B-17 (44-6359) 20th Bomber Squadron Monument -Mission 263
Details:
Along the marked bike trail adjacent to a small chapel.
MonumentA large field stone with a cross and an engraved stainless steel plaque attached to the front.
The monument remembers the crew of B-17 (44-6359) of the 20th Bomber Squadron, 2nd Bomber Group, 15th US Air Force, which was shot down on August 29, 1944, during "Mission 263". The crewmen killed in action were: 1/Lt. William C. Bullock Jr.; S/Sgt. Joseph M. Laratta; and, S/Sgt. Maurice E. Nelson. Six of the remaining crew members were taken as POWs, and the Co-Pilot, 2LT Clarence Jackso,n was able to escape and evade capture with the help of local civilians and partisans after this "Air Battle over the White Carpathians". The three crewmen killed were buried in the churchyard in Kasava.
On August 29, 2944, the 15th Air Force conducted "Mission 263", a raid on the Moravska Ostrava industrial complex (current-day city of Ostrava). The 2nd Bomber group supported this mission flying from flying from Amendola Air Base, Foggia, Italy. as become known as the "Air Battle over the White Carpathians", nine B-17Gs from 2nd Bomber Group were attacked by 89 German fighters and 20 minutes later eight of them were shot down and crashed in Slovakia (1), Czech Republic (7) and one crash landed in Hungary. 41 US airmen lost their lives, 28 of them were buried in a mass grave in Slavicin. Four fliers evaded capture, and 55 airmen ended up in German POW camps. All the planes of the 20th Bomber Squadron were shot down that day. Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR) 8083.
The crew of the B-17 (44-6359) included:
See Site Banska Bystrica -Hotel, Memorial: OSS & SOE Slovak Uprising Plaque for more on the OSS Operation that assisted 2LT Jackson to freedom.
Several museums in the area also remember this battle. See sites: Sanov; Slavicin, and Bojkovice.
Search "Mission 263" for memorials and cenotaphs associated with this event on our website.
For more information, see the Air Battle over the White Carpathian website at: www.leteckabitvakarpaty.cz
Special thanks to Mission 263 - Aug 29, 1944 / Letecká bitva 29.8.1944 Facebook page & group for remembering this battle and for the several memorials that remember this mission.
Monument Text:
The text on the plaque is written in Czech and reads:
The translation:
DURING AN AIR BATTLE ON 29. 8. 1944, AN AMERICAN BOMBARDER B-17 G-50-DL-S/N44-G 359 CRASHED NEAR THE VILLAGE OF VLÉKOVA, WAS HIT AND HEAVILY DAMAGED
3 CREW DIED IN THE WRECK:
I/LT WILLIAM C. BULLOCK
S/SGT JOSEPH M. LARRATA
S/SGT MAURICE E. NELSON
THE REMAINING 7 FIGHTERS WERE SAVED AND WERE CAPTURED.
WE FOUGHT TO LIVE!
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
15th Air Force
20th Bombardment Squadron
2nd Bomber Group
Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
OSS
Resistance
SOE
Wars:
WWII
Other images :
