440925 - P51D 4th FG - 25-9-1944

[Henk Welting]

South African Pilot Capt Roy A. HENWICK detached 4th FG USAAF ('Debden Eagles') failed to return from an escort mission to Frankfurt 25-9-1944 flying a P51D (probably 334th FS). He survived and may have been an evader. Looking for the aircraft serial number and cause of the accident.
Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

[Horst Weber]

Good evening, Henk !

From the available primary and secondary sources, your case seems to be a "hard nut". There is no entry into the LGK-J/KU-reports catalogue, which would match to your case.

AFHRA microfilm A5686 doesn't mention a P-51 loss of 4th FG on September 25th, 1944. Neither as MIA, SAL-BD nor SAL-NBD.

The available post-war literature doesn't mention the a/c's s/n in question.

Is it maybe possible, that this case with all this circumstances found a high level of classification from Sept. 25th, 44 to the first postwar years, so that the infos about the case didn't found entry into the primary sources ?.

Maybe the simple 334th Squadron Operation report for the day may help.

All the best !

Horst Weber

[drgondog]

Originally Posted by Henk Welting

South African Pilot Capt Roy A. HENWICK detached 4th FG USAAF ('Debden Eagles') failed to return from an escort mission to Frankfurt 25-9-1944 flying a P51D (probably 334th FS). He survived and may have been an evader. Looking for the aircraft serial number and cause of the accident.
Regards and thanks for your help.
Henk.

He is listed as CTD of his exchange duty on 25 October 1944, and assigned a/c QP-M in Escort to Berlin, pg 174.

If he went down on 25 Sept 1944 then the probability is that he ditched or made it back to Allied lines and therefore no Macr was prepared.

[Peter Randall]

And he was flying QP-M on 25 September when he crash-landed near Casteljaloux, France. I'm afraid that serial #of QP-M is not given for this event.

Peter

[Henk Welting]

Thanks friends for all your help. Will inform my friend Jan Hey on whose request I 'launched' this thread on the forum.
Regards,
Henk.

[dp_burke]

The page is not part of the scanned book on Google books but there is a small preview,

Osprey's
4th Fighter Group 'Debden Eagles' By Chris Bucholtz, Chris Davey
".... but in exchange 334th FS pilot Capt Roy Henwick failed to return. His compass and radio failed, then he ran our of fuel near Castel Jaloux, ...."

"... Henwick was taken to Bordeaux, then to Paris, and he returned to the group on 28 September. Two days later...."

Perhaps someone with that book can advise the context of the above statements? I might be able to get my hands on a copy soon.

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Dennis. Also found the said book on "Google Advanced Search" and read about 334 FS; probably missed the phrase you mentioned. Yes the pages were not scanned (....just the period I was looking for.....September 1944).
Regards,
Henk.

[ektra79]

Hank,

Capt. Henwick's call sign for that mission was Cobweb 73. The identity of that particular QP-M seems to have escaped all of us for now.

Regards,

Tim McCann

[Henk Welting]

Thanks Tim. Have forwarded this info to my friend Jan Hey MBE for his research on 8th & 9th USAAF losses NW Europe.
Regards,
Henk.

[drgondog]

Hank - Tell Jan I have wrapped up the 355th FG losses including accidents and I will send them to him. Have him send me an email

Regards,

Bill Marshall