On 17th April 1945 1st Lt Peter W Klaassen witnessed the crash in Czechoslovakia of 1st Lt. A.A. Rosenblum. Rosenblum was M.I.A. but returned to his squadron at the end of the war.



I was Cargo (83rd Fighter Squadron) Yellow leader on bomber escort in the Dresden area when Nuthouse reported jets in the area. I took my section south of target to investigate some Bogies which turned out to be Surtax White and Red flights. They were positioning themselves to strafe an airdrome, so I circled to observe results. As Surtax Red flight went over the drome, so I circled to observe results. As Surtax Red flight went over the drome, I saw one aircraft lagging behind and going very slow, and at that time Surtax Red leader called and said, “I’ve got to belly in here, so long fellows.” He cleared the west edge of the airfield, but hit something with his left wing just as he bellied in, which spun the aircraft around and tore off his right wing as he cartwheeled. From the time he reached the edge of the field until after the aircraft came to a stop, I observed hits on and all around his aircraft from small calibre arms. The aircraft did not burn, and no one got out as I circled.”

Peter W Klaassen O-708695 1st Lt., Air Corps