Lost B-17 on 6 september 1943

[RSwank]

Most of the MACRs are available online at footnote.com. Unfortunately not free. I believe you can sign up for a trial membership but I have not checked the fees. I have an annual membership as I use it a lot. In the past they occasionally would have a free trial for a week but I don't know if they still do that. If we can narrow the search down to a few MACRs I would be happy to check them out. But looking through 20 or 30 MACRs on line takes a lot of time.

[RSwank]

Most of the MACRs are available online at footnote.com, unfortunately not for free. I would be happy to check out a few if we could narrow the possibilities down.

Here is a link for losses in Sept. 430906 in column 1 would be the day we want. The Location is were the plane was last seen, not necessarily were it crashed. When dealing with locations near country borders, this can be a problem. I would be happy to check out a few if we can narrow the losses down.

http://www.accident-report.com/MACR/1943/m194309.html

Here is another link which can get the pilot's name, which can help in on-line searches.

http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/s.../43SepMACR.htm

[Nokose]

This is the possible one your looking for B-17F-35-VE 42-5942 "Sky Shy" of the 388 BG, 563 BS. Piloted by F/O Myron A. Bowen.
8 POW
2 KIA (S/Sgt David E. Wiesner and Sgt. Joseph H. Redmond buried at Geislingen on 7Sep43)

[RSwank]

I looked at the MACR for 42-5942. The crew bailed out near Ulm. It is not clear where the plane actually came down, there are not any German "KU" documents in the MACR on footnote.com. Wiesner was killed in the plane during a fighter attack and never got out of the plane. If in fact he was buried at Geislingen that would suggest the plane came down near there. Redmond actually bailed out with the rest of the crew. The crew survivors were told he died of a skull fracture in a hospital. The surviving crew members had two theories on what happened to Redmond. One was he was beaten by civilians when he was on the ground. The other was that he hit his head on the tail of the plane when he bailed out.

[Thimmig]

Thank you very much guys! Does it perhaps say what aircraft shot them down? I am having a german complitation of a pilots victories and trying to find the B-17 that is mentioned in the report. The unique thing is that the pilot is a Nachtjäger and this is his only daylight victory.

[RSwank]

The MACR does not say who shot them down or even what type of aircraft. There is actually very little about the attack or the damage it caused. They were attacked by a fighter and a 20mm shell hit the top turret and Wiesner, the TT gunner, was hit in the head. He was laid down on the floor of the plane and the crew could clearly see he was dead. Redmond was wearing a seat type parachute, the rest of the crew (at least in the back) had clip on chest chutes. They could not get the rear hatch open and so they went out a window. There is some speculation that Redmond may have had trouble getting out of the window with the type of chute he was wearing, although some crew statements say they saw his cute open. Some crewmen were told by the Germans that he was found unconscious on the ground and died later in a hospital. None of the crew saw Redmond on the ground.

[shooshoobaby]

To All -
I just got the new Book To Kingdom Come by Robert Mrazek.
It is all about the 9/6/43 Mission to Stuttgart. I am leafing
through it for Info.
From Book: #42 - 5942 " Sky Shy " hit hard by Fighters. One tore up the Fuselage ,
Killed Top Turret Gunner and wounded both Waist Gunners. Another Fighter knocked
out an Engine. A Flak Burst knocked out controls and F/O Bowen ordered Crew to Bail.
German Fighters shot down other 3 B-17s that crashed near Stuttgart.
I'm going to read it tonite and see if I can find any more Info.
Mike

[Thimmig]

Originally Posted by shooshoobaby

To All -
I just got the new Book To Kingdom Come by Robert Mrazek.
It is all about the 9/6/43 Mission to Stuttgart. I am leafing
through it for Info.
From Book: #42 - 5942 " Sky Shy " hit hard by Fighters. One tore up the Fuselage ,
Killed Top Turret Gunner and wounded both Waist Gunners. Another Fighter knocked
out an Engine. A Flak Burst knocked out controls and F/O Bowen ordered Crew to Bail.
German Fighters shot down other 3 B-17s that crashed near Stuttgart.
I'm going to read it tonite and see if I can find any more Info.
Mike

Does it say anything about who shot "Sky Shy" down? Thanks for sharing that information with the rest of us!

[shooshoobaby]

The Book does not give any specific Crash Locations , Just Stuttgart.
The only LW Pilot mentioned is Egon Mayer. He shot down 3 B -17s
over France.
MACR #s for 4 B -17s crashed Stuttgart Area:
95th BG # 42 - 30300 MACR # 546
388th BG - # 42 - 3289 MACR # 3066
388th BG - # 42 - 3378 MACR # 3114
388th BG - # 42 - 5942 MACR # 3121
Mike

[Thimmig]

Ok, I can only come to the conclusion that "Sky Shy" mentioned above is the plane I am looking for. The geography is certainly the decisive fact here. Any chance that I can find a photograph of "Sky Shy" anywhere? I shall try to contact both the author of the book and perhaps local authorities in the muncipality of Weiler ob Helfenstein. Stay tuned!