[Ivo de Jong]

Another interesting incident was on March 18. B-17G 44-8276 of the 487th BG was hit by flak over Berlin and left the formation, heading in easterly direction. It was then attacked by Russian Yaks, which hit the aircraft while the crew was in the process of bailing out. Crewmembers were actually strafed in their chutes, and two of them were killed. They were buried by the Russians, and their graves were never retraced after the war.
The incident happened on the same day that P-51s of the 359th FG had shot down nine Russian a/c, mostly YAK's, in an encounter near Kustrin. They mistook the YAK's for FW-190s.... This incident is covered in depth in the 359th FG History "Mustangs and Unicorns".
Best regards,
Ivo de Jong