Chris W Christensen

Military

Shot down on 9th mission, 9 May 1944 in B-24 #42-52186, Prisoner of War (POW).



AM/ PH/ POW

Connections

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Units served with

Colonel Larry Thomas of the 453rd Bomb Group. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Col Larry Thomas 453BG.'
  • Unit Hierarchy: Group
  • Air Force: Eighth Air Force
  • Type Category: Bombardment

People

  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Service Numbers: O-736522
  • Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
  • Role/Job: Pilot
  • Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
  • Nationality: American
  • Unit: 389th Bomb Group 566th Bomb Squadron
  • Highest Rank: Staff Sergeant
  • Role/Job: Waist Gunner

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-24 Liberator
  • Unit: 453rd Bomb Group 735th Bomb Squadron

Missions

Places

  • Site type: Airfield
  • Known as: Berka, al Birkah

Events

Event Location Date Description

Born

Nebraska 22 December 1918

Other

Prisoner of War (POW)

Hollland 9 May 1944

Other

Account of the Ploesti Raid.

Campina, Romania "The airplanes going straight in were getting hit. The Hughes airplane (J), third directly ahead of us was on fire but kept going and dropped its bombs into the target. Horton's airplane (C-) directly ahead was getting hit after he released his bombs as he made a slight correction to the right to avoid smoke and flames. Bill Nading and I looked at each other and I concurred by a hand gesture with him to go through the smoke and flames. We were flying at an altitude about half way up the height of the chimney of the power plant, the target of the lead airplanes in each element. Our bombardier released the bombs and we zipped through the smoke and flames. We could see the flash from the barrels of guns shooting at us from pointblank range, but Blonds Away continued to fly normally. I assumed we were getting hit but could not detect any damage. Our tail gunner, Joe Fussi, reported that the tail turret had failed and he was trying to repair it. (Later examination showed this to be an equipment failure unrelated to the combat.) We crossed the village of Campina flying just above the roofs of the houses. We could see Mooney's airplane (R-) wobbling along and we were trying to move into a tight formation with it. We caught up with Horton's airplane (C-) which appeared to be in bad shape with a major fire in the fuselage. Just as we were even with it, perhaps fifty feet higher and one hundred feet to the left, the airplane hit the vertical bank of a stream bed just beyond the village. The airplane crumpled into a fireball. It did not appear that anyone could survive this crash, but a few months later we learned the top turret gunner survived. We could see to the left the Hughes' airplane (J) sliding to a stop after cart wheeling into a stream bed. Some claimed they could see a crew member climbing out of the wreckage. We learned later that two crew members survived the crash but one soon died."

Revisions

Date
Contributorjmoore43
Changes
Sources

Added a "-" to the A/C tail # in the "Summary biography" to aid clarity & consistency.

Date
ContributorDieterle
Changes
Sources

Richard Dieterle.

Date
ContributorDieterle
Changes
Sources

Find a Grave website > Lieut. Robert W. Horton.

Date
ContributorAAM
Changes
Sources

Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / MACR 4595 / Paul Andrews, Project Bits and Pieces, 8th Air Force Roll of Honor database / self, MACR 4595