ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 192672
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| Date: | Saturday 8 January 1944 |
| Time: | 12:36 |
| Type: |  North American B-25C Mitchell |
| Owner/operator: | 447th BSqn /321st BGp USAAF |
| Registration: | 42-32450 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing |
| Location: | Missing - Adriatic Sea, off Manfredonia -
 Italy
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
On 8 January 1944 24 B-25’s of 321st BG (6 per squadron) took off at 1059 hrs for the Group Mission 182, against Metkovic marshalling yards and docks, Yugoslavia. None returned early. A successful bombing run was made with little opposition from flak. Several bursts were seen but they were not close enough to do any damage. The formation dropped 135 x 500 lb bombs with .01 and .02 fusing at 1210 hours on target from 9500/11,500 feet. Concentrations of bursts covered the warehouses and tracks at the end, cratering the yards and setting fire to the warehouses. Two or three hits were observed at the southwest chokepoints.
After turning off the target the formation was attacked by 12 or 13 enemy aircraft which engaged them all the way back to the Italian mainland. Four enemy fighters believed to be Fw 190’s attacked at the target and followed formation back to Italian Coast, attacking all the way from 7 and 11 o’clock from high and low, also diving through the formation in head-on attacks. Enemy pilots seemed very experienced, apparently knowing the fields of fire of a B-25 and avoiding it. Formation was also attacked by 6/9 Bf 109’s, thirteen minutes after target staying with formation until the Italian Coast was reached. They used very aggressive tactics consisting of head-on passes in groups of threes and from the rear in groups of twos passing underneath.
Three enemy aircraft (1 Bf 109 and 2 Fw 190’s) were claimed shot down (two by 448th gunners and one by Sgt. Robert Boyd of 447th BS) and 2 Bf 109’s probably shot down, but the B-25C-15 42-32450 “Lumber Wagon” of 447th BS flown by the crew of 1st Lt Graham J Trevor was also lost.
Thirteen minutes after the bombing run the 447th BS was attacked by nine German fighters. Just prior to the attack the left engine of the plane piloted by Lt. Trevor had been feathered, presumably because of some mechanical failure, and this ship lost altitude and straggled from the formation. When the fighters came in to attack they singled out the straggler and made a concentrated attack upon it. The plane continued to lose altitude and was finally seen to hit the water. It was last seen at 1233 to 1235 at 42°05’ N, 16°35’ E, approximately 65 miles off the coast from Manfredonia, heading 55°, and probaly crashed at sea at 41°50’ N, and from 16°40’ to 17°10’ E.
Lt. Trevor’s plane was the only B-25 lost. The plane piloted by Lt. Knodle received a hit in the right engine but the engine continued to function until he was taxiing off the runway after landing. Lts. Nowakowski, Anderson and Vincent all reported observing Lt. Trevor’s plane as it was attacked. When Lt. Nowakowski saw the plane it was flying straight and level at about 1500 feet. The formation at that time was at about 4000 feet or 2500 feet above Lt. Trevor’s plane. Four German fighters were diving on the straggling plane and firing at it when Lt. Nowakowski lost sight of it. Lt. Anderson saw three fighters attacking Lt. Trevor’s plane from the rear. The fighters were flying along parallel to the formation and the waist gunner on Lt. Anderson’s plane, Sgt. Robert Boyd, got a good shot at one of the fighters. He shot about a hundred rounds into it, most of them into the enemy aircraft’s tail section. The tail of the fighter fell apart and it went down into the sea. The other two fighters continued to press their attack on Lt. Trevor’s plane. All during the running fight with the fighters the formation was diving down to get on the deck. Lt. Vincent reported seeing Lt. Trevor’s plane hit the water and at that time the altitude of the formation was about 400 feet. He was looking back and saw a tremendous spray of water as the plane hit. He did not see the plane after that. According to his estimate Lt. Trevor’s plane went in about twenty miles from the Italian coast.
Capt. Elwood H.Beeson in 42-64600 “Lady Luck” (447th BS) went out over the spot where the B-25 was last seen (with 2 Spits as escort) after the formation had landed. None of the crew were spotted. According to those who witnessed this ship go down there was little hope of any of the crew escaping. Indeed all were killed.
Crew (all killed, MACR 1825):
1st Lt Graham J. Trevor (pilot)
1st Lt John F. Briskey (copilot)
1st Lt Andrew L. Kingsley (bombardier)
Cpl James H. Jeffrey (flight engineer)
S/Sgt Jack C. Mays (radio)
Sgt James M. Reilly (gunner)
This bomber was shot down by Fhj.Uffz. Manfred Hientzsch of 10./JG 27 who claimed a B-25 shot down over the Adriatic south of Lastovo island at an altitude of 1,500 m at 1236 hrs. It was his second victory.
Sources:
http://57thbombwing.com/321stHistory/321_BG_1944-01.pdf
[LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.shrani.si/f/1a/dK/CUQg7HD/yucrashes.xls]
Luftwaffe claim lists by Tony Wood and Jim Perry (http://lesbutler.co.uk/claims/tonywood.htm)
http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_2.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lastovo
https://www.mapquest.com/?utm_source=classic&utm_campaign=winston_sunset&utm_medium=urltrans_unsupported
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 09-Jan-2017 06:40 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 23-Mar-2020 08:53 | DG333 | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
| 18-Apr-2022 04:39 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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