Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID# 0-799204.
Pilot of B-24J, #42-40210
MACR #10211 (Missing Air Crew Report)
"Operation Market Garden"
After a delay due to fog, takeoff and assembly finally began at 1:27 p.m and they left the British coast at 2:53 for the 34-minute flight to Holland.
During the trip they were required to make a 360 degree turn to avoid the returning troop carriers of the second airlift. When they reached the Dutch coast at 3:56 p.m. they descended to 300 feet and immediately caught small arms fire.
Within 15 minutes they were flying at treetop level, 150 feet above the ground and could see Dutch citizens cheering and waving at them. From the time they arrived over Holland until they reached their target, they were also subjected to intense German anti-aircraft fire. They had been instructed not to return fire to avoid hitting Dutch civilians.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. they arrived at the drop zone and had to pull up to 400 feet in order to drop their bundles, most of which fell within the assigned areas. Then they began their journey home.
Within a few minutes the lead plane was hit by flak and a small fire started on the right wing. "With only seconds in which to work, Captain Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly.
At less than 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft." The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about 3/4 of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout, Holland (between the villages of Udenhout and Biezenmortel, in the hamlet called "Winkel").
They were the unfortunate victims of a 20mm flak gun, which had been mounted by the Germans the day before in the town of Oisterwijk. On September 18, forty-two rounds were fired from this gun at the American planes as they flew overhead on their return to England.
The heat from the explosion was so intense that a neighboring farmhouse caught fire. Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out.
------------------------------------------
B-24J-150-CO Liberator (s/n 44-40210) from the 854th BS, 491st BG, 8th AF. Lost on the September 18,1944 low-level supply drop mission in the area of Eindhoven,The Netherlands.
The plane took a flak hit in the right wing and crashed 1 km northeast of Udenhout. Only one crewmember survived, waist gunner S/Sgt. Frank DiPalma, who was treated and hid by some Franciscan Monks and local doctors until the town was liberated. 9 others were KIA (MACR 10211).
Pilot of B-24J, #42-40210
MACR #10211 (Missing Air Crew Report)
"Operation Market Garden"
After a delay due to fog, takeoff and assembly finally began at 1:27 p.m and they left the British coast at 2:53 for the 34-minute flight to Holland.
During the trip they were required to make a 360 degree turn to avoid the returning troop carriers of the second airlift. When they reached the Dutch coast at 3:56 p.m. they descended to 300 feet and immediately caught small arms fire.
Within 15 minutes they were flying at treetop level, 150 feet above the ground and could see Dutch citizens cheering and waving at them. From the time they arrived over Holland until they reached their target, they were also subjected to intense German anti-aircraft fire. They had been instructed not to return fire to avoid hitting Dutch civilians.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. they arrived at the drop zone and had to pull up to 400 feet in order to drop their bundles, most of which fell within the assigned areas. Then they began their journey home.
Within a few minutes the lead plane was hit by flak and a small fire started on the right wing. "With only seconds in which to work, Captain Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly.
At less than 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft." The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about 3/4 of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout, Holland (between the villages of Udenhout and Biezenmortel, in the hamlet called "Winkel").
They were the unfortunate victims of a 20mm flak gun, which had been mounted by the Germans the day before in the town of Oisterwijk. On September 18, forty-two rounds were fired from this gun at the American planes as they flew overhead on their return to England.
The heat from the explosion was so intense that a neighboring farmhouse caught fire. Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out.
------------------------------------------
B-24J-150-CO Liberator (s/n 44-40210) from the 854th BS, 491st BG, 8th AF. Lost on the September 18,1944 low-level supply drop mission in the area of Eindhoven,The Netherlands.
The plane took a flak hit in the right wing and crashed 1 km northeast of Udenhout. Only one crewmember survived, waist gunner S/Sgt. Frank DiPalma, who was treated and hid by some Franciscan Monks and local doctors until the town was liberated. 9 others were KIA (MACR 10211).
Entered the service from Minnesota; Service ID# 0-799204.
Pilot of B-24J, #42-40210
MACR #10211 (Missing Air Crew Report)
"Operation Market Garden"
After a delay due to fog, takeoff and assembly finally began at 1:27 p.m and they left the British coast at 2:53 for the 34-minute flight to Holland.
During the trip they were required to make a 360 degree turn to avoid the returning troop carriers of the second airlift. When they reached the Dutch coast at 3:56 p.m. they descended to 300 feet and immediately caught small arms fire.
Within 15 minutes they were flying at treetop level, 150 feet above the ground and could see Dutch citizens cheering and waving at them. From the time they arrived over Holland until they reached their target, they were also subjected to intense German anti-aircraft fire. They had been instructed not to return fire to avoid hitting Dutch civilians.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. they arrived at the drop zone and had to pull up to 400 feet in order to drop their bundles, most of which fell within the assigned areas. Then they began their journey home.
Within a few minutes the lead plane was hit by flak and a small fire started on the right wing. "With only seconds in which to work, Captain Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly.
At less than 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft." The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about 3/4 of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout, Holland (between the villages of Udenhout and Biezenmortel, in the hamlet called "Winkel").
They were the unfortunate victims of a 20mm flak gun, which had been mounted by the Germans the day before in the town of Oisterwijk. On September 18, forty-two rounds were fired from this gun at the American planes as they flew overhead on their return to England.
The heat from the explosion was so intense that a neighboring farmhouse caught fire. Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out.
------------------------------------------
B-24J-150-CO Liberator (s/n 44-40210) from the 854th BS, 491st BG, 8th AF. Lost on the September 18,1944 low-level supply drop mission in the area of Eindhoven,The Netherlands.
The plane took a flak hit in the right wing and crashed 1 km northeast of Udenhout. Only one crewmember survived, waist gunner S/Sgt. Frank DiPalma, who was treated and hid by some Franciscan Monks and local doctors until the town was liberated. 9 others were KIA (MACR 10211).
Pilot of B-24J, #42-40210
MACR #10211 (Missing Air Crew Report)
"Operation Market Garden"
After a delay due to fog, takeoff and assembly finally began at 1:27 p.m and they left the British coast at 2:53 for the 34-minute flight to Holland.
During the trip they were required to make a 360 degree turn to avoid the returning troop carriers of the second airlift. When they reached the Dutch coast at 3:56 p.m. they descended to 300 feet and immediately caught small arms fire.
Within 15 minutes they were flying at treetop level, 150 feet above the ground and could see Dutch citizens cheering and waving at them. From the time they arrived over Holland until they reached their target, they were also subjected to intense German anti-aircraft fire. They had been instructed not to return fire to avoid hitting Dutch civilians.
At approximately 4:30 p.m. they arrived at the drop zone and had to pull up to 400 feet in order to drop their bundles, most of which fell within the assigned areas. Then they began their journey home.
Within a few minutes the lead plane was hit by flak and a small fire started on the right wing. "With only seconds in which to work, Captain Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly.
At less than 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft." The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about 3/4 of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout, Holland (between the villages of Udenhout and Biezenmortel, in the hamlet called "Winkel").
They were the unfortunate victims of a 20mm flak gun, which had been mounted by the Germans the day before in the town of Oisterwijk. On September 18, forty-two rounds were fired from this gun at the American planes as they flew overhead on their return to England.
The heat from the explosion was so intense that a neighboring farmhouse caught fire. Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out.
------------------------------------------
B-24J-150-CO Liberator (s/n 44-40210) from the 854th BS, 491st BG, 8th AF. Lost on the September 18,1944 low-level supply drop mission in the area of Eindhoven,The Netherlands.
The plane took a flak hit in the right wing and crashed 1 km northeast of Udenhout. Only one crewmember survived, waist gunner S/Sgt. Frank DiPalma, who was treated and hid by some Franciscan Monks and local doctors until the town was liberated. 9 others were KIA (MACR 10211).
Inscription
CAPT, 854 AAF BOMB SQ, 491 BOMB GP WORLD WAR II
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