Finds of USAF artifacts from air battles in Europe - Czech Republic 1944

[kein]

Friends, I'm new here and I live in Europe, Czech Republic.
I would like to present to you my findings and friends from the period of fighting in the sky in 1944.
During WW2, the Czech Republic was part of the German Empire under the name Böhmenn und Mähren Protektorat.
Unions of heavy bombers flew through the territory where I live from bases in Italy in order to destroy German refineries in North Silesia (today's Poland).
A large number of American pilots died in air battles here, and I would like to dedicate my contributions to their memory.

I would start with the story of the B24 Liberator bomber, its story is described here and below is an English translation:https://www.lovecpokladu.cz/home/pribehy-predmetu-pribeh-prvni-treti-nedele-adventni-roku-1944-8031

Stories of Subjects - The Story of the First Third Sunday of Advent in 1944
Categories: World War II, Air War

The third Sunday of Advent in 1944 fell on December 17. In liturgical jargon, also called Gaudete - joyful. But the wartime fate had a different opinion. The day before, a counter-offensive counter-offensive had been launched in the Ardennes under the stylish name Herbstnebel (Autumn Mist). The low freezing fog was also that day over the area of Haná, over which at noon appeared the unions of American bombers 15 AF heading from Italy to East Prussia with the aim of bombing the refineries Blechhammer south, north and Odertal. Just before noon there was a fateful encounter with two Jagdgeschwader "Wilde Sau" JG 300 of the German Luftwaffe, primarily intended to defend the Empire taking off from airports around Berlin.

The half-hour fierce battle with the epicenter in the Přerov-Olomouc-Prostějov triangle went down in history. The bloody cut over snowy Hana is without a doubt the biggest air battle over our territory. 8 B24 Liberator bombers, 2 P38 Lighting fighters crashed in a relatively small corridor, 46 American pilots died. The delayed escort subsequently decimated northeast of Olomouc JG 300. Over 30 FW 190 and Bf 109 fighters were shot down, and 16 Luftwaffe pilots perished. So many brief introductions, our story of the subjects begins in the early morning hours at the Torretta base in Southern Italy. Crew of the B-24J Liberator 44-41158 bomber marked 77, 767.Bomber Squadron, 461.Bomber Group, 15.AF, composed of machine commander 2 / Lt. Max M. Hailey, co-pilot 2 / Lt. James G. Hendrix Navigator 2 / Lt. Harbord P. Sugg Jr. , bomber 2 / Lt. Ivyl L.Killian, mechanic Sgt. Julius G. Fajkus, radio operator T / Sgt. Lawrence F. Dixon Jr. , shooters S / Sgt Jacob Hermann III, Sgt. Harry D. Spencer, Sgt. Albert T. Arrotta, Sgt. Palmer D. Arrowood rolls shortly after 8 a.m. to start his 21 mission. At the same time, from his hunting lodge near the village of Kozlov (Kozlau) in the southern Sudetenland, Polesný comes out for his regular Sunday outing. When he says goodbye on the doorstep with his wife and children, he promises to finally bring a Christmas tree, with only a week left until Christmas Day. The commander of the machine 77 Max Hailey moves all four throttle levers to the top dead center with a practiced movement .. the machine is peeling off from the airport area ... "I'll be home by lunch" Report Sgt. A. Hermansena Jr .: "I was in the position of the left side gunner in the leading machine of the unit, which was attacked by German fighters. The aircraft flying in third position piloted, as I later learned to Lt. Hailey, and was badly damaged by Fw-190 fire, because it immediately ignited after the attacks and crashed through the clouds to the ground.

I didn't see any parachutes from this machine until it disappeared into the clouds… "" Verdammt ".." damn what's going on there in the valley " The fact that the Americans have been flying north since July has known for a long time, the war has already entered these godforsaken hills… in July one American fighter took down two Bf 109s, a short distance from Kozlov near Milovan American bomber crashed… he had only a game left a few hundred meters, when the next moment he heard a piercing whistling sound..the god of the bomb… subconsciously struck himself in the snow… in quick succession he was able to record the siueta of a burning bomber above him… massive explosions, cracking trees and clay and then a sudden silence… from a distance there was a muffled last blast..after four, he stumbled to the house… until now he realized he wasn't there… the crying of children and women brought him back to reality..lives and his dearest too… What happened to Lt. Hailey's plane can only be speculated , on parachutes zac only four pilots played, both side, rear gunner and radio operator. The left wing fell off the plane, which still managed to drop the bombs that scattered the hunting lodge, and the rest of the machine crashed into a dense forest near the village of Kozlov. He also buried the remaining six pilots in his wreckage. The post-war expulsion of the German population and the integration of the area into the Libavá VVP prevented access to the point of impact for many years. Afterwards, as everywhere the site was searched and dug up, the insignia-pilot badge of Lt. Hailey's tkz was found here, among other things. The wings. I visited the locality for the first time in 2016, I will gradually present you with a cross-section of my findings and the appropriate story of the objects. These are mostly trifles, but interesting.

to be continued

[kein]

I would like to ask colleagues to select or recommend my contributions to specific sub-forums.
I'm new here and the scope is very wide.
My contributions will cover the findings of parts of the B24, B17 bombers as well as the personal belongings of the crews.
I will briefly describe the history of individual machine kills and attach a photo of the findings to a specific location.
Thanks Hello

[manayunkman]

Welcome to the forum.

 

Very interesting items you have found.

 

The groupings sub forum might be a good place to post your finds and if you have specific item you might post it in the aviation section.

 

There are some forum members who might not appreciate this.

 

They are sensitive to digging things up especially if someone had perished in the crash.

 

I lived many years in Europe when I was young and continued to return especially to see my family in the Netherlands.

 

Personally I found relics in our backyard in Belgium and went hunting with friends to find crash sites in NL so I’m ok with it.

 

My only concern is if you find remains of the aviators and how that is handled.

 

My friends in NL have found several MIAs, informed the authorities and got them involved.

 

Thank you for posting these and look forward to seeing more.

 

Peter

[kein]

10 hours ago, manayunkman said:

Vítejte na fóru.

 

Velmi zajímavé položky, které jste našli.

 

Podfórum seskupení může být dobrým místem pro zveřejňování vašich nálezů a pokud máte konkrétní položku, můžete ji umístit do sekce letectví.

 

Někteří členové fóra to nemusí ocenit.

 

Jsou citliví na vykopávání věcí, zvláště pokud někdo při havárii zahynul.

 

Když jsem byl mladý, žil jsem mnoho let v Evropě a stále jsem se vracel, abych viděl svou rodinu v Nizozemsku.

 

Osobně jsem našel relikvie na našem dvorku v Belgii a šel jsem s přáteli na lov, abych našel místa havárie v NL, takže jsem s tím v pořádku.

 

Moje jediná starost je, jestli najdete zbytky letců a jak se s tím zachází.

 

Moji přátelé v NL našli několik MIA, informovali úřady a zapojili je.

 

Děkujeme za jejich zveřejnění a těšíme se na další.

 

Petr

Hi Peter,
Thank you for your response, I would like to make a few points to avoid possible misunderstandings.
There are none of the dead US heroes who perished during WW2 in the Czech Republic.
During the years 1946-48, the American authorities all exhumed them and transferred them to Allied cemeteries in France (St. Avold).
In contrast, a wide community of researchers seeks to bring together the stories of the artifacts found and contact living relatives in the United States.
There is also a large amount of non-fiction and there are many exhibits in local museums. On the anniversary of each battle, veterans meet regularly at the monuments in the presence of the US Embassy.
I am aware of the diversity of cultures and I would say the sometimes exaggerated hypercorrectness of American society.
In this case, however, such considerations are completely counterproductive. In general, this is a mapping of history, and I believe that American friends would be very surprised at the details of the site surveys.

Hi Milan