Luftwaffe Ace Major Walter Barte

[Donald A. Babcock]

es tut mir leid - ich lese English - nicht Deutsch!

My Uncle 2LT Howard J. Bohle) was a B-17G Pilot from the 303rd Bomb Group. He and his crew were shot down after being hit by flak on a April 29, 1944 bombing mission to Berlin.

His aircraft B-17G #42-31241 "the Spirit of Wanette" droped out of formation and was ultimately shot down by flak and a BF 110 Night Fighter from Stab III./NJG 3 piloted by Luftwaffe Ace Major Walter Barte. They bailed out and the aircraft crashed on the island of Lolland, Denmark. Five of his crew members died, his copilot escaped and evaded back to England, he and three of his other crew members were captured and spent the remainder of the war in a German Luft Stalag.

QUESTIONS 1 - Does anyone have any information or photos on Major Walter Barte, Stab III./NJG 3 or the base he flew from during the time my Uncle's B-17 was shot down (April 29, 1944)?

2 - Are there any records left from the German Luftwaffe or the Wehrmacht pertaining to my Uncle's B-17 being shot down, the crash in Denmark , the capture of him and several members of his crew and his being held as a POW at Luft Stalag III?

3 - Are there any German accounts or photos of the April 29, 1944 8th Air Force mission to bomb the Friederichstrasse Railroad Station in Berlin?

4 - Is there anything else available that might be of assistance to me in helping to research that mission?

Thanks for considering my request for assitance and thanks for the great talk forum you have which is preserving the memory of the brave pilots both German and Allied of WWII

Sincerely,
Donald A. Babcock