thursday)
Unit: No. 333rd Bomber Squadron, 94th Bomber Group
Type: B17F Flying Fortress
Serial: 42-30146 ('Down and Go')
Code: TS-A
Base: Rougham Airbase
Location: Avedøre, Denmark
Pilot: Lt. Ned Palmer 0-794678 USAAF Age 23. PoW Stalag Moosburg (Isar)
Co-Pilot: Lt Eugene R. Snyder 0-670650 USAAF Age 24. PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
Nav: Lt Frank S. Pellegrino 0-800761 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
Ai/Bmr: Lt Arthur E. Cooper 0-670015 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
Radio/Gnr: T/Sgt George A. Hamling 12093574 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
TT/Eng: T/Sgt Christos Bassios 32244606 USAAF PoW Stalag Gneizendorf
BT/Gnr: S/Sgt Vernon P. Rathbun 17043490 USAAF PoW Stalag Gneizendorf
RW/Gnr: S/Sgt Olin E. Brown 34350657 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
LW/Gnr: S/Sgt Damon D. Cottingham 36270637 USAAF PoW Stalag Luft Sagan and Belaria
T/Gnr: S/Sgt William P. Clark 39103345 USAAF PoW Stalag Gneizendorf
REASON FOR LOSS:
42-30146 was having engine troubles when outbound and after having reached the Danish west coast it was decided to try to reach Sweden. The bombs were dropped to lighten the aircraft which was now down to one good engine.
After a while the navigator 2nd Lt. Pellegrino declared that they were over Sweden, the pilot, Lt. Ned Palmer started looking for a place to land.
He found a large field where he at 10:15 hours made a good belly landing with little damage to the aircraft.
The aircraft was dismantled and taken to Fliegerhorst Kastrup near København for repair. It was painted in German colours and operated by the Luftwaffe until 9/2-1945 when it exploded at Stuttgaard-Echterdingen airfield, just after take off killing seven of the crew and ten passengers
Burial details:
None - crew survived as PoWs.
Researched for Aircrew Remembered by Michel Beckers. Dedicated to relatives of the crew.
MB - 05.01.2018
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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