Produktionsblock:
B-17G-65-DL: 44-6751 bis 44-6875
Hersteller:
Douglas
- Bomber-Gruppe:
- 463rd Bomb Group
- Bomber-Staffel:
- 772nd Bomb Squadron
MACR: 16474
Geschichte der
B-17 44-6873
Delivered Lincoln 9/12/44; Dow Fd 22/12/44; Ass 772BS/463BG Celone 23/1/45; n/b/d Linz 1/8/45 w/Joe Johnson, cp-Caraway, n-Hale, b-Hendrix, ettg-Eaton, ro-Hartzheim, btg-Andrews, wg Offerbach, (?Garcia), wg-Hardy, tg-Garrientez (10MIA?); burning engine drops off, a/c ditched in Tyrrhenian Sea; MACR 16474. Report of Major Accident #46-8-1-509
Zuletzt aktualisiert: 2. November 2021
B-17 44-6873 Details
Das Flugzeug vom Typ B-17 mit der Nummer 44-6873 musste im Tyrrhenisches Meer notwassern, als der Motor überhitzte, Feuer fing und vom Flugzeug fiel.
Vier der fünf Besatzungsmitglieder überlebten. Acht von zwanzig Passagieren überlebten.
02. November 2020 access_time 21:21
Hello: The history of this aircraft in the Freeman/Osborne log is incorrect. Unfortunately, both Freeman and Osborne are both deceased, and there is no way I know of to correct the information contained in their B-17 database. My uncle, Paul C. Hartzheim, was one of the soldiers killed in this accident. I am requesting that your information be updated to reflect the correct data for this incident:
The plane was not battle damaged over Linz at any point (not sure where that information might have come from?). The plane was ditched in the Tyrrhenian Sea (part of the Mediterranean) on August 1, 1945. There is a Report of Major Accident (Form 14) for this incident that accurately describes the crew, passengers and circumstances, which the MACR has almost entirely wrong.
This was a non-combat, non-operational flight with just 5 crew members carrying 20 passengers (infantrymen who had survived the war in Europe) on their first leg home from Italy to North Africa.
Crew: (4 of 5 survived)
Pilot: 1st Lt. Albert Lazar (survived)
Co-Pilot: Joseph M. Johnson (escaped from ditched plane but drowned before reaching life raft)
Navigator: Robert M. Cashman (survived)
Engineer: Frank S. Peters (survived)
Radioman: Bernard C. Doherty (survived)
Passengers: (8 of 20 survived)
All passengers are listed in the Report of Major Accident. My uncle, Paul C. Hartzheim, was one of those lost.
So out of the 25 souls on board, 12 survived and were rescued. 13 were lost (only one of the lost bodies was ever recovered when it washed up on the Italian coast several months after the incident) and those are memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy. The MACR only notes the 13 people who were lost, and incorrectly assumes they were all crew.
In addition to the corrections above, I would request that you include a reference for this incident to the Report of Major Accident #46-8-1-509, since the MACR alone causes a great deal of confusion and is not a reliable source of information for this incident.
Thank you for your time.
–Mark Hartzheim
04. November 2020 access_time 10:33
Hello Mark,
thank you for you correction.
I now, that the historical information of Freeman or Osborne, in same cases not correct.
And I am very happy about helps from other people, like you. I appreciate it very much!
Do you have a copy of Report of Major Accident #46-8-1-509?
Or is this report available on an web site?
Cheers
Jing
04. November 2020 access_time 10:39
Hello Mark,
that plane probably was damage over Linz on 08 January 1945. Not 1st of August 1945. The date format is UK format (DD/MM/YY). And in my opinion, that date has no collection to the incident on 01 August 1945.
20. November 2022 access_time 1:09
My dad was the navigator on that plane. I have a copy of his personal memoirs of the ditching. He was instrumental in rescuing the survivors. Our family has always wanted to know the name of his plane. Do you know?