“336-X”

Lieutenant Fred E. Rylee's 336-X went down over the Magdeburg oil refinery on September 11, 1944, one of three 93rd crews lost to flak that day. Sergeant John P. Keener, watching from a following aircraft, reported that the ship appeared to take a flak hit in the left-wing gas tank: the wing sheared away entirely, and the tail section separated at the camera hatch. A ball of flame appeared at the center of the fuselage, followed by black smoke as the wreck dropped into a solid undercast a thousand feet below. Keener saw two men bail out or get thrown clear, but their chutes had not opened before they disappeared into the clouds.

Despite the violence of the breakup, all nine men aboard survived and were taken prisoner, including Rylee, co-pilot Maurice J. Hoover, navigator Robert K. Brodersen, and bombardier Nicholas Samra.