{"id":4610,"date":"2017-10-28T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-10-27T22:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/?post_type=b17database&p=4610"},"modified":"2025-05-04T09:22:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T07:22:46","slug":"42-97655","status":"publish","type":"b17database","link":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/b17\/42-97655\/","title":{"rendered":"42-97655"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was flying as pilot in aircraft number 1392<\/a>. We were flying on right wing of aircraft #655. We were on the bomb run when about one before bombs away, I saw the nose of ship number 655 explode scattering in small pieces from the leading edge of the aircraft forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is all I saw, and no parachutes were visible to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2Lt. Leo A. Dennison<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I was bombardier on aircraft number 1392<\/a>, flying right wing of the Colonel’s aircraft number 655. I only got a quick glimpse of the aircraft just as it was hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seemed as though it was a direct hit in the cockpit. The nose from the leading edge of the wing forward just seemed to fall off and just seemed to disappear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw the right wheel fall off and an oxygen bottle roll out of the flight deck. I saw no parachutes come out at all. It was hit just about a minute or a minute and a half before target time. I didn’t see his bombs fall so I don’t know if they were salvoed or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2Lt. Charles W. Caudill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I was the left waist gunner in aircraft #1392<\/a>, which flew right wing to aircraft #655. About a minute before target time I was busy helping the other waist gunner dispose of the carbage [sic]<\/em>. As I reached back for another box of carbage [sic]<\/em> I happened to glance out of the window and saw the vertical stabilizer going down. I stood up and saw the aircraft going straight down. Just before aircraft #655 got down below my gun I saw what looked like a large hole starting about the co-pilot’s position and number 3 engine. I did not see any parachutes come out of the aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S\/Sgt. Fred E. Schenner<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

While in the bomb run over Wiener Neustadt, my plane received a direct flak hit, the shell exploding in the plane. The nose and both wings were broken off and I was blown out of the plane. I do not know the fade of those listed as MIA, but believed they were all killed. I later saw the two men marked RD. I saw now parachutes in the air following the explosion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Col. Jacob E. Smart
Pilot 42-97655<\/em>
16 May 1945<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: MACR 4722<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Delivered Denver 18\/1\/44; 1SAG Langley 13\/2\/44; Assigned 49BS\/2BG Amendola 2\/3\/44; transferred 414BS\/97BG Amendola; Missing in Action Weiner Neustadt 10\/5\/44 with Col Jacob Smart (Gp CO), Hill, McCarthy, Lasater, Kehberger, Flamingo, Zohler, Anderson, Carter; flak, crashed Stinkenbrunn; Missing Air Crew Report 4722.","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"airplane-status":[135],"status-date":[184],"status-day":[1877],"status-month":[1871],"status-year":[1892],"production-block":[91],"manufacturer":[144],"delivered":[1812],"project-number":[],"bomb-group":[274,294],"bomb-squadron":[451,509],"raf-service":[],"b17tags":[],"class_list":["post-4610","b17database","type-b17database","status-publish","hentry","airplane-status-lost-by-aa-flak","status-date-10-05-1944","status-day-1877","status-month-may","status-year-1892","production-block-b-17g-25-ve-42-97636-42-97735","manufacturer-lockheed-vega","delivered-denver","bomb-group-2nd-bomb-group","bomb-group-97th-bomb-group","bomb-squadron-414th-bomb-squadron","bomb-squadron-49th-bomb-squadron"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"en","enabled_languages":["de","en"],"languages":{"de":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17database\/4610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17database"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/b17database"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"airplane-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/airplane-status?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"status-date","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-date?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"status-day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-day?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"status-month","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-month?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"status-year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/status-year?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"production-block","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/production-block?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manufacturer?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"delivered","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/delivered?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"project-number","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/project-number?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"bomb-group","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bomb-group?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"bomb-squadron","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bomb-squadron?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"raf-service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/raf-service?post=4610"},{"taxonomy":"b17tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/b17flyingfortress.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/b17tags?post=4610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}