|
Re: P-38 crash in Drvar, Bosnia, in September 1944.
So it seems the aircraft of those pilots of 1st FG, 14th FG or 82nd FG still listed as MIA by DPAA that were lost during the second half of 1944 are known now, but none fits the serial numbers mentioned in the X-55 case. However, there is little doubt that the numbers belong to a late built P-38J from one of these batches:
43-28248/29047 Lockheed P-38J-15-LO Lightning (MSN 422-3263/422-4062)
44-23059/23208 Lockheed P-38J-15-LO Lightning (MSN 422-4063/422-4212)
The first aircraft lost in the MTO from the two batches were in May 1944 resp. July 1944, so I extended my earlier search for MIA cases from the three P-38 equipped FGs in the MTO in the DPAA data to include May to July 1944. I found no cases with an unknown MACR during the three months and only four were about aircraft with serials in the ranges we look for:
1944-06-10 2LT SMITH, ALBERT F (O-750703) 71 FS/1 FG MACR 5762: P-38J 43-28732 lost over Romania on 10 Jun 1944
1944-07-09 2LT VANDIVER, JOHN J (O-822182) 95 FS/82 FG MACR 7103: P-38J 44-23201 lost over Italy on 9 Jul 1944
1944-07-13 2LT MICHELI, HOWARD G (O-762384) 94 FS/1 FG MACR 7192: P-38J 44-23147 lost over Adriatic Sea on 13 Jul 1944
1944-07-28 1LT KUYKENDALL, JIM L (O-423077) 27 FS/1 FG MACR 7008: P-38J 43-28645 lost mid-air collision with 43-28370 over Romania on 28 Jul 1944
MACR 7008: 43-28645 had engines A-045500 & A-045110, 20mm 123470 and .50cal 1075736, 1076537, 1079558 & 1075068
MACR 5762: 43-28732 had engines A-045570 & A-045258, 20mm 116740 and .50cal 1294184, 1294112, 1293457 & 1294268
MACR 7192: 44-23147 had engines A-047741 & A-047203, 20mm 120594 and .50cal 734993, 1190428, 1190821 & 1190385
MACR 7103: 44-23201 had engines A-047677 & A-041745, 20mm 119201 and .50cal 1179394, 1179600, 1179595 & 1176966
There are still three MIA cases on my earlier list that could not be linked to an aircraft loss yet, but all were probably lost in early 1945:
1945-02-17 1LT GRAHAM, CARL G (O-769804) 97 FS/82 FG >> no MACR found, listed as missing in Adriatic Sea on 17 Feb 1945
1945-04-08 1LT ZIMMERMANN, RICHARD (O-684597) 48 FS/14 FG >> no MACR found, listed as missing in Adriatic Sea
1945-04-22 1LT ANDERSON, ERNEST L (O-767063) 95 FS/82 FG >> no MACR found, listed as missing in Mediterranean Sea on 22 Apr 1945
|