L-5 Shoot down - 125th Liaisoon Squadron - 24 Dec 1944
 

On 24 Dec 1944 an L-5 of 125th LS was shot down by German fighters (claim of 2./JG 26?) just SE of Liège, Belgium.
Pilot S/Sgt Bernard B. Brown (ASN 18113743) was declared 'dead on arrival' in a US Army hospital in Liège.

In Ken Wakefield's 'The Other Ninth Air Force' it is written:
'FUSA (= First US Army) Arty Air Officer, Major Bristol, reported that his Asst Arty Air Officers, Capt. Stevenson and Lt. Wilson, were shot down in an L-5 by enemy aircraft yesterday (= 24 Dec 1944) but are back on the job today.'

To my knowledge no other L-5 was shot down in E. Belgium on 24 Dec 1944 and I wonder if the FUSA officers were passengers in the shot down liaison plane?

Stevenson can be identified as Hugh K. Stevenson (O-464681) and Wilson as Deanel B. Wilson (O-1998514).

Any leads welcome, thanks.

Leendert

Re: L-5 Shoot down - 125th Liaisoon Squadron - 24 Dec 1944
 

Leendert,
Seems there was another one...
https://www.aviationarchaeology.com/...CR_1944Dec.asp

441224 MACR 11546 L-5 42-99065 _ 14LS _ 9 Leipersock, Charles W POW GER Crown Air Strip {P-8832}

Re: L-5 Shoot down - 125th Liaisoon Squadron - 24 Dec 1944
 

Hello Leendert,

The unit history of 153rd LS mentions for December 24,1944:
Flight “B” attached to “Jayhawk” moved to “Jayhawk’s” new location on December 24. Staff Sergeant Bernard B.Brown, Liaison Pilot, was shot down and killed the same day by three enemy fighters five miles southeast of Liege. His plane, riddled by bullets, crashed and burned. (source: AFHRA reel A0846 p.206)

Best regards

Luc

Re: L-5 Shoot down - 125th Liaisoon Squadron - 24 Dec 1944
 

Luc: thanks for excerpt. Brown was with 153rd LS indeed, 125th LS my mistake. Flight "B" was at Fourneau (K2312) at that time, roughly midways between Namur and Liège. See https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5786...ct-thumb--1824

Adriano: passenger in Leipersock's L-5 was Major Randolph M. Jordan (O-452683, HQ 10th Armored Div), buried at Henri-Chapelle. Shoot down by flak was over G.D. Lux.

Leendert