Operation: Berlin (Mission #246), Germany

Date: 3rd March 1944 (Friday)

Unit No: 349th Bombardment Squadron (H), 100th Bombardment Group (H), 3rd Air Division, 8th Air Force

Type: B-17G

Serial No: 42-38017

Code: XR:O

Base: Thorpe Abbot (Station #139), Norfolk, England

Location: Schleswig (Land) airbase, Germany

Pilot: 1st Lt. John George Gossage O-798486 AAF Age 27. PoW *

Co-Pilot: 2nd Lt. Bertrand Durward McNeill O-681153 AAF Age 28. PoW *

Navigator: FO. Edward Albert Werner T-123044 AAF Age 23. PoW *

Bombardier: 1st Lt. Howard George Ball O-734297 AAF Age 23. PoW *

Engineer: T/Sgt. Arthur E. Cooper Jr. 31468792 AAF Age 21. PoW **

Radio Op: T/Sgt. Michael George Polanick 13039246 AAF Age 25. PoW ***

Ball Turret: S/Sgt. Thomas Richard Wooderson III 6044644 AAF Age 21. PoW ***

Left Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. Donald Byrl Sackrider 36110003 AAF Age 38. PoW ***

Right Waist Gnr: S/Sgt. James Walter Gregg 33268508 AAF Age 25. PoW ***

Tail Gnr: S/Sgt. Arthur Vanburen Congrove 35442921 AAF Age 32. PoW ***

* Stalag Luft 1, Barth-Vogelsang, today situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.

** Stalag 12A, Located between Limburg an der Lahn and Diez, 4 km SW of Limburg and was used as a transit camp.

*** Stalag Luft 4, Groß-Tychow, Pomerania, Prussia now Tychowo, Poland (Moved from Stalag Luft 6 Heydekrug on 28th May 1944. Moved to Wöbbelin near Ludwigslust and then to Usedom near Swinemünde).

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the 3rd March 1944 after the large formations had taken off from their bases and started their journey to Berlin, due to bad weather the mission was called off and the large formations wheeled about started the perilous return to their bases. B-17G 42-38017 was part of a three aircraft element that failed to respond to the recall code and ploughed on through cloud eventually emerging in the clear only to be met by waiting German fighters.

A consolidated after mission statement by Capt. Ernest A. Kiessling O-669331, 2nd Lt. William B. Murray O-746405 and 2nd Lt. Coy I. Montgomery O-808261 described the following:

‘A/C #017 was flying #2 in Lead Element, Lead Squadron. Near 54 10N, 09 10E the leaders flew into a dense layer of clouds. The leader of the second element pulled up above the overcast and his wing men peeled off right and left. None of these crews saw an A/C of the lead element again. Crews in the 100 BG flying in the Combat Wing behind turned back before entering the cloud bank. Most of these crews observed a large explosion behind them and slightly above the formation altitude. It was believed the A/C #970 and A/C #817 collided and exploded and A/C #017 was damaged by the explosion. A VHF signal was received from #017 a short time later saying that the pilot intended to try to reach Sweden.’

The Lat/Long of 54 10N, 09 10E is about 23 km (14½ mls) inland of the west coast of Germany and 64½ km (40 mls) WNW from the port of Kiel.

A/C #970 and A/C #817 did not in fact collide but had been shot down by German fighters.

A/C #970 was B-17G 42-31970, XR:? and flown by Capt. Robert H. Lohof. The aircraft crashed at Peissen, 6 mls north of Itzehoe. (1 KiA, 9 PoW);

A/C #817 was B-17G 42-39817 XR:A Murders Row’ and flown by 1st Lt. Robert D. Vollmer. The aircraft crashed 6 mls north of Itzehoe. (5 KiA, 5 PoW).

Note: 2nd Lt. William B. Murray O-746405 and 2nd Lt. Coy I. Montgomery O-808261 were both KiA on a following mission to Berlin on the 6th March 1944.

2nd Lt. William B. Murray was flying B-17F 42-30799 XR:L The Big Ass Bird. (3 KiA, 7 PoW);

2nd Lt. Coy I. Montgomery was flying B-17G 42-30170 XR:G The Pride of the Century. (1 KiA, 9 PoW).

1st Lt. Gossage managed to escape from the fighter onslaught only to be caught in a barrage of Flak. The Flak damaged #1 engine and seriously wounded T/Sgt. Cooper. With little chance of making it home to England he decided to head for Sweden and sent a message to the Combat Wing leader.

Note: Just before take off the crew wryly named the aircraft One mission LuLu because their regular B-17 Squawkin Hawk II was extensively damage in their previous mission.

Above: With hundreds of autographs on its sleek hull, the war-weary veteran Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress #42-30888 "Squawkin Hawk II" is shown shortly before it took off from its 8th Air Force base in England to return to the US for retirement. Covering 47,720 combat miles without one member of its personnel being injured and participating in 50 missions is the enviable record set by this veteran of the skies. (100th Bomb Group) (Official USAAF photograph)

The crew estimated that they had succeeded in reaching Swedish air space until they were intercepted by five Ju88s. They let their wheels down in surrender and one of the Ju88s escorted them to the nearest airfield which was the Schleswig (Land) airbase where they landed at 12:10 hrs. This was the first intact B-17G captured by the Germans.

Schleswig (Land) airbase aka Schleswig-Jagel airbase in Schleswig-Holstein is some 7 km (4¼ mls) SSW of Schleswig.

Above: Photograph of B-17G #42-38017 XR:O taken after the forced landing at Schleswig airfield. Handwritten in German on reverse of the print was: 'Eine in Schleswig zur landung gezwungen B-17 1943.' (Translation: 'A forced landing in Schleswig, B-17 1943.' ) Second handwritten caption: '3/3/44.' (Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and the Roger Freeman Collection).

The crew were captured and 9 were transferred to Dulag Luft, Oberursel. T/Sgt. Cooper Jr. was admitted to the Reserve Lazarett (Hospital) II, Schleswig, PoW ward 49.

As the damage to B-17G 42-38017 was limited to #1 engine it has long been believed that the aircraft was easily repaired. It was then transferred and assigned to Stab I./Kampfgeschwader 200 (I./KG2 00) and given the code A3+BB although this is by no means certain as the designation has also been cited as A3+GE or A3+FB.

A3 being the code assigned to Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) aircraft.

Uncorroborated reports claimed that the aircraft was strafed by Allied aircraft and destroyed before it could be repaired. Additionally, other uncorroborated reports claimed that parts recovered from the destroyed aircraft were used to repair other B-17s.

The fate of this B-17 whilst being flown by the Luftwaffe is based upon the premise that B-17G 42-38017 was repaired and given the code A3+BB.

Loss of B-17G (42-38017) A3+BB

Luftwaffe Crew:

Pilot: Fähnrich (Junior Officer) Helmut Schenderlein Age 36. KiA

Co-Pilot: Unteroffizier (Sgt) Werner Hoff Age? PoW (1)

Observer: Oberleutnant (1st Lt) Paul Gerhard Beudel Age? KIA

Radio Operator: Feldwebel (T/Sgt) Willi Helmdach Age? PoW

Flight Eng 1: Oberfeldwebel (M/Sgt) Karl Buch Age? KIA

Flight Eng 2: Unteroffizier (Sgt) Alfred Weber Age? KIA

Gnr: Unteroffizier (Sgt) Kurt Böttcher Age? PoW

Gnr: Unteroffizier (Sgt) Wilhelm Lott Age? PoW

Gnr: Feldwebel (T/Sgt) Walter Rätzer Age? PoW

Jump Master: Feldwebel (T/Sgt) Herbert Adams Age? PoW

Gefreiter (Airman) Karl Heinz Mehl Age 19. KiA

(1) Unteroffizier Werner Hoff, the Co-Pilot, may have been Gefreiter Werner Hoff who received his Pilot Badge on the 26th May 1944 (Kracker Database).

No information as to which camp(s) the 6 PoWs were held or when they were released has been found.

REASON FOR LOSS:

On the night of the 3rd March 1945 the aircraft took off from Stuttgart in Germany on a mission carrying 9 agents and 3 supply containers. To maintain security the exact route and drop points were only known to the Pilot and Observer. The remainder of the crew were not briefed to ensure if they were captured they would not be able to reveal the locations of the agents that they had dropped.

It was believed that the aircraft had completed as many as 10 sorties prior to this night.

The first agent parachuted at about 02:00 hrs, an hour later three others together with the three containers were dropped. The remaining agents, four men and a woman, jumped some 20 mins later.

Homebound the Observer became uncertain of their position and when the Radio Operator attempted to obtain a fix from Stuttgart he was unable to contact the base. The B-17 was detected by Allied radar near Dijon at approximately 06:00 hrs. Shortly afterwards the B-17 was intercepted by an Allied night fighter. In the attack the B-17 was hit in the fuselage and starboard wing which was set ablaze. The Pilot ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft but of the 11 crew aboard only the Co-pilot, Radio Operator, Jump Master and the three Gunners successfully baled out. The remainder of the crew perished in the crash at Luvigny, Vosges in France. (Ref 1, p74)

There a claim that a Mosquito intercepted and shot down the B-17, however, no records have been found to substantiate this claim.

The 415th Night Fighter Sqn claimed a B-17 on this night. It is probable that this B-17 was claimed by 1st Lt Henry J. Giblin O-747782 and 2nd Lt. Walter Cleary O-1692656, Pilot and Radar Operator respectively, flying a Beaufighter NF.VI.

It has been speculated that this crew may have been flying a Northrop P-61 'Black Widow'. However, and although the squadron was in the process of re-equipping with this aircraft before being deployed Braunshardt airfield on the 17th April 1945, they only flew a few missions with the 'Black Widow' before the end of the war.

Burial Details:

Above: Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Andilly, France [German Military Cemetery at Andilly in France] (Courtesy of Kenneth Gilbert - FindAGrave)

Fähnrich Helmut Schenderlein. Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Andilly, Block 36, Row 9, Grave 425. Born on the 28th June 1908 in Irchwitz, Greiz, Germany. No further details found.

Oberfeldwebel Karl Buch. Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Andilly, Block 36, Row 9, Grave 426. No further details found.

Unteroffizier Alfred Weber. Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Andilly, Block 36, Row 9, Grave 427. No further details found.

Gefreiter Karl Heinz Mehl. Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Andilly, Block 36, Row 9, Grave 428. Born on the 8th May 1925 in Mönchegladbach. Son of Heinrich Alex and Maria Magdalena (née Lenders) Mehl of Mönchegladbach, Germany.

Oberleutnant Paul Gerhard Beudel.. Deutsche Kriegsgräberstätte Niederbronn-les-Bains, France, Block 46, Row 6, Grave 245. No further details found.

Researched by Ralph Snape for Aircrew Remembered and dedicated to the relatives of the two crews (Feb 2024).

Other sources listed below:

Reference:

1. Strangers in a Strange Land - Hans-Heiri Stapfer

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