PLEASE SUPPORT THE 15AF.ORG PROJECT! [MORE]
HEADQUARTERS
885TH BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (M) SPECIAL
OFFICE OF THE OPERATIONS OFFICER
APO 520
24 November 1944.
STATEMENT
1. A/C B-24-J No. 42-51976 departed its base at 0916 hours 21 November on a secret operational mission. No radio message or distress signals were received from the A/C after take-off. For reasons of security, A/C operating from this Squadron maintain radio silence until after they have left the target area and have set course for the home base.
2. At 1102 hours, a pilot and crew of one of the other Squadron A/C sighted what was thought to be an A/C on fire and descending rapidly. Due to the cloud coverage, the crew was unable to determine what type A/C they saw. Shortly after seeing the falling, burning object, a large fire was observed in the distance on the ground at least 10 miles away. The crew did not see any parachutes either in the air or on the ground.
3. At approximately 1100 hours, another A/C also of this Squadron, saw a large flash from the ground several miles in the distance, and shortly thereafter, a large burning object was observed falling toward the earth. Cloud conditions and a rain squall in the immediate vicinity made it impossible to identify the burning object. However, the crew reported that they felt certain they had seen one of the Squadron A/C in the immediate vicinity just a moment or two before seeing the fire. No parachutes were observed.
4. It is possible that the burning object seen by both crews was the missing A/C. All three A/C were assigned to the same target, and according to the time of take-off, the missing A/C should have been in the vicinity where the fire was observed on or about 1100 hours.
5. It is felt by this Headquarters that A/C B-24-J No. 42-51976 suffered a direct hit by AA fire and caught fire almost immediately upon being hit. In spite of the fact that neither of the crews witnessing the fire saw any parachutes, it is quite possible that existing cloud conditions in the vicinity prevented any of the crew members, who might have bailed out, from being seen.
6. Regional Flying Control (East Italy) and 306 Wing were both notified to be on the alert for the missing A/C. At the time of this report, no word has been received by this Squadron giving any information concerning the missing A/C.
Do you have WWII memorabilia that you are not sure what to do with it? The children don't want it? Then let us help you preserve this history by donating these items to the Army Air Corps Library and Museum. We are accepting donations in the form of uniforms, medals, ribbons, patches, photos, memorabilia, papers, gear and equipment. We also accept monetary donations to support our operations and long term plans. This website is part of the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, and as a 501(c)(3) Non-profit, your qualifying donations are tax deductible.
Read about how we need your support and use donations
Historical Artifacts: We are looking for photos, documents and other types of artifacts including uniforms and gear of the 15th Air Force in World War II as well as other units and commands. We accept electronic/scans or originals of pictures and paper records. A General Order could be an award document that contains information on many servicemen. Special Orders may contain transfers or other information. Flight records, accident reports, maintenance logs, after action reports, pilot encounter reports, diaries and biorgraphies; all of these types of documents help us support or mission: preserving your history! Contact us today for instructions on sending us this material.
Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation. We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks. Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one.
