Hello everyone, Does anyone have a War Diary for 55 Squadron for 15/16 July 1944? I am looking for the plane which went down killing three airmen buried in Arezzo War Cemetery : Thanks, Vitellino
Vitellino, Baltimore V FW364. "W" There was a 4th airman aboard, navigator 542367V Lt RW Harris, SAAF. Prisoner or war. Aircraft took off at 2224 from Tarquinia on an armed reconnaissance of the area NE of Arezzo. Failed to return. The dead are buried in Arezzo War Cemetery. Regards, Dave Aerei Perduti
Thank you very much indeed for the article - it proves that they are not the three men Stefanone is looking for. The article says they came down in the north of Tuscany at Verghereto whereas he is looking for others near to Ambra, to the west of Arezzo. Does anyone know anything about the ten-member South African crew of an aircraft from 12 Squadron, SAAF, who were first buried in Ambra Communal Cemetery before being taken to Arezzo War cemetery and buried in comunal graves? They are Webb J.C., De Douallier O.D., Van Der Merwe B.J., Bezuidenhout E.R., Bamber T.A., Alder H.R.L.,Annandale H.A., Armstrong P.A., Barnby M. Empey R.H. Vitellino
Name: Berend Jacobus Van Der Merwe Rank: Lieutenant Death Date: 13 Jul 1944 Military Base: Pescara, Italy Service Number: 542418v Unit: 12 Squadron, Saaf Command: Mediterranean Ship: Marauder Ii Occupation: Pilot Casualty: Killed in action Burial Place: Arezzo War Cemetery, Italy Notes: Exploded During A Raid on A Road Junction Near Montevarchi Due to Premature Detonation of Its Own Bombs, Debris Destroyed Marauder Fb487 Same notes are given for Webb, De Douallier, Bezuidenhout, Annandale, Armstrong But the entries for Bamber, Alder, Barnby & Empey Lost During A Raid on A Road Junction Near Montevarchi When Struck By Debris From Marauder Fb437 Which Exploded Nearby Source: UK, World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 on ancestry.co.uk 35540 to RAF as Marauder II FB487 Sep 1943. Crashed west of Montevarchi, Italy Sep 13, 1944 after nose torn off by explosion of Marauder FB437 (41-35368). USAF Serial Number Search Results Travers
Brilliant. Thank you very much. The only problem with this is that CWCG gives the date of the crash as 13 July 1944. Vitellino
Have now edited my original post that six of the men were on FB437, a typical crew for this type of aircraft, and four on FB487, so two survivors from FB487 ? They could have had time to bail out if only the nose was hit. The ancestry data which agrees with CWGC, is based on the CD rom Airmen Died in the Second World War 1939-45 by The Naval and Military Press. AIRMEN DIED IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-45 DVD-ROM The Roll of Honour of the British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Services. - Naval & Military Press Date on the US serial number site is proably a typo. Can't see a graves concentration doc at CWGC to double check dates. Is Stefanone looking for a crash on 15/16th July 1944 ? Travers
He hasn't given the date, just the information that a plane came down near where he lives, Ambra, and that three or four casualties were buried in the local cemetery and later taken away. Perhaps it was FB487 . However, he seemed to think the plane might have been a B-17 or a Liberator, but the locals can't agree on how many engines it had. Vitellino Edited. There aren't any conc. forms for any of the crew members.
At least the locals seem to agree it was a bomber or transport rather than two or more fighters. If it was the Mauraders then there could have been two seperate burials originaly one for each crew & they were later amalgamated by CWGC. I don't suppose he has seen the local cemetery records for Ambra.
It's very diificult to access these records here in Italy. They are almost certainly in the Diocesan Archives in Arezzo. Edited: Please see my post in the Italy Forum on B 19 or Liberator
13 July is correct. This is the kind of info we are building at here RAF CWGC War Dead Query 1944-07 If you see a NA/PRO box next to the aircraft number, it takes you directly to the NA AIR27 File. and a #p329 gives you the page number to look at..Looking at the page before that in the TNA site shows a sortie report for 13 July
Thanks everybody for this most useful information. I have now consulted the USAAF combat chronology, given that one of the witnesses now says he is sure that the month was March as he was pruning his olives at the time, and adds that the sky was ''full of planes going north''. ( He was at Ambra, near Bucine, Arezzo). This is a possibility: WEDNESDAY, 22 MARCH 1944 STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Italy, around 100 B-17s bomb the marshalling yards at Verona while about 100 B-24s hit marshalling yards at Bologna and Rimini; P-38s and P-47s provide cover for all the missions; 2 bombers are lost to flak and another has to ditch. We now need the serial numbers. Vitellino
