Allied losses 07th of January 1944. MTO
 

Hi all
In book Donji Lapac u NOB-u. (Yugoslav partisan book for town of Donji Lapac for WW2) there is a short story;
"On January 7, 1944, an allied plane appeared over Kunovec. The plane fell near enemy soldiers in Kupirovo. The place where the aircraft crashed... The pioneers grabbed the Englishman, hid him from the German chase and saved him. Mileva Desnica and took him to Osrednjak, from where he continued to Drvar."
Village Kupirovo is in Croatia near the borded with Bosnia (North of Knin).
On 07th of January 1944. according the MTO, operations were bombing aircraft factory at Maribor and torpedo factory at Fiume (Rijeka) but these were much norther than Kupirovo. 3 P 38 were lost and several are missing. I have info of 3 losses;
Maj. Hanes Horace A. (P 38 - Bednja) - RSQ,
1st Lt. Corbett Horace S. (P 38 - Koprivnica Zagorska) - KIA,
2nd Lt. Raymond J. Meredith (P 38 - Slovenia) - RSQ ?.
Does anyone have info about other losses for 7th of January 1944.

It was not uncommon that partisans called pilots English or American not knowing their nationality due to language barrier so maybe the pilot was RAF airmen who knows, so any info would be appreciated.
as always thanks in advance
Antun

Re: Allied losses 07th of January 1944. MTO
 

1°FGroup:6 P-38 lost

43-2399 Horace Corbett
42-13370 Horace A.Hanes
43-2507 James W.Griffis (POW)
42-13403 Fred M.Devenney(POW)
42-12887 Reed C.Owens(POW)
42-13044 Lee W.Rowe(POW)

Re: Allied losses 07th of January 1944. MTO
 

From "Messerschmit Bf109: The Yugoslav Story" Boris Ciglic -"Maj Horace Hanes baled out of his flaming P-38G-10, 42-13370 wounded in the head, seconds before it struck the ground near Bednja in northern Croatia...passed on to the Partisans...He returned to his unit on 20 March 1044."

Re: Allied losses 07th of January 1944. MTO
 

From the same book, same page, few lines below :)

"After claiming a Bf 109 destroyed and two others damaged, 2/Lt Raymond J. Meredith was shot down himself. He crash-landed near Kupirovo village, some 20 km west-southwest of Drvar, got picked up by the Partisans and returned to his unit by 26 January, becoming the second USAAF airman to evade capture and return from Yugoslavia (the first was 2/Lt Richard Chapman of the 57th FG)."

Boris