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Joseph Sommaruga

S/Sgt. Joseph A. Sommaruga served as tail gunner on the 28 January 1945 Dortmund mission. He was born 26 April 1925 in Waterbury, Connecticut. The MACR spells the name Semmaruga; German Dulag Luft records consistently give Sommaruga.

He bailed out after the aircraft was hit by flak, was captured, and was held at Dulag Luft West (KU 3632). He subsequently returned to duty.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

1 CATALOGUED SORTIE
28 JAN 1945

The sorties below are those we have been able to document for this airman, drawn from flight logs, mission records, and archival sources. It is not necessarily a complete account of every mission flown; gaps may reflect missing documentation, transferred assignments, or records lost to time.

8AF Mission
Date
Target
Aircraft
№ 809
28 JAN 1945
Dortmund
B-24J Liberator, AAF serial 42-50679, departed Hardwick on 28 January 1945 on a bombing mission to Dortmund, Germany. After bombs away over Dortmund the aircraft was struck by flak, knocking out engines No. 1 and No. 2 and badly damaging the port rudder. Oil pressure on the two remaining engines also dropped. The pilot ordered the crew to bail out. The aircraft was last sighted near Lippstadt trailing behind the formation, approximately 2,000 feet below, heading north. Engines 3 and 4 were milling intermittently. No major visible battle damage was noted by the eyewitness. German records (KU 3632) show the aircraft went down near Hoevel, district of Arnsberg, on 28 January 1945 at 1226 hours. The wreckage was recovered by German forces; no body was found in or near it.
42-50679