1st Lt Lee A. Branch - Arado 96 -DNB 1 May 1945

[Leendert]

On 1 May 1945 1st Lee A. Branch took some American Red Cross workers up in the air on pleasure rides in a captured German Arado 96 two seat airplane.
The Arado crashed when ARC worker Dorothy J. Burdge was his passenger.

Both were killed. 1st Lt Branch was with 404th FG/507th FS (interestingly, his gravestone says 507th BS) but was attached as Air Liaison Officer to US Army's VIII Corps at time of accident.

This all happened near Leinawald, (then) East Germany.

Accident not listed in aviationarchaeology and accident-report.com.

I wonder if captured airplanes also received some kind of USAAF serial? Or would this accident have been categorized as 'Army' (VIII Corps), therefore no USAAF record at first sight?

Info welcome, thanks.

Regards,

Leendert

[RSwank]

Graves:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...hy-jane-burdge
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/...7/lee-a-branch


Story of the Accident and Dorothy Jane Burdge (if using Google Chome it gives option to translate):
http://www.margratenmemorial.nl/doss...marsroute.html