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Milton Teltser

Pilot · 330th Squadron

Lt. Milton Teltser was the pilot of the B-24 that crash-landed approximately 30 miles west of Bucharest on August 1, 1944. He suffered burns on his face and arms in the crash and was taken to a hospital alongside co-pilot Lt. Willard R. Beaumont following the incident.

Teltser was confirmed alive after reaching the ground and was among the survivors repatriated following Romania's surrender. He is also recorded in report documents under the variant spelling 'Teeter,' a phonetic or handwriting rendering of the surname.

Completed Tour

Sortie Log

3 CATALOGUED SORTIES
01 AUG 1943 — 01 AUG 1944

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

The aircraft was lost on August 1, 1943, during the low-level mission to Ploesti, Romania — Operation Tidal Wave. The plane departed Benghazi at 7:40 a.m. and was hit over the target area. No. 1 engine was windmilling and No. 2 engine was on fire when the crew was forced out of the aircraft. The wing buckled and the plane crashed with flames covering it. The aircraft did not explode on ground impact. None of the crew bailed out by parachute. The crash site was in or near Ogresnie, Romania. Sgt. Doll reported seeing four members of the crew alive on the ground after the crash, accompanied by an observer, but did not examine the wreckage.

The aircraft departed Bengasi, Libya at approximately 07:30 AM on August 1, 1943, as part of the low-level mission against the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. The plane was from the 93rd Bomb Group, 330th Bomb Squadron. The aircraft crashed at approximately 4:00 PM, approximately 15 miles southwest of Bucharest, Romania. At the time of the crash the plane was entirely in flames, with the exception of part of the tail. The aircraft exploded approximately 30 seconds after striking the ground. No crew members bailed out. The co-pilot (Bassett) reported that the bombardier and navigator were believed killed in the crash as both were in the nose of the plane. The radio operator was killed by enemy fighter action before the crash. The engineer, tail gunner, and top turret gunner were also believed to have died in the crash. Romanian authorities subsequently reported one man died; the method of identification was unknown.

Target unrecorded

On August 1, 1944, the aircraft was hit by fighter attack and flak while on a mission departing from Bengazi at approximately 07:30. Sgt. Milligan was killed by fighter action before the crash. Sgt. Doll and Sgt. Higgins were wounded by flak, and the co-pilot Lt. Beaumont was wounded by fighter action. The plane crash-landed on fire at approximately 15:30, approximately 30 miles west of Bucharest, Romania. The aircraft was a total loss and exploded on striking the ground. No crew members bailed out; all survived or perished in the crash landing. Romanian witnesses reported that crew members not accounted for by survivors were dead, with some bodies described as carbonized. The plane was burning before and after the crash. The aids box was destroyed in the crash, and the crew's purse and escape materials were taken by Romanians. Survivors Lt. Teltser, Lt. Bassett, Sgt. Locky, and Sgt. Doll were confirmed alive after reaching the ground, all wounded. Lt. Beaumont was taken to a hospital with burns and leg wounds. He was eventually repatriated via Bari, Italy, and departed for the UK by air on September 5, 1944, arriving September 6, 1944.