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MACR PILOT: 2Lt  William E.  Baldwin  - O-783669
MACR: 13717 FICHE :

ORGANIZATION
LOCATION: AAF Station #139 COMMAND: VIII AF GROUP: 100th Bomb Gp (H) AAF
SQUADRON: 351st BS DETACHMENT:  
     

DETAIL
DEPARTURE:AAF Station #139 INITIAL COURSE: Northeast  
INTENDED DESTINATION: Kiel, Germany    
MISSION TYPE:Operational    

WEATHER & VISIBILITY AT TIME OF LAST REPORT
CONDITION: 8 - 10/10 undercast    

GIVE
DATE: 1945-04-03 TIME: 18:50 LOCATION: 5405N - 0620E

SPECIFY:

Last contacted by radio

CONFIRMED OR BELIEVED REASON FOR LOSS
LOSS DUE TO : Enemy anti-aircraft

OTHER REASON FOR LOSS:

Shortage of gasoline and hit by flak over Frisian Islands

AIRCRAFT: 43-38992
TYPE: B-17 SERIES: G  
     
     

ENGINES:
MODEL: R-1820-97    
A: SW-631313
B: SW-013783
C: SW-031170
D: SW-030961
    

INSTALLED WEAPONS:
A: 868610
B: 869124
C: 461342
D: 868810		 E: 894923
F: 461451
G: 219413
H: 868895		 I: 868954
J: 219095
K: 868864
L: 461644

PERSONS BELOW ARE LISTED AS:
CASUALTY TYPE: Battle casualty  
NUMBER OF PERSONS ON BOARD:    
CREW: 10 PASS: 0 TOTAL: 10

PERSONNEL:

POSITION NAME RANK SERIAL
P1
P2 William E.  Baldwin 2Lt O-783669
CP Francis G. Beedle 2Lt O-206248
NAV (N) John H. Buckley F/O T-134539
BOM (B) Leslie O. Davis Sgt 35471882
RAD Kermit E. Jones Sgt 36808195
ENG Kenneth E. Wright Sgt 20383070
BAL Randolph A. Goodwin Sgt 39855835
WG (W) Aflred Mantopoli Sgt 32953846
WG (W)
TG (T) Ogden W. Barron Sgt 42000553
Bombardier-RAD Howard O. Weber SSgt 15313749

PERSONS WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE LAST KNOWLEDGE OF AIRCRAFT

Joseph W. King 1Lt O-774684
Contacted by radio
Donald J. Wallish 1Lt O-928681
   

PERSONNEL WHO ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE SURVIVED

REASON: Unknown OTHER:  

EYEWITNESS DESCRIPTIONS OF CRASH

Report: 
"Aircraft 43-38992 was unable to release bombs over the target and retained them until the formation reached 5417N - 0808E on the route back to base. There the bombs were jettisoned from 25,000 feet at 1833 hours. The aircraft appeared to be undamaged and continued on with the formation to 5405 N - 0620E when the wheels were lowered and the pilot called over VHF, saying he was low on gasoline and would try to get back alone. The aircraft peeled off and down toward the undercast. When the formation reached 5250N - 0300E, at 1952 hours, 10,000 feet, a VHF message from the pilot saying that he had 80 gallons of fuel per engine left and estimated he was 15 minutes from land. Nothing further was seen or heard from this aircraft. Pilots suggested the cloud conditions were favorable for icing and that the aircraft could have been lost due to picking up ice in passing through the clouds."   Lts. King and Wallish

Actually,icing was not the problem as Kermit Jones explains. "We were returning
from Kiel when it was discovered we were running out of gas so we headed for
Belgium. While enroute,and over the first Frisian Island off the Peninsula of Holland,
at an altitude of 5000 feet,we wera hit by flak which destroyed two engines and
set the ship on fire."

According to Jones,he,Goodwin and Wright bailed out but the others did not and the
A/C exploded upon hitting the ground. Jones adds that, "Sgt. Goodwin landed on the
island (Texel) and shed his chute and flying boots. These were later shown to us by
the Germans with a comment that Sgt.Goodwin was dead. The Germans at the same time
showed us the seven pairs of twisted and burned dog tags of remaining members of
the crew with a statement that they were all dead."
   
   
Second Witness: No Data  
Report: 

      

    





  
DESCRIPTION OF SEARCH EFFORT

  

    

      DETAIL:No search made.
      

  







PREPARING OFFICER


PREPARED BY: GEORGE D. ALLEN  Capt Air Corps Assistant Adjutant  


DATE PREPARED:
  1945-04-10


  



TRANSCRIBER NOTES



    
    REPORT: 
By the way in the "Missing Air Crew Report" #13717 you mention " Textel island ", which should be " Texel island " (delete 't'), and the crash site is mentioned as " Horntge ", which sould be " 't Horntje ". However, this is also not exactly the crash location; It is better to mention " near Watermolenweg in Hoornder Nieuwland ". 

Greetings from Texel island - The Netherlands 

Jan Nieuwenhuis 
Vloedlijn 12 
NL-1791 HH  Den Burg (Texel) 
The Netherlands